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Rocket Lab is seeking a Team Lead to head the Thermofluids Analysis team, taking ownership of all thermodynamics and fluid mechanics across launch systems for the Neutron large rocket program.
In this role, you will lead a multidisciplinary team spanning Aeroscience, Thermal, and Propellant analysis. You'll represent these domains to product-focused teams, inform and direct concept-level trades around architecture, operation, and capability, evaluate systems for performance and environmental characteristics, and use those insights to shape requirements and drive risk posture across the program.
Key responsibilities include:
**Leadership & Team Development:**
- Manage, mentor, and develop direct reports, providing coaching, timely feedback, and professional development opportunities
- Identify skills gaps and drive cross-functional training
- Ensure successful delivery of key strategic engineering projects, negotiating resources and priorities across the organization
- Provide regular project status updates, conduct peer reviews, and produce qualification test levels through consistent application of approved margining approaches
**Aeroscience:**
- Generate aerotables and characterize vehicle performance, covering stability, control authority, loads, pressure distributions, and aerodynamic design of control surfaces
- Perform, validate, and document CFD analyses of external flow across hypersonic, transonic, and subsonic regimes
- Characterize aerodynamic and heating environments, transients, and separation events
- Model plumes and plume interactions (base heating, PIFS, impingement)
- Define re-entry architecture, including ballistic coefficients, ConOps, and compartment venting
**Thermal:**
- Own system thermal design across ground, flight, and in-space operations, including TPS response, compartment thermals, insulation, and component thermal modeling
- Perform heat transfer simulations (conduction, convection, radiation)
- Characterize thermal environments and develop design guidelines and mitigations
**Propellant Analysis:**
- Manage propellant tank pressurization, feed system design, and propellant settling
- Perform fluid network modeling and pressure drop analysis
- Characterize propellant slosh and thermal stratification
You'll also set the appropriate level of fidelity needed for informed engineering decisions, develop and maintain tools and capabilities that underpin the team's analyses, and engage stakeholders across the organization to unlock progress.
This role is based in Auckland, New Zealand.
**Requirements:**
The posting does not explicitly state years of experience, specific educational credentials, or technical certifications required. However, the role clearly demands expertise in thermofluids engineering (aeroscience, thermal analysis, and propellant systems), CFD analysis, heat transfer simulation, and aerospace systems design. Leadership experience managing technical teams is essential. Candidates must be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Eligibility typically requires citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a NATO member country, or eligibility to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or Commerce.
