Senior Aerothermal and CFD Engineer
Castelion Corporation•Rio Rancho, NM
•Onsite
About The Position
We are seeking a Sr. Aerothermal & CFD Engineer to develop aerodynamic, aerothermal, and fluid dynamic solutions for Castelion's long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This role is critical to predicting and optimizing vehicle performance in extreme flight environments, including high-Mach atmospheric flight and re-entry regimes. You will work hands-on with multidisciplinary engineering teams to analyze, model, and validate aerodynamic and thermal behavior using computational and experimental methods in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.
Requirements
- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
- 5+ years of experience in aerodynamic, aerothermal, or CFD analysis for aerospace or high-speed flight systems
- Strong background in compressible fluid dynamics, hypersonic aerodynamics, and heat transfer
- Experience performing CFD analysis using tools such as STAR-CCM+, Fluent, FUN3D, CFD++, or equivalent
- Familiarity with turbulence modeling, boundary layer analysis, and high-temperature gas effects in hypersonic flow regimes
- Experience generating aerodynamic and aerothermal databases for simulation and flight analysis
- Familiarity with wind tunnel testing, flight test correlation, or experimental aerothermal methods
- Experience with scripting and automation tools such as Python or MATLAB for data processing and workflow development
- Strong problem-solving mindset, thriving in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high-flight cadence environment
- Willingness to support extended hours or weekend work during critical integration, test, and flight milestones.
- U.S. citizenship is required
Responsibilities
- Develop aerodynamic and aerothermal models for hypersonic flight vehicles across a wide range of Mach numbers and flight conditions
- Perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses to predict pressure, heating, flow separation, shock interactions, and control surface effectiveness
- Analyze transient and steady-state thermal environments to support TPS, structures, propulsion, and subsystem integration
- Develop and validate aerodynamic databases for simulation, guidance, control, and flight performance analysis
- Work closely with TPS, structures, propulsion, GNC, and flight sciences teams to ensure seamless integration of aerodynamic and thermal design solutions
- Support vehicle configuration trades and optimization studies to improve performance, controllability, and thermal survivability
- Correlate CFD predictions with wind tunnel, arc-jet, ground test, and flight test data to improve model fidelity
- Develop tools and workflows for aerodynamic, thermal, and fluid dynamic analysis and automation
- Support flight test planning and post-flight data analysis, translating results into system-level improvements
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices in CFD and aerothermal analysis
- Partner closely with program leadership to make technical trades aligned with mission success
Benefits
- Meaningful long-term equity
- Four (4) weeks of paid time off
- Ten (10) company-paid holidays
- Comprehensive health benefits - including 100% employee-covered medical and strong dependent coverage
- Dental and vision plans
- Paid parental leave
- $100 monthly fitness stipend
- Onsite EV charging
- Catered meals
- Company-covered food during high-demand periods
- Fully stocked kitchen
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
