--- title: 'Senior Aerothermal Analysis Engineer at Outpost' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-aerothermal-analysis-engineer-outpost-los-angeles-6p39tyyvy96b' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-17' --- # Senior Aerothermal Analysis Engineer at Outpost - **Company:** Outpost - **Location:** Los Angeles, CA - **Posted:** 2026-10-03 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/outpostspace/jobs/4718859006 ## Job description Senior Aerothermal Analysis Engineer Location: Playa Vista, California (in-person, five days per week) The return lane isn’t going to build itself. Come build it with us. Outpost is an orbital logistics company rewriting the rules of global logistics by building reusable Earth-return vehicles that unlock in-space manufacturing, on-orbit warehousing, and 60-minute global delivery through space. Our CarryAll vehicle family returns payloads ranging from 200 kilograms to 10 metric tons, lands within 10 meters of its target, and can then be refurbished and launched again. One vehicle, many missions: responsive logistics and precision delivery for national security; commercial cargo moved with real cadence; R&D payloads flown, tested, and refined across repeatable cycles; and critical aid delivered where roads and runways can’t reach. The demand is already here, validated through defense and civil agreements and supported by a growing pipeline of government and commercial customers. We have the customers, the team, and a clear technical path ahead of us. We’re building the return lane. Come build it with us. ## The Role The Senior Aerothermal Analysis Engineer will own the aerothermal environments for CarryAll, combining high-fidelity CFD, engineering-level methods, and test data into the database that drives thermal protection system (TPS) sizing, structural design, and trajectory. On every return, CarryAll's deployable heatshield and structure pass through very different flow regimes as the vehicle slows from Mach 25, from rarefied upper-atmosphere flow through peak heating and down to subsonic descent. Because CarryAll is built to fly again, the environments don't just size a heatshield for one flight; they define how the thermal protection system holds up across many. ## Responsibilities - Own aerothermal environment definition for CarryAll across its full flight envelope, from early trade studies through flight, and keep it current as the design evolves. - Set up and run high-enthalpy CFD at the key trajectory points that anchor the environments, capturing thermochemical non-equilibrium effects where they matter. - Bridge the gaps between CFD points with fast engineering heating methods, so every trajectory and attitude of interest has a credible answer without a full solve. - Combine CFD, engineering estimates, and ground and flight test results into a single environment product with clearly stated uncertainties and margins. - Work alongside Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) engineers and hardware owners such as TPS, structures, and mechanism engineers to define environments that set TPS thickness, structural temperatures, and trajectory limits for flight hardware. - Add solver capability when standard tools can't capture the physics, such as custom US3D subroutines for finite-rate chemistry, ablation products, and CarryAll-specific boundary conditions. - Prove out new and existing methods against analytical cases, arc-jet and wind tunnel tests, and flight data. - Automate environment generation and delivery so updates keep pace with design iterations. - Managing and maintaining compute resources. ## Qualifications - Bachelor's degree or higher in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering. - 5+ years of experience in hypersonic, supersonic, reentry, or rocketry aerothermodynamic analysis. - Experience running high-enthalpy flow solvers (FUN3D, US3D, DPLR or similar). - Experience with parallel scientific computing (e.g., MPI), high-performance computing environments, and large-scale CFD campaign automation. - Experience with handbook and engineering-level heating estimation methods (e.g., Fay-Riddell, Tauber, MINIVER-class tools, or similar correlations). - Strong fundamentals in hypersonic aerodynamics, boundary layer physics, and convective and radiative heat transfer. - Experience modeling high-temperature gas dynamics and chemistry, including thermochemical non-equilibrium. - Proficiency in programming languages like Python, Fortran, C++, or MATLAB for analysis tooling and automation. - Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with rapid iteration. ## Preferred Experience - Active U.S. Government Security Clearance (Not required, but beneficial). - Master's or PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, or an equivalent field. - Direct experience with FUN3D, including extension through user-defined subroutines. - Experience developing aerodynamic databases. - Experience with uncertainty quantification and the definition of design margins for aerothermal environments. - Experience integrating ground and flight test data into aerothermal vehicle models. - Experience with boundary layer transition prediction and its treatment in heating environments. - Experience with deployable or flexible decelerators and thermal protection systems (e.g., HIAD, ADEPT) or reusable TPS. - Familiarity with Fidelity Pointwise or equivalent meshing software for generating high-quality meshes. - Experience modeling radiative heating using radiation transport tools. - Familiarity with TPS sizing and material response tools (e.g., FIAT, CHAR) as downstream consumers of environments. - Experience contributing to an aerothermal database effort from a vehicle's early design stages through first flight. - Involvement in planning, leading, and/or post-processing wind tunnel or arc-jet test campaigns. - Prior experience working in startups and/or small independent teams. Compensation: - Competitive compensation: $170,000 - $225,000 annual salary; (commensurate with experience). - Additional Compensation: Annual performance-based bonuses that reward your impact. - Shared upside: Meaningful equity in Outpost so you share directly in the value you help create. - Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage to keep you and your loved ones covered. We cover the base tier of medical insurance