Research Engineer, Aerosol & Liquid Dispersion Systems (Aerospace)

TL;DR

Research Engineer, Aerosol & Liquid Dispersion Systems (Aerospace): Designing and building high-performance fluid systems for cloud seeding UAS with an accent on high-velocity gas dynamics and submicron aerosol atomization. Focus on developing convergent-divergent nozzles, optimizing multiphase flow, and integrating lightweight payloads into weather-resistant aircraft.

Location: On-site in El Segundo, CA

Company

hirify.global is pioneering a modern cloud seeding system to solve water scarcity and inclement weather problems.

What you will do

• Design, machine, and test custom Convergent-Divergent (Laval) nozzles for gas expansion and liquid filament breakup.
• Develop and optimize systems for simultaneous dispersion of liquid aerosols and dry-powder seeds using high-velocity gas streams.
• Build mechanical micro-feeders, liquid delivery architectures, and aerosol generators from the ground up.
• Design pneumatic and fluidic routing systems (valves, regulators, and micro-channels) for choked flow and stable supersonic jets.
• Adapt aerosol generation concepts into lightweight, battery-efficient payloads for UAS.
• Iterate nozzle geometries based on empirical droplet-size and particle-size data.

Requirements

• BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Approximately 5 years of hands-on experience in fluid dynamics, multiphase flow, or atomization.
• Expertise in Mach number optimization, internal nozzle flow, and the physics of choked flow conditions.
• Proven experience building fluidic or pneumatic hardware (e.g., Laval nozzles, high-velocity gas jets).
• Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks, Fusion 360) and hands-on prototyping including CNC machining.
• Must be based in or able to work on-site in El Segundo, CA.

Nice to have

• Experience with high-speed flow characterization and supersonic multiphase flows.
• Computational modeling experience using CFD (ANSYS Fluent, COMSOL) for particle trajectories.
• Familiarity with aerosol instrumentation (Malvern Spraytec, SMPS, or optical particle counters).
• Basic proficiency in electronics prototyping (Arduino, Raspberry Pi) and Python scripting.

Culture & Benefits

• Work in an extremely innovative and fast-paced environment.
• Direct impact on an operational system solving global water scarcity.
• Equal Opportunity Employer with merit-based governance.