Thermal Engineer

Senior Aerothermal Engineer

Aerospace Propulsion | 2-3 year project | Outside IR35 | Up to £850 P/D

Do you have the right skills and experience for this role Read on to find out, and make your application.

Operating at the forefront of next‑generation aerospace propulsion, developing advanced systems to enable zero‑emission flight. The engineering teams work across safety‑critical, certification‑driven programmes, applying first‑principles engineering to real aircraft and flight‑ready powertrain systems. The environment is fast‑paced, technically demanding, and focused on delivering solutions that can be certified, deployed, and scaled.

As a Senior Aerothermal Engineer, you will lead the aerothermal design and development of air delivery systems for hydrogen fuel‑cell power generation. You will take full technical ownership from early concept generation through system architecture, analysis, testing, and certification‑ready delivery. Acting as the subject‑matter expert, you will work across multidisciplinary engineering teams and the supply chain to develop, analyse, and validate fuel‑cell cathode and air delivery systems using a combination of first‑principles analysis, simulation, and empirical testing.

You will be responsible for shaping system architectures, capturing and flowing requirements, guiding suppliers, and ensuring designs are robust, performant, and aligned with aerospace certification objectives. This role suits an experienced aerospace engineer who is comfortable owning complex systems end‑to‑end and leading technical decisions in a regulated environment.

Your background:

• Strong aerospace engineering experience, with exposure to aircraft, airborne, or propulsion systems
• Deep expertise in aerothermal / thermo‑fluid engineering, including fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and air systems
• Experience designing, analysing, or integrating air delivery systems and components such as compressors, turbines, valves, filters, heat exchangers, ducting, and instrumentation
• Hands‑on experience using first‑principles analysis, supported by 1D and 3D simulation and test data
• Experience working with turbomachinery, particularly high‑speed compressors or related equipment
• Proven ability to take system‑level ownership, from requirements capture and architecture through integration and testing
• Experience defining and supporting engineering test activities, including test rigs, instrumentation, and data acquisition
• Working knowledge of CFD and modelling tools and the ability to interpret results to inform design decisions xwzovoh
• Familiarity with aerospace certification objectives and working within regulated, safety‑critical programmes
• Degree‑qualified in Aerospace, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline (or equivalent industry experience)

Desired:

• Experience with hydrogen fuel‑cell systems or electrified propulsion architectures
• Exposure to compressed air systems within fuel‑cell or power‑generation environments
• Experience using MATLAB, Simulink, Simscape, or equivalent 1D modelling tools
• Practical experience with commercial CFD tools (e.g. ANSYS Fluent/CFX)
• Working knowledge of CAD and PLM environments (e.g. Siemens NX, Teamcenter)
• Experience operating within or alongside certification authorities (EASA / FAA / CAA)