and all premiums of vision and dental. - Protection when it matters: Company-provided short- and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind, plus life insurance for even more security. - PTO: Recharge on your own terms with paid time off, plus 9 days of paid holidays. - Invest in your future:401(k) with company match to help you build long-term wealth. - Fueled for the mission: Daily DoorDash lunch stipend, plus unlimited snacks, coffee, and tea to keep you energized. - Mission that matters: Work shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders from aerospace, new space, and deep-tech industries building the future of orbital infrastructure. - Pet Friendly Office: Bring your furry friend into the office so that they can be a part of our mission too. - Monthly Company Happy Hours and Events: Drinks at the local bar, hibachi nights, mini golfing and more! You must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15, or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. ## About Outpost ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Outpost is building fully-reusable Earth-return vehicles to enable rapid global logistics and in-space manufacturing, delivering cargo from orbit to any point on Earth within 60 minutes. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage) - **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States - **Founded**: 2021 - **Founders**: Jason Dunn ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing - **Target customers**: U.S. Government (Army, Air Force, NASA), defense and humanitarian organizations, commercial space manufacturing firms - **Mission**: To create tomorrow’s infrastructure by delivering cargo anywhere on Earth in under 60 minutes and manufacturing next-gen materials in orbit — faster, cleaner, and with greater precision. ## Products & Services - **Carryall (Re-Entry Vehicle)**: A reusable, scalable Earth-return platform that launches on commercial rockets, glides back from orbit, and delivers multi-ton cargo within 25 meters of its target. Capable of returning payloads from orbit to Earth in under 60 minutes. - **Ferryall (Orbital Testbed)**: A vehicle for routine access to orbit for payloads, experiments, and research, delivering them back to Earth within hours. Serves as a hypersonics test bed and TRL-raising mission platform. - **Precision Airdrop System**: A delivery system deployable from aircraft (from a few hundred feet AGL up to 65,000' MSL) that lands cargo with 25-meter precision, designed for conflict zones, disaster areas, and remote operations. - **In-Space Manufacturing**: Orbital manufacturing capabilities, starting with ultra-low-loss fiber optics that offer 10-20x the performance of terrestrially manufactured fiber, enabling faster AI inference, lower data center energy use, and faster global communications. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: $7.1M total funding (Seed round, August 2022, with 7 investors) - **Annual Revenue**: Approximately $1.0M - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Backed by contracts and awards from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, NASA, and other mission-critical customers. Supported by expert investors with deep space and defense experience. - **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 30 employees with +5.7% monthly growth; 11 active job postings; leadership team with proven track record of generating over $2.5 billion in contracts and awards and recruiting over $500 million in capital at previous ventures. ## Competitive Advantages - **Proven Leadership**: Founder Jason Dunn was co-founder and CTO of Made In Space (acquired, later IPO as Redwire NYSE: RDW), where he led the development of the first 3D printers and in-space fiber optics manufacturing technologies in orbit. President Amir Blachman was the first employee and Chief Business Officer at Axiom Space, where he helped raise over $500M and secure $2.3B in contracts. - **Deep Engineering Talent**: VP of Engineering Julie Newman is a former Boeing Chief Engineer and NASA JPL lead engineer on the Europa Clipper mission, with prior avionics experience at SpaceX on Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon. - **First-Mover in Earth Return**: Pioneering the return-to-Earth architecture for logistics, filling a critical gap in the space economy for reusable, precise cargo return. - **Multi-Mission Platform**: The same vehicle enables both cargo delivery and in-space manufacturing return, creating a dual revenue stream. ## Strategic Focus - Scaling the company’s commercial and government business, with an emphasis on defense logistics, disaster relief, and rapid mobility. - Developing a novel reentry vehicle system defining the future of high-speed logistics and in-space manufacturing. - Expanding orbital manufacturing capabilities, starting with advanced fiber optics for telecom and AI infrastructure. - Building long-term operating model for space logistics and in-space manufacturing. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-Driven Work**: A chance to build the infrastructure that lets humanity move anything, anywhere, at the speed of space — working on technology that has direct impact on defense, humanitarian aid, and next-generation manufacturing. - **High-Caliber Team**: Work alongside former SpaceX, Boeing, NASA JPL, and Axiom Space engineers in a fast-paced startup environment. - **Culture of Urgency**: Described as a "mission-focused team, building with urgency, grit, and care for the work we do and the people we do it with." - **Location**: Based in Los Angeles, California, with all current open positions listed as on-site in Los Angeles. - **Growth Stage**: At 30 employees with rapid hiring, early employees have significant impact and ownership. - **Open Roles**: Currently hiring for 16 positions including Mechanical Engineer, Director of Structures and Mechanisms, Senior Paraglider & Parachute Engineer, VP of Engineering - Vehicle, Senior Software Architect, Senior Avionics Engineer, and Mission Manager. ## Sources 1. [outpost.space](https://www.outpost.space/) 2. [outpost.space/company](https://www.outpost.space/company) 3. [outpost.space/careers](https://www.outpost.space/careers) 4. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/outpostspace) 5. 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