Aerodynamics & Load Case Engineer

Our Company

Our mission at Dronamics is to develop innovative solutions for same-day middle-mile logistics and serve the world as the leading cargo drone airline.

We design, build and operate long-range, high payload cargo drones that can carry up to 350 kg (550 lbs) at a distance of up to 2,500 km (1,500 mi) - up to 80% faster, 50% cheaper and with 60% less co2 emissions vs traditional freight.

At first, it didn't sound possible, but we keep proving it is, which is why we've called it “The Black Swan”. It can land on short and unpaved runways, enabling on-demand point-to-point flights and speedy same-day delivery even to the most remote locations that would otherwise take days to reach over ground or sea.

With the successful first flight of our full-scale Black Swan cargo drone, we have achieved a significant
milestone. Now our focus is on scaling up and establishing operations in the first markets in Europe and beyond

The Role

Working as part of the DOA R&D team and reporting to the Aerodynamics, Performance and Simulation engineering manager, the Aerodynamics and Load Case Engineer is responsible for the following:

• Reviewing existing aircraft load cases and deriving new aircraft load cases

• Setting up and post-processing CFD and BEM simulations

• Expanding the existing load case analysis MATLAB codebase

• Writing technical documentation

• Reviewing existing technical documentation/methodologies

• Supporting the Flight Mechanics and Simulation Engineer with aerodynamics-related activities (e.g. aerodynamic coefficients, aircraft polars, etc.)

What We Offer

• A competitive compensation package for a start up company

• Lots of opportunities for personal and professional growth on a global level

• Tons of work, zero office politics - we are here to impact the lives of millions of people around the world

• A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to frame the future of how the world moves goods

Requirements

• Good understanding of aerodynamics and fluid mechanics

  • standard definitions of aerodynamic coefficients 

  • effect of Re on aerodynamic coefficients

  • derivation of aerodynamic coefficients from Boundary Element Method (BEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations

  • working principles of CFD and BEM solvers

  • grid preparation for CFD and BEM simulations

  • post-processing CFD and BEM simulations

  • best-practises in CFD simulations (meshing & solution)

    • grid convergence studies

    • turbulence model studies

    • cold/hot restarts

    • mesh requirements/metrics (y+, aspect ratio, volume ratio, non-orthogonality, max-included angle)

    • numerical schemes

• Good working knowledge of Ansys Fluent

• Good working level in MATLAB

  • improvement and maintenance of existing load case scripts

  • contribution to existing codebase for aircraft load case analysis

  • good understanding of data structures

• Good technical documentation writing skills

• Good presentation skills

• Good file organisation skills

  Nice to have skills

• Good working knowledge of Stanford University Unstructured (SU2) and OpenFOAM  CFD solvers is a plus (training can be provided)

• Good working knowledge of the GIT version control system is a plus (training can be provided)

• Good working knowledge of Fidelity Pointwise is a plus (training can be provided)

• Good working knowledge of ParaView is a plus (training can be provided)

• Knowledge and work experience with certification specifications for normal, utility, aerobatic and commuter aeroplanes (CS-23) is a plus

Qualifications

MSc/MEng or PhD in Aerospace Engineering or related field with at least 3 years industry experience (Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering field is preferred).