Aerodynamics Expert

What you'll do

This is aerodynamics done entirely through scripts and a terminal. You create engineering tasks, solve them yourself, and check that the answers hold up, with every step reproducible from the command line rather than a GUI. The ad's own example sets the tone: take an airfoil, build the computational domain and mesh, set the boundary conditions, run a CFD case, pull out lift and drag, then decide whether the flow field is both numerically converged and physically believable.

Around that core you translate physical requirements into solver-ready cases, edit geometries and meshes, choose fluid properties and solver settings, and use Python to automate preprocessing, parameter sweeps, postprocessing and validation. A good share of the value you add is diagnostic: explaining why a case failed to converge, went unstable, or produced numbers that look fine but violate the physics.

micro1 is blunt that this is "a very coding heavy role" and that candidates must already use coding agents with Python in their daily workflow. If your CFD life is spent in ANSYS Fluent menus, this is a different job.

Who fits

One of two routes into the role:

• An MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, or in Mechanical Engineering with an aerodynamics, fluid dynamics or thermofluids specialisation
• A BS in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering plus 1–2 years of aero-specific professional or research experience

On top of that:

• Solid fluid mechanics and applied aerodynamics, with real experience setting up and running CFD or aerodynamic analyses
• Practical Python, and at least one engineering tool you drive through a CLI, scripts, config files or an API (the ad lists OpenFOAM, SU2, Gmsh, FEniCSx, Elmer, CalculiX and SciPy; an equivalent tool is accepted)
• The judgment to pick and defend modelling assumptions, mesh strategies and solver settings
• Clear written reasoning about engineering trade-offs

No single Python library is mandatory; NumPy, SciPy, pandas, Matplotlib and Jupyter are named as typical.

What it pays

$80–150/hour as the published band, but the compensation section says pay is output-based: you are paid per task that meets the project specification, and minimum submission requirements apply. In practice that makes the band a target rather than a guaranteed hourly rate. A case that refuses to converge is time you absorb, so your effective rate depends on how quickly you can get a clean, validated run.

The expected load is around 15 hours a week, on a flexible schedule that can include weekends.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Open globally and fully remote, with no country list
• A high ceiling for simulation work, above micro1's separate CFD Engineer listing's floor
• 100 openings, flagged as high demand
• The hiring route is published: screening questions, an AI interview of about 30 minutes, then a hiring manager review
• Open-source toolchains (OpenFOAM, SU2, Gmsh) are what they want, so no licensed software is needed

Less good:

• Per-task pay means stubborn cases eat into your rate, and no per-task fee is published
• Minimum submission requirements apply, but the ad does not say what they are
• A fast start is expected: roles fill within about 48 hours and your first task is due 24–48 hours after onboarding
• Heavy coding-agent use is a hard expectation
• Contractor engagement with no benefits; payment schedule and method are not stated on the listing

About this listing

Posted by micro1 on its own jobs portal and read on 24 September 2026. The $80–150/hour band, the degree routes, the tool list and the per-task compensation terms are micro1's published text. The client behind the project is not named. See micro1.