Fluid Systems Analyst - Lunar Permanence

Blue Origin•Huntsville, AL

About The Position

Blue Origin is seeking a Fluid Systems Analyst for the Plume Analysis team supporting the Lunar Transfer Stage vehicle within the Lunar Permanence business unit. The role focuses on simulating flow environments around the vehicle across rarefied gas dynamics for far-field plume environments and fluid-particle interactions, including plume impingement during proximity and landing operations. The analyst will manage the full analysis lifecycle, from coordinating requirements with design teams through preprocessing, simulation, post-processing, and results delivery. The analyst will work directly with NASA and National Team Partners on the Human Landing System program. Analyses will inform thermal, structures, GNC, and EVA design decisions for a crewed lunar lander, and the role serves as a technical interface between the Plume Analysis group and internal and external customer teams. The position includes CFD and DSMC simulation, plume and surface impingement analysis, development of Python post-processing workflows, delivery of design boundary conditions, and preparation of formal reports conforming to NASA HLS DRD standards.

Requirements

M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field preferred; B.S. considered with commensurate experience.
5–7 years of experience in space vehicle, launch vehicle, or high-altitude flow modeling and simulation.
Experience with the full CFD analysis process, including geometry preparation, meshing, solver execution, and post-processing.
Understanding of compressible fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics in rocket propulsion and vacuum plume expansion environments.
Experience with rarefied flow modeling and fundamental understanding of Knudsen number, continuum breakdown, DSMC or DSMC-adjacent methods, mean free path, and transition-regime flow.
Proficiency with Python for scientific computing and post-processing.

Nice To Haves

Experience with research-grade or custom CFD solvers such as Loci/CHEM, DPLR, LAURA, US3D, or equivalent.
Experience with DSMC tools such as DAC, SPARTA, or equivalent.
Experience with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) for acoustic environments, turbulent mixing, or other high-fidelity flow details.
Experience with CAD defeaturing and surface/volume meshing tools such as SpaceClaim, ANSA, Pointwise, or equivalent.
Experience submitting and managing large-scale jobs on HPC or cloud platforms.
Experience delivering analysis products to NASA programs under DRD or equivalent documentation requirements.
Familiarity with spacecraft propellant thermochemistry, such as MMH/MON-3, LOX/LH₂, or similar.
Experience with plume-surface interactions (PSI), fluid-particle interaction, and regolith ejecta modeling during lunar or planetary landing operations.

Responsibilities

Coordinate with thermal, structures, GNC, EVA, and propulsion design teams to understand analysis requirements and translate them into simulation tasks.
Develop analysis approaches for plume flowfield characterization, surface impingement heat flux, and pressure loads across continuum and rarefied flow regimes.
Execute the full analysis pipeline, including CAD preparation and defeaturing, mesh generation, CFD/DSMC simulation, post-processing, and results delivery.
Perform 2D axisymmetric and 3D CFD simulations of rocket nozzle and plume flowfields using research-grade solvers on HPC and cloud infrastructure.
Perform rarefied gas dynamics (DSMC) analysis for far-field plume environments and surface impingement heating.
Develop Python-based post-processing and analysis pipelines for heat flux, pressure, contamination transport, and ejecta distributions.
Deliver surface heat flux and pressure boundary conditions to design teams via Boundary Condition Mapper (BCM) and formal reports.
Support active NASA collaborations through technical deliverables and meeting participation.
Document analyses in formal reports conforming to NASA HLS DRD standards.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Basic and supplemental life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Short- and long-term disability.
401(k) with company match of up to 5%.
Education Support Program.
Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week.
Up to four weeks of paid time off per year based on weekly scheduled hours.
Up to 14 company-paid holidays.
Depending on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions and company results, at the company's discretion.