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Supernal · 2 days ago

Lead Aircraft Conceptual Design Engineer (Performance and Sizing)

Irvine, CA

Full-time

Onsite

Lead/Staff

$180K/yr - $220K/yr

10+ years exp

Supernal is an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle and its supporting ecosystem. The Lead Aircraft Conceptual Design Engineer will lead vehicle performance and sizing tasks, collaborating with various engineering teams to ensure the design meets operational and safety requirements.

Aviation & Aerospace

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain aircraft sizing models that integrate aerodynamics, propulsion, weight estimation, mission profiles, and energy systems

Conduct vehicle-level performance analyses, including hover, climb, cruise, descent, and transition phases

Define and optimize mission profiles (range, payload, endurance, speed, reserve energy, etc.) based on operational and certification requirements

Perform trade studies on design parameters such as rotor configuration, battery capacity, wing loading, and powertrain sizing to guide conceptual design

Collaborate with aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, and controls teams to ensure consistency between subsystem performance and overall vehicle goals

Support simulation and modeling activities for energy management, control law tuning, and flight performance validation

Prepare technical documentation, presentations, and reports for internal design reviews and external stakeholders (e.g., regulators or partners)

Contribute to system-level requirements definition and support design optimization for performance, efficiency, and safety

Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers

Other duties as assigned

Qualification

Aerodynamics analysisPerformance analysisMDAO toolsProject planningTechnical documentationMS Office SuiteCommunication skillsOrganizational skillsSelf-motivated

Required

Bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering field required

Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience (an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered)

Experience performing aerodynamics and performance analysis to evaluate new concepts and refine existing concepts

Experience with innovative, physics-based aerodynamics analysis and design methods

Experience with MDAO tools and methods

Demonstrable project planning and leadership skills

An understanding of aerodynamics engineering fundamentals, especially with regard to an aircraft

Capability to assess the aerodynamics and performance of vertical lift aircraft through analysis, test, and a combination of the two

Experience with rotorcraft or fixed-wing performance analysis techniques that builds on applicable educational experience

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Proactive delivery of communication and follow up

Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

Ability to independently prioritize and accomplish work within time constraints

Self-motivated and forward-thinking

Proficiency with MS Office Suite

Preferred

Experience performing analysis on VTOL aircraft preferred

Company

Supernal

Supernal is a U.S. -based smart mobility service provider redefining how people move, connect and live.

Founded in 2021

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

201-500 employees

https://jobs.supernal.aero/

H1B Sponsorship

Supernal has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (10)

2024 (2)

2023 (18)

2022 (3)