Senior Aerodynamics Engineer
Icarus
<p>Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the <a href="https://henryicarus.substack.com/p/the-forgotten-frontier?utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;triedRedirect=true"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ee;">Forgotten Frontier</span></strong></a> and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere.</p> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">Mission</h2> <p>Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere.</p> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">What you’ll do</h2> <ul> <li><span data-teams="true">Own end-to-end external aerodynamics CFD: geometry preparation, meshing, solver setup, convergence, and post-processing in STAR-CCM+</span></li> <li><span data-teams="true">Build and maintain the automated simulation workflows (Java macros, Python, and STAR-CCM+)</span></li> <li><span data-teams="true">Deploy, scale, and manage CFD workflows on AWS</span></li> <li><span data-teams="true">Design aerodynamic geometry in CATIA</span></li> <li><span data-teams="true">Postprocess, visualize, and clearly communicate trade-offs and confidence levels to airframe and GNC teams</span></li> <li>Work closely with structures and GNC</li> </ul> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">What we’re looking for</h2> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering</li> <li>Excellent understanding of flight mechanics of fixed wings</li> <li>2--3+ years of hands-on experience building automated CFD workflows and scripts in STAR-CCM+ (Java macros, Simulation Operations, and/or the Python API)</li> <li>Strong fundamentals in fluid dynamics, turbulence modeling (RANS, DES/LES exposure), and boundary layer physics</li> <li>2-3+ years of experience running CFD at scale on AWS or comparable cloud/HPC environments</li> <li>Proficiency in CATIA for surface creation, cleanup, and modification of complex aerodynamic geometry</li> <li>Excellent written and verbal communication; able to distill complex results into clear engineering recommendations</li> </ul> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">Why Icarus</h2> <ol> <li>Meaningful equity</li> <li>Top market salary and bonuses</li> <li>Health, dental, and vision insurance</li> <li>Factory in El Segundo</li> <li>Real ownership, real hardware, real flight</li> <li>Small team, massive responsibility</li> <li>High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture</li> <li>Dream desk setup</li> <li>Daily lunch</li> <li>Unlimited celsius</li> </ol> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">This is not a normal engineering job</h2> <ol> <li>We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead</li> <li>You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster</li> <li>We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight</li> <li>We are hiring across the stack: