Aerothermal Engineer
US$161,000 – US$221,000 / yr base salary
Posted 5 May 2026
Advertised as “Staff Aerothermal CFD Engineer”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 9+ yrs
- Management level
- People management
- Employment
- On-Site
| Base salary | US$161,000 – US$221,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Study levelBachelor's
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (or related)
Study levelMaster's or higher
Advanced Reentry Technologies
**Who We Are:
**
Inversion is an aerospace and defense company pioneering advanced reentry technology to enable next-generation capabilities from space. By combining high-performance materials, precision aerodynamics, and mission-driven autonomy, Inversion is transforming reentry into an operational capability for an entirely new class of missions.
The company’s highly maneuverable reentry spacecraft, Arc, is designed for rapid global cargo delivery, hypersonic testing, and other national security missions that require precise, controlled flight through the atmosphere. Arc creates an entirely new transportation domain, unlocking unprecedented speed and global reach.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion designs, manufactures, and integrates its spacecraft under one roof, enabling the company to move rapidly from concept to flight. The company is backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, with customers across the U.S. government and commercial space industry.
Position Overview:
The Staff Aerothermal Engineer will be responsible for characterizing the aerothermodynamic environment on and around the vehicle with an emphasis on the rarefied flow regime. This role will be a key contributor to Inversion's advanced modeling efforts, and responsible for developing, improving, and implementing cutting-edge CFD tools and workflows.
On a day-to-day basis, the staff 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.
Successful candidates will have a background in DSMC simulation or familiarity with multi-physics plasma environments, a passion for pushing those tools to their limits and the drive to extend them when the work demands it.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience.
- Typically, 9+ years of experience in hypersonic, supersonic, reentry, or rocketry external flow-field aerothermodynamic analysis.
- Strong experience with high fidelity simulation of gas dynamics at conditions where inter-molecular forces must be considered (SPARTA, DAC, MAP, plasma simulation tools, etc.).
- Familiarity with Fidelity Pointwise, Link3D or equivalent meshing software for generating high-quality meshes suitable for a variety of simulations.