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The Exploration Company is developing Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle designed for cargo transport and eventual human spaceflight. As a Propulsion CFD Engineer, you will lead computational fluid dynamics analysis of propulsion system components and thruster plumes, providing critical flow physics insights that drive component design, thruster performance, and vehicle-level integration decisions.
You will perform CFD simulations of propulsion components including valves, regulators, orifices, injectors, and feed lines to characterize internal flow, pressure drop, and flow-induced loads. You'll support design trade studies by predicting component-level performance across operating envelopes in both steady-state and transient conditions, identifying and resolving flow anomalies such as cavitation, choking, and flow separation.
A significant portion of your work involves thruster plume characterization, modeling from near-field continuum expansion through far-field rarefied flow with relevant gas dynamics effects. You'll assess plume-induced thermal, contamination, and force/torque effects on adjacent subsystems and vehicle surfaces, and support thruster and nozzle design by predicting performance parameters such as thrust coefficient and specific impulse.
You will collaborate closely with propulsion design engineers, structural analysts, and thermal specialists to translate CFD results into actionable design inputs and communicate findings clearly to multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders. Model validation is critical—you'll correlate CFD predictions against cold-flow testing, hot-fire testing, and plume diagnostics data. You'll also maintain and improve CFD simulation workflows, meshing practices, and tools to enhance turnaround time and consistency across the design office, producing clear technical documentation for design reviews and certification.
The role is based in Bordeaux with occasional travel to Munich. You'll work in an agile, collaborative environment focused on democratizing space access through innovative propulsion technology.
