Aerodynamics Design Engineer

About the role

Harmattan AI is seeking a highly skilled Aerodynamics Design Engineer to lead the aerodynamic design of next‑generation unmanned aerial vehicles. You will translate mission profiles into optimized airframe configurations and serve as the technical anchor for flight physics across multiple UAV platforms.

Key responsibilities

• Lead aerodynamic layout for fixed‑wing, multicopter, and eVTOL configurations.
• Convert mission requirements (range, speed, payload) into detailed technical specifications.
• Develop and apply multi‑fidelity analysis methods, from rapid analytical tools to high‑fidelity CFD and potential/panel methods.
• Execute the full CFD workflow: geometry cleanup, meshing, solver execution, and post‑processing.
• Perform gradient‑based or adjoint optimization to minimize drag and maximize lift‑to‑drag ratios.
• Create high‑fidelity aero‑databases and stability derivatives to support GNC control law development and autopilot tuning.

Required profile

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong foundation in aircraft architecture, systems integration, subsonic aerodynamics, flight mechanics, and low‑Reynolds number flows.
• Proven aerospace intuition to anticipate flow separation or stability issues.
• Experience collaborating with structural, propulsion, or GNC engineers.

Required skills

• CFD solvers: OpenFOAM, ANSYS Fluent, ANSYS CFX, Star‑CCM+.
• Low‑fidelity tools: OpenVSP, XFoil, AVL, XFLR5, FlightStream.
• Meshing software: Pointwise, HyperMesh, ICEM CFD.
• CAD packages: SolidWorks, CATIA.
• Python ecosystem: NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, AeroSandbox, SMT, OpenMDAO, Matplotlib, Plotly, PyVista.