Powerplant Engineer

The propulsion system is where the hardest tradeoffs on the aircraft collide — thrust, weight, fuel burn, thermal load, and airframe geometry all pulling against each other, with no room to defer the decision. You own that intersection. You'll select the engine, model its performance across the full flight envelope, and physically integrate the powerplant into the airframe — then carry it through production, flight test, and into the field.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership role. You set the propulsion architecture and the interfaces the rest of the aircraft is built around, and you stay with the system from first trade study to first start to continued airworthiness. When an engine issue surfaces on the line or in the field, you're the one who dispositions it.

Run engine selection and trade studies — evaluate candidate platforms against mission profiles, scoring weight, thrust/power, SFC, emissions, acoustics, and lifecycle cost to downselect the optimal powerplant.

Model engine performance across takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and transient conditions — including installation losses (inlet recovery, nozzle losses, bleed and horsepower extraction) — using simulations to predict and validate steady-state and transient metrics.

Lead airframe integration of the full powerplant assembly (engine, inlet, nacelle, pylon, mounts, exhaust) — managing clearance, thermal protection, vibration isolation, servicing access, nacelle drag, mount loads, and fire zone boundaries with the structures and aero teams.

Own the interface definitions — author and maintain the ICDs that fix every mechanical, fluid, electrical, and logical boundary between engine and airframe, and optimize the critical subsystem interfaces: fuel (feed sizing, heating, venting, shutoff), thermal/anti-ice (bleed extraction, valve control), electrical (generator/starter extraction, harness routing, grounding), and avionics (control logic, CAS indication, health monitoring).