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Senior Combustion Engineer

San Luis Obispo, CA💼 Full-time🗓 2026-08-07 → 2026-09-26

Core

Research, design, development, testing, and optimization of advanced combustion systems for air-breathing propulsion systems.

Role type

Senior Combustion Engineer (Propulsion)

Builds

Gas turbine engines, propulsion systems, and advanced energy applications

Domain

Defense technology, Aerospace Propulsion, Thermal-Fluid Sciences

Deliverable

production ML models | product features | dashboards & analysis | research | client delivery | infrastructure | physical/clinical work

Required skills

Combustion fundamentals, Fluid mechanics, Thermodynamics, Heat transfer, Turbulent reacting flows, Gas turbine combustion, Experimental testing, Data analysis, MATLAB/Python, CFD software (ANSYS Fluent, STAR-CCM+, OpenFOAM), Laboratory instrumentation

Preferred skills

Aerospace propulsion development, Combustion instability/flame dynamics/acoustics, Advanced data analysis (POD, SPOD, Fourier), Optical combustion diagnostics (PIV, laser), Combustion rig testing, Aerospace industry standards, DOE/Uncertainty analysis

Technologies

MATLAB, Python, ANSYS Fluent, STAR-CCM+, OpenFOAM

Responsibilities

Design and optimize combustion systems for gas turbine engines; Plan and analyze combustion experiments for efficiency and emissions; Investigate combustion dynamics and instability mechanisms; Perform thermal-fluid analyses to improve performance and cooling; Develop test plans and support rig/engine testing; Correlate experimental data with CFD simulations; Support root cause investigations and qualification activities.

Seniority

Senior, hands-on IC

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