Mechanical Engineer - Aerodynamicist

Company Overview

Located in Northern California, the Joby Aviation team is steadily working toward our goal of creating an affordable, all-electric air transportation system. Imagine an air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly and quickly carries you over the traffic congestion below, giving you back the time that otherwise would have spent sitting in traffic. Since 2009, our team has been making this dream a reality, designing and flight testing a prototype aircraft capable of serving in a network of electric air taxis. Now we are expanding our vision to zero-emissions aircraft that can travel even further and faster than our current aircraft.

Overview

Joby Aviation is seeking an experienced mechanical/aerospace engineer with strong technical fundamentals, practical ability and problem-solving skills in turbomachinery aerodynamic & mechanical design & analysis to join our Powertrain team. As a key member of a high-performance team you will collaborate with your teammates by performing a wide variety of turbomachinery (compressor and turbine) aerodynamic and mechanical analyses and design to help them develop turbocompressors supplying pressurized air to hydrogen fuel cell systems that provide electrical power to aircraft propulsion systems. As part of a cross-functional team you will be responsible for ensuring the highest aerodynamic performance of our components with an emphasis on rapidly iterating through design/build/test cycles to achieve our ambitious performance and timing goals.

Responsibilities

• Perform all the aerodynamic and mechanical analyses involved in developing turbocompressors for hydrogen fuel cell systems in support of team as we iterate through our designs
  • Aerodynamic for performance, mechanical for durability and reliability
  • Compressors and Turbines, Centrifugal/Radial & Axial, single-stage and multi-stage
    • Occasionally could include liquid pumps, fans/blowers and/or fluids different than air
  • 1D & 2D Mean-line Codes and hand-calcs, 3D CFD & FEA
    • Using commercial software CAE tools as well as building your own tools as needed
• Perform preliminary 3D CAD design work as needed to support your analyses
• Collaborate with teammates who are all-around mechanical engineers to ensure that their sub-systems and components are aerodynamically optimized by providing them with the best aero-mech analysis & design support possible
• Support your teammates in testing prototypes, including designing and building required testing fixtures & setups as well as instrumentation, data acquisition and reporting
• Actively support testing of higher-level systems, up to and including aircraft flight testing

Required

• B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or equivalent) and 5+ years of experience, OR Advanced degree and 3+ years of experience in any form of turbomachinery aero-mech analysis and design
• Excellent problem solving & communication skills
• Practical hands-on experience building & aerodynamically testing new product designs
• Participation in a full product/system development cycle
• High skill level in relevant CAE (FEA, CFD, engineering programming, Matlab/Simulink)
• Basic 3D CAD skills

This position must meet US export control compliance requirements, therefore a candidate must qualify as a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15. “US Person” includes US Citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees, or asylees.

Desired

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or equivalent)
• Experience working with different fluids in addition to air (e.g. refrigerants, liquid coolants, cryogenics), including “2 Phase” flows
• Experience working on small fast-paced independent teams

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $104,800 - $181,000/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.