Description
Design, analyze, and test aerodynamic performance of aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. Use CFD, wind tunnels, and flight data to optimize lift, drag, stability, control, and aeroheating. Conduct research on flow physics and recommend improvements to aerodynamic tools, models, and test methods.
- • Direct or coordinate aerodynamic design, analysis, and test activities for airframes and aerospace components.
- • Plan and conduct wind-tunnel, CFD, and flight tests to characterize performance, loads, stability, and control.
- • Develop mathematical models and CFD simulations to predict forces, moments, flow fields, and heating per requirements.
- • Write technical reports, test plans, and documentation for engineering staff, management, and customers.
- • Analyze proposals and engineering data to assess aerodynamic feasibility, risks, cost, and schedule impacts.
- • Evaluate and select vendors for wind-tunnel services, CFD software, test models, and instrumentation.
- • Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of aerodynamic issues from flight test or field operations.
- • Maintain databases of aerodynamic polars, load curves, test results, and configuration history.
- • Design or modify airframe shapes, control surfaces, and flow-control devices to reduce drag and improve efficiency.
- • Optimize propulsion–airframe integration, including inlets, nozzles, and exhaust–plume interactions.
- • Define aerodynamic requirements and design criteria, including test methods, uncertainty, and quality standards.
- • Evaluate test data and inspection reports for conformance with predictions, requirements, and certification standards.
- • Provide aerodynamic derivatives and unsteady loads for aeroelastic, flutter, and structural analyses.
- • Diagnose performance anomalies by reviewing telemetry, pressure data, and flow-visualization or inspecting affected parts.
- • Lead or contribute to research in areas such as laminar flow control, high-lift systems, aeroacoustics, or hypersonics.
- • Develop reduced-order models and inputs for flight dynamics, control laws, and handling-qualities assessments.
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Advanced Manufacturing
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
