About this Aerodynamics Engineer – Conceptual Sizing & Performance role at Archer
Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.
Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.
THE ROLE
As Aerodynamics/Performance Engineer, you will conceptually size the primary aerodynamic surfaces and estimate the performance of a next-generation eVTOL, using low-fidelity aerodynamic tools and handbook methods to build the vehicle's drag polar, trim it across the flight envelope, and support vehicle-level configuration trades with aerodynamic and performance feedback.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Conceptually size the primary aerodynamic surfaces (wing, tail/empennage) for a tiltrotor/eVTOL configuration against mission requirements across different use cases.
- Use low-fidelity aerodynamic tools such as AVL, OpenVSP, or similar, together with handbook methods (e.g., Hoerner, Roskam), to build up the vehicle's drag polar across the flight envelope.
- Trim the vehicle across representative flight conditions — hover, transition, and cruise — and generate trim lines/schedules.
- Estimate vehicle performance (range, endurance, speed, climb) from integrated aerodynamic and propulsion data.
- Conduct mission-level performance analysis across representative use cases (e.g., payload-range trades, hover ceiling, best-range/best-endurance speeds) to inform vehicle-level sizing and configuration trades.
- Provide aerodynamic feedback into vehicle-level configuration trades (surface sizing, control effectiveness, stability margins).
- Collaborate with the vehicle and powertrain architects to close overall vehicle performance against mission requirements.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Conceptual aerodynamic design experience using low-fidelity aerodynamic tools such as AVL, OpenVSP/VSPAERO, XFOIL, or similar is required.
- Strong grounding in handbook-based aerodynamic sizing methods (e.g., Hoerner, Roskam) is required.
- Trim and flight mechanics analysis across flight regimes, including hover, transition, and cruise.
- Experience with vehicle performance estimation methodologies (range/endurance/speed).
- Tiltrotor and rotorcraft aerodynamics/performance experience is desired.
- Experience with CFD solvers such as NASA codes (e.g., OVERFLOW, FUN3D), StarCCM+, Fluent, OpenFOAM), or similar is desired.
- Experience with rotorcraft comprehensive analysis tools such as RCAS, CAMRAD II, or similar is desired.
- Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or similar for aero data reduction and analysis.
At Archer, we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent with the skills and leadership needed to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Company’s strategy. For this position, we are targeting a base pay range of $152,800 - $227,600. Actual compensation offered will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer’s People Team at [email protected]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
