At Elroy Air, we build autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo drones to change the way the world moves goods. Transporting cargo by air is faster and more direct than by land or sea, but it has been prohibitively expensive for medium-size loads. We've set out to expand middle-mile logistics possibilities across multiple sectors, with our sights on a $420Bn global total addressable market for cargo logistics across defense, commercial and rapid response.
We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe that the defense, commercial, and rapid response communities need faster, better logistics solutions. We are seeing increasing demand as customers and prospects respond enthusiastically to the systems we’ve built. As we mature and deploy our offerings, we are looking for people like you: motivated collaborators, enthusiastic about our mission and ready to roll up their sleeves and make a big impact to improve how logistics works around the world. You will play an important role in establishing the Elroy Air Chaparral as the industry standard in this massive market.
We believe diverse perspectives at all levels