Aerodynamics Engineer I

About the Team:  

The Integrated Performance team owns the holistic view of how Terran R comes together, ensuring that every system on the vehicle and ground is capable of achieving our ambitious objectives. The team works across the full launch system, from trajectory design and aerodynamics to reliability analysis and beyond, with direct influence on all parts of the product lifecycle, from conceptual design to post-flight data review. Beyond analysis, team members engage hands-on with hardware and operations, with the mission and authority to drive meaningful programmatic change. With a unique organizational structure, the integrated performance team spans multiple technical domains and embeds directly with partner teams to solve the hardest multi-disciplinary problems. The team operates with a rare scale: large enough to support complex development, yet small enough that individual contributors have meaningful impact.

The Aerodynamics team shapes Relativity’s vehicle products by tackling intricate design challenges inherent to reusable launch vehicles. Drawing on a strong foundation in external and compressible flows, the team addresses a wide spectrum of aerodynamic challenges across all flight phases. Leveraging computational fluid dynamics (CFD), wind tunnel testing, reduced order modeling, and flight data, we take a proactive approach to supporting cross-disciplinary design initiatives. Our collaboration with hardware engineers further enables us to overcome design and integration hurdles, ensuring a seamless and efficient development process from concept and through launch.

About the Role: 

• Develop and execute CFD analyses to solve novel challenges in vehicle entry stability and control
• Validate CFD approaches and establish CFD best practices for ascent and entry phases of flight
• Scope and develop aerodynamics databases for ascent and entry including uncertainty quantification from CFD, wind tunnel, and empirical data sources
• Drive the design of major Terran R system elements – like fins, flaps, and primary structure – to meet criteria for control, stability, heating, and pressure
• Guide and mentor responsible hardware engineers to ensure hardware meets aerodynamics and system-level requirements
• Mature Relativity’s tools for developing and communicating aerodynamics data, including custom and commercial code, databases, and data processing tools

To be successful in this role, you should be self-motivated, adaptable, and able to contribute significantly to a fast-paced, integrated vehicle program. You should also be able to resolve ambiguity and drive projects to completion. Ideally, you have significant compressible flow, CFD, and high-performance computing (HPC) experience, as well as a proven track record for completing projects successfully in a highly collaborative environment. 

On a weekly basis, you will be performing analysis, developing software tools, and supporting design teams. You will also use your strong organizational skills to properly manage the documentation and communication of your actions, recommendations, and decisions.

About You:  

• Undergraduate degree in engineering or related field
• Proficiency in compressible flow
• Practical engineering experience, e.g., from project teams, internships, or research labs
• Experience solving challenging technical problems in teams
• Familiarity with Python or another scripting language like Matlab
• Exposure to industry-standard CFD tools like FUN3D or Star-CCM+

Nice to Haves, but Not Required:  

• Graduate degree in engineering or related field
• Familiarity with hardware design using aerodynamic data
• Exposure to instrumentation and testing
• Familiarity with launch vehicles
• Use of HPC clusters