Job description
Hello! We’re ELECTRON. And we’re about to disrupt the aviation industry from below by using today’s technology to meet tomorrow’s travel demands.
ELECTRON is shaping a new future of regional travel – and it’s a future with no queues, no hassle and no emissions.
- Imagine a world where ‘flying private’ is like taking an Uber
- Imagine a world where departing from your local airfield is the norm (did you know there’s over 2700 in Europe?)
- Imagine a world where short-haul flying is the greenest mode of transport
You’re imagining what ELECTRON will provide! Now come join us!
We’re an ambitious start-up on a mission: "to make zero emission, on demand, everyday air travel a reality". We have a great business plan, our aircraft use existing technology (we innovate where needed, not just for bragging rights) and our focus is on revenue and profitability as well as creating a sustainable future.
We can offer you: flexible working patterns and a healthy work-life balance; a great culture; colleagues who are leaders in their field; and the opportunity not just to join an organisation, but join a movement of people that believe in a better future and collectively are making it happen. Not everyone can say that about where they work.
Tasks
Right now, we need a Lead Engineer Aerodynamics to play a key role in developing the Electron 5 aircraft (E5). This is a single-piloted, battery electric aircraft, which in its first iteration will be able to carry 4 passengers / a 500 kg payload over a 500+ km distance.
Joining us now to build and lead your own team, our Lead Engineer Aerodynamics will also be key in establishing ELECTRON’s ways of working. The opportunity is here to write, review and implement company level policies, procedures, guidelines and templates. We are looking for someone who wants to build not only an aircraft, but also a company.
About the Role:
- Lead all aerodynamic activities needed for the development of a new general aviation aircraft, from conceptual design, design optimization to certification.
- Develop air vehicle requirements from an aerodynamics, aircraft performance, and stability and control perspective
- Assist with conceptual and preliminary design tasks including basic aircraft sizing
- Perform the whole suite of Computational Fluid Dynamics activities from CAD preparation, mesh generation, CFD calculations, post-processing, analysis and presenting
- Perform the aircraft performance analyses (flight characteristics, flight envelope, stability and control, etc.)
- Set-up design optimization framework linking parametric CAD models to CFD codes
- Manage wind-tunnel activities including test matrix planning, data acquisition, data reduction, analysis and CFD validation
- Develop aerodynamic databases for use in air vehicle performance and 6-DOF simulations
- Plan and support flight tests to verify and validate air vehicle flight performance
- Responsible for overall aircraft lofting and aircraft definition drawings, working closely together with other Lead Engineers including Lead Engineer Structures and Lead Engineer Systems
- Reporting directly to our Head of Engineering and Product Development
- Providing reassurance through rigorous project management
- Recommend innovations to improve quality and effectiveness of the aircraft
- Recruit and lead the aerodynamics engineering team
- Actively collaborate in design reviews and thorough understanding of aircraft development and certification process
- Able to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team in a small organisation.
Requirements
Enough about us, what about you? We imagine a profile along the following:
- Masters or PhD in aerospace or mechanical engineering with aerodynamics specialty
- 10+ years of relevant work experience in aerodynamic applications
- Thorough understanding of fixed wing aerodynamics, propulsion and performance
- Competent in a variety of aerodynamic analysis techniques including hand calculations, airfoil analysis methods, vortex lattice methods, panel methods, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
- Experience with interpretation and allocation of airworthiness and performance requirements and compliance demonstration.
- Experience with airframe aerodynamic design and optimization methods
- Solid understanding of aeroplane flight characteristics and performance methods
- Experience synthesising stability and control requirements into control effector sizing
- Experience creating aerodynamic databases for use in 6-DOF simulation environments and aircraft performance predictions
- Experience in supporting wind tunnel testing, flight testing including data reduction/analysis
- Proficient in one or more programming languages to generate tools and scripts for large dataset manipulation
- Must have the ability to organise, schedule, and coordinate work phases; and, determine the appropriate approach at the task level or, with assistance, at the project level to provide solutions to a range of complex problems
- Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills
- Good team player who is curious, proactive, results-orientated and shares our passion for "making zero-emission, on-demand, regional air mobility a reality"
- Thrive in an environment with minimal direction and supervision, proactively solve problems, and collaborate effectively on small multi-disciplinary teams
- Fluent in English (both verbal and written), Dutch not essential
We’re not necessarily looking for you to tick all the boxes listed above. Obviously we’ll need you to be capable of doing the job, but after that what matters most is that we share the same values, passion and work ethic.
Don’t let imposter syndrome get in the way – apply! We’d love to hear from you. What’s the worst that can happen?!
Benefits
At ELECTRON, we know what we need to do to succeed. And that includes creating a small, highly capable team.
- we work with AUTONOMY – ‘the right or condition of self-governance’
- we recruit MASTERY – ‘comprehensive knowledge or skill in a particular activity’
- we provide PURPOSE – ‘the reason for which something is done’
To secure the best talent our remuneration packages include the following:
- Base salary
- Performance bonus
- Stock options
- Healthcare contribution
- Defined contribution pension scheme
- 30 days holiday plus official Dutch national holidays
In addition, we offer:
- Flexible working hours
- Remote working
- Other employee benefits
For qualified employees relocating to the Netherlands, there may also be the option of taking advantage of the "Dutch 30% tax ruling", meaning the first 30% of the base salary could be tax-free.
Are you ready to contribute to a greener future? Hit apply. Want us to know why you're interested? A short cover letter always helps!
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for the EU. You will need to be eligible to live and work in the Netherlands in order to be offered this position.
ELECTRON celebrates diversity and inclusion. We’re committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where all employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need.