Skydio · 1 day ago
Senior Product Design Engineer - Aero Specialist
San Mateo, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$140K/yr - $225K/yr
5+ years expSkydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight. The role involves designing and refining aerodynamic systems for aircraft to ensure high performance and reliability in autonomous flight.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Drone ManagementDronesMachine LearningRobotics
Responsibilities
Play a key role in the design of Skydio aircraft by performing aerodynamic analysis and simulation and designing/executing experiments, and doing concept and detailed design of systems and components with key aerodynamic considerations
Build and analyze aerodynamic models to determine flight envelopes and predict vehicle dynamics
Design/run experiments, review flight test logs, and examine data to validate simulations and refine the aerodynamic models and performance of our aircrafts
Collaborate closely with cross functional teams (structures, controls, hardware engineering) to guide design and integration decisions
Partner with the Flight Test Team in the development of test plans and post-flight data analysis
Collaborate with thermal engineers to design and refine integrated thermal solutions for vehicle systems
Execute low/mid/high-fidelity CFD analyses to assess aerodynamic and mechanical design characteristics and predict aircraft performance and stability
Have ownership over the aerodynamic design of our aircrafts and key accessories from the ground-up
Collaborate closely with mechanical and propulsion engineers to shape and integrate optimizations into new and existing architecture
Qualification
Required
5+ years of prior product development experience with a proven track record of execution, enthusiasm, and collaboration
Experience using reduced order aircraft performance and control modeling such as vortex lattice or lifting line methods (e.g. AVL, VSPAERO) to quickly iterate on conceptual designs
Experience performing end-to-end CFD analyses using Navier–Stokes–based solvers (e.g., ANSYS Fluent, STAR-CCM+, OpenFOAM, Cart3D, Chimera, FUN3D, or OVERFLOW), including mesh generation, solver setup, and post-processing with visualization tools
Skilled in data visualization and analysis of CFD, wind tunnel, and/or flight test data using Python, Tecplot, ParaView, or similar tools to effectively communicate aerodynamic performance and key design insights
Proficiency with aerodynamic modeling tools, such as panel methods, vortex lattice, lifting line, or particle-based approaches, for aerodynamic analysis and conceptual design
Hands-on experience with wind tunnel testing, including model design, test planning and execution, instrumentation setup, data acquisition, reduction, and analysis of discrepancies
Bachelor's degree or higher in aerospace or mechanical engineering or equivalent with demonstrated academic excellence
Ability to apply analytical problem solving skills and engineering fundamentals to create high-quality designs for a sophisticated vehicle system
A strategic mind across the full design, source, build, validate, and ship process. Proven ability to make considered decisions at various stages
Benefits
Equity in the form of stock options
Comprehensive benefits packages
Paid vacation time
Sick leave
Holiday pay
401K savings plan
Company
Skydio
Skydio uses artificial intelligence to create flying drones that are used by consumer, enterprise, and government customers.
501-1000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Skydio 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 (34)
2024 (21)
2023 (22)
2022 (12)
2021 (16)
2020 (3)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$740MKey Investors
Linse CapitalAndreessen HorowitzN47
2024-11-15Series E· $170M
2023-02-27Series E· $230M
2021-02-28Series D· $170M
Leadership Team
Adam Bry
Co-founder & CEO
Tom Moss
COO (2018-2020), CEO APAC (2020-2024), Chief Corp Dev (2024~)
Recent News
Accel.
2026-01-06
2025-12-17
Business Wire
2025-12-16
Company data provided by crunchbase