Senior Aerospace Engineer - Aerothermal & Hypersonics

About this role

ABOUT MACH INDUSTRIES

Founded in 2022, Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. At the core of our mission is the commitment to delivering scalable, decentralized defense systems that enhance the strategic capabilities of the United States and its allies. With a workforce of approximately 350 employees, we operate with startup agility and ambition.

Our vision is to redefine the future of warfare through cutting-edge manufacturing, innovation at speed, and unwavering focus on national security. We are dedicated to solving the next generation of warfare with lethal systems that deter kinetic conflict and protect global security.

THE ROLE

Mach Industries is seeking a Senior Aerospace Engineer – Aerothermal & Hypersonics to own high-speed aerodynamic and aerothermal design for next-generation hypersonic and atmospheric entry systems. This role is for an engineer with 5–7+ years of experience who has taken complex aerospace work from concept through design, analysis, test, and implementation — and who can help stand up aerothermal and TPS test capability as the company scales.

You will lead hypersonic vehicle shaping and aero/aerothermal trades, predict aerodynamic heating and related high-temperature flight environments, and contribute to Thermal Protection System (TPS) / heat-shield evaluation in partnership with materials, structures, and Thermal Engineers. You will also support lower-speed aero work in conjunction with other aerodynamicists when programs require it.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

- High-speed aero and aerothermal design: Lead or co-own aerodynamic and aerothermal design activities for hypersonic and atmospheric entry vehicles — vehicle shaping, performance, stability, and thermal environment definition — and support lower-speed aero work in conjunction with other aerodynamicists when the program requires it.

- Aerothermal environments: Predict and analyze aerodynamic heating environments (convective and radiative where relevant), including engineering (first-order / closed-form) heating methods and higher-fidelity aerothermal analysis as needed to support vehicle, TPS, and structural design.

- TPS / heat-shield contribution: Develop and evaluate Thermal Protection System concepts, materials, architectures, and margins for hypersonic flight and atmospheric entry vehicles — including material selection support and thermal performance assessment — in close partnership with materials and structures.

- Trajectory-coupled environments: Perform or closely support entry, descent, and re-entry (and hypersonic mission) trajectory-informed aerothermal environment prediction and vehicle performance assessments.

- Multidisciplinary integration: Partner with structures, Thermal Engineers, propulsion, GNC, and systems engineering to close vehicle-level trades among aero, heating, TPS mass/thickness, and mission performance.

- Analysis, trades, and documentation: Build and maintain engineering models, run trade studies, and document assumptions, margins, and recommendations for design reviews across the product lifecycle.

- Test and validation (stand-up + execute): Help establish and then support ground aerothermal/TPS test approaches and flight-test planning, execution, data analysis, and post-flight validation — including correlation of predicted environments and TPS performance to test evidence.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

- 5–7+ years of professional aerospace engineering experience.

- Demonstrated experience contributing to or leading a project from initial concept through implementation (design, analysis, test, and fielding or equivalent closure).

- Demonstrated experience in hypersonic aerodynamic design — vehicle shaping, aerodynamic performance optimization, and computational or experimental analysis for high-speed flight or atmospheric entry vehicles.

- Strong working understanding of:

- Hypersonic flight and atmospheric entry environments

- Aerodynamics for high-speed vehicles, with ability to support lower-speed aero alongside aero teammates

- Aerothermal analysis and aerodynamic heating (including engineering heating methods and high-temperature gas dynamics)

- TPS materials, architectures, and thermal performance evaluation (working fluency; deep heat-shield ownership is a plus)

- Experience with CFD, aerothermal, and aerodynamic analysis tools; familiarity with several of: STAR-CCM+, FUN3D, LociCHEM, US3D, CFD++, DATCOM, OpenVSP, MATLAB, and Python.

- Experience working in fast-paced, multidisciplinary engineering environments.

- Strong analytical, documentation, and communication skills; ability to mentor and provide technical leadership appropriate to a senior IC.

- Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen or permanent resident / as defined for export-control compliance).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Hands-on experience designing and/or selecting Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) / heat shields for high-speed flight or atmospheric entry applications.

- Depth in heat-shield design: material selection, stack-up/architecture trades, recession/insulation performance, and margin definition against mission heating.

- Experience with both hypersonic atmospheric flight and atmospheric entry / re-entry aerothermal problems.

- Experience standing up or maturing ground test capability for aerothermal or TPS validation (e.g. arcjet, plasma, or equivalent high-enthalpy / material test pathways) and/or flight-test aerothermal instrumentation and post-flight reconstruction.

- Experience delivering aerothermal environments and TPS recommendations into structures and systems design reviews under schedule pressure.

- Familiarity with defense or dual-use high-speed vehicle development and production-minded design constraints.

- Advanced degree with

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