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Rocket Lab is seeking an Aerodynamics Analyst to join the Thermofluids Analysis team supporting the Neutron large rocket program. The Neutron team is responsible for designing, testing, and launching Rocket Lab's new large rocket, including structures, components, engines, and launch/test sites across the United States.
In this role, you will predict aerodynamics and aerothermal environments for both Electron and Neutron rockets throughout all mission phases. You'll work on critical technical challenges including vehicle performance characterization, control authority analysis, and aerodynamic design of control surfaces.
Key responsibilities include:
- Generate aerotables and characterize vehicle performance covering stability, control authority, loads, pressure distributions, and aerodynamic design of vehicle control surfaces
- Perform, validate, and document CFD analyses across hypersonic, transonic, and subsonic regimes
- Characterize aerodynamic and heating environments, transients, and separation events
- Model plumes and plume interactions (base heating, PIFS, impingement) and define re-entry architecture including ballistic coefficients, ConOps, and compartment venting
- Work closely with design and test engineers to iterate design concepts, determine test requirements, and demonstrate positive margins through numerical analysis and physical testing
- Collaborate with the GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) team to enable safe landing and recovery of Neutron's first stage
- Process and interpret ground test and flight data, confirming MPE bounds, detecting out-of-family results, and resolving sensor configuration issues
Rocket Lab operates in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment focused on building real hardware for meaningful space missions. The company values hard work, innovation, teamwork, and the ability to deliver under tight deadlines.
QUALIFICATIONS (Required):
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or similar field
- 1+ years of industry experience, ideally from Aerospace, Automotive, or Marine industries
- Strong physics and first-principles-based approach to problem solving
- Expertise with one or more industry-standard CFD packages: Fluent, CFX, or STAR-CCM+
- Experience in engineering programming, especially Python (including numpy, pandas, scipy, matplotlib, and related packages)
- Demonstrated ability to execute to changing deadlines in a high-pressure, fast-paced work environment
QUALIFICATIONS (Nice to Have):
- Experience using NX CAD and Teamcenter packages (or comparable industry-standard packages) with emphasis on model interrogation and defeaturing for analysis
- Experience with sensor selection and data post-processing/interpretation (accelerometers, strain gauges, thermocouples, etc.)
- Experience with one or more industry-standard thermal modeling packages: Thermal Desktop, THERMICA, or NX SST
- Experience mentoring junior engineers
IMPORTANT: For New Zealand-based positions, background checks including nationality verification will be conducted. Due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) compliance, you must be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the U.S. government. You may be ineligible if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a NATO member country, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship.
