Flight Sciences Engineer

As a Flight Sciences Engineer at Elroy Air, you will own performance analysis, flight dynamics, and configuration trades across our hybrid-electric lift+cruise VTOL program. You will be the analytical backbone of the vehicle team - reasoning across hover, transition, and cruise regimes, and working directly with propulsion, structures, and controls engineers to drive decisions from early concept through certification.

What you’ll own:

• Own vehicle performance modeling across hover, transition, and cruise: mission analysis, hybrid-electric energy management, climb optimization, and range/endurance trades
• Build and maintain 6-DOF flight dynamics models for a lift+cruise configuration: aero database construction through the transition corridor, rotor-wing interaction modeling, stability derivatives, and trim analysis in hover, transition, and cruise
• Contribute to vehicle design trades: feed flight sciences insight into OML shaping, drag reduction, control surface sizing, and flight controls architecture to close performance and handling qualities requirements
• Derive external flight loads across the operational envelope and collaborate with the structures team to define limit and ultimate load cases, support fatigue analysis, and feed aeroelastic models
• Support flight test planning, instrumentation requirements, and post-flight data reduction and analysis; correlate measured performance against analytical predictions
• Build and improve simulation environments used for envelope expansion, handling qualities assessment, and controls development
• Partner with propulsion and power teams to integrate hybrid-electric powertrain models into mission analysis; define power-required envelopes and binding constraints across the flight profile
• Contribute to certification planning by authoring compliance analyses, performance substantiation reports, and supporting V&V documentation

Our Ideal Candidate

• B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace Engineering or a closely related field
• 5+ years of meaningful hands-on experience in flight sciences, vehicle performance, or flight dynamics
• Proficiency in vehicle performance modeling: energy-based methods, point-mass and full 6-DOF simulation, power-required/available analysis
• Experience building or working with aerodynamic databases and stability derivative sets for flight simulation or loads analysis
• Familiarity with flight test methods: test card development, FTI requirements, data reduction, and prediction-to-flight correlation
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB for analysis, post-processing, and tool development
• Solid understanding of fixed-wing, rotary-wing, or hybrid lift+cruise vehicle aeromechanics
• Working proficiency with aerodynamic analysis tools across fidelity levels - from low-order methods (panel codes, blade element, XFOIL) through mid-fidelity (RANS CFD): sufficient to set up runs, interpret results, and interface with dedicated CFD engineers
• Clear technical communication skills: able to distill complex analysis into concise summaries for engineering and program leadership

Bonus Points For:

• Direct experience with eVTOL, tiltrotor, or lift+cruise configurations - including transition corridor analysis, transition schedule definition, and rotor-wing aerodynamic interaction
• Background in hybrid-electric propulsion performance modeling: energy management strategy, battery sizing trades, and BSFC/TSFC integration into mission analysis
• Experience designing internal flows, including ducting, intakes, and cooling flows
• Rotor and/or propeller design experience
• Handling qualities assessment experience using ADS-33 or FAA/EASA equivalents
• Exposure to flight simulation environments: JSBSim, Simulink/FlightGear, or equivalent
• Experience with certification under FAA Part 23, Part 27, or EASA SC-VTOL frameworks
• Background in aeroelastics or structural loads as they relate to flight envelope definition

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced aerospace company
• Comprehensive medical benefits
• 401(k) with company contribution + Roth IRA
• Free daily lunch provided onsite
• Flexible time-off policy
• 3 months of paid parental leave
• Employee assistance program with 24/7 support
• High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
• Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
• You’ll work with a motivated, kind, and highly skilled team
• You'll help shape and define our company culture and values
• You'll help build and scale a new category of aerospace / logistics technology