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Senior Aerothermal CFD Engineer

Inversion

Inversion

playa vista, los angeles, ca, usa
USD 150k-170k / year
Posted on Oct 21, 2025

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Who We Are:

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominant transportation mode - horse-drawn chariots, ocean-going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world. We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth.

What You’ll Do:
Inversion’s lifting-body reentry platform will create a highly maneuverable, highly accurate, and low-cost vehicle that will be industry-first. The Senior Aerothermal Engineer will be responsible for ownership of external flow-field aerothermodynamic analysis. This role will be a key contributor to Inversion's advanced aerothermal modeling efforts, and responsible for developing, improving, and implementing cutting-edge CFD tools and workflows.
On a day-to-day basis, the senior aerothermal engineer will lead the creation of high-fidelity simulations, mentor team members, and act as the driving force behind our efforts to build confidence in our vehicle models. This is a unique opportunity to help define the CFD strategy for groundbreaking technology, creatively solve novel high-speed flow challenges, and play a pivotal role in the design of next-generation hypersonic systems.
Required Qualifications:
  • Undergraduate degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience
  • Typically, 5+ years of experience in hypersonic, supersonic, reentry, or rocketry external flow-field aerothermodynamic analysis
  • Strong experience with high fidelity, high temperature gas flow solvers (US3D, DPLR and/or LAURA)
  • Familiarity with Fidelity Pointwise, Link3D or equivalent meshing software for generating high-quality meshes suitable for a variety of simulations
  • Strong knowledge of flows in thermal-chemical non-equilibrium
  • Experience with key aspects of hypersonic system modeling such as hypersonic boundary layer, heat transfer modeling, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, chemistry modeling, turbulence, etc.
  • Experience with recession analysis / material response
  • Experience integrating ground & flight test data into aerothermal vehicle models
  • Experience with conceptual, preliminary, and final design/analysis of thermal protection systems
  • Proficiency in uncertainty quantification & relevant mathematical models
  • Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, including prototyping and rapid iteration of new products
Desired Qualifications:
  • Master's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, or an equivalent field.
  • Experience conducting a comprehensive CFD campaign, from a vehicle’s early stages to the first flight
  • Experience using programming languages like Python, Fortran, C++, MATLAB, etc.
  • Involvement in planning, leading, and/or post-processing arc-jet tunnel campaigns

This position is onsite at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA. A hybrid role may be considered for highly exceptional candidates.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $150,000-$170,000. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

ITAR Compliance:
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.
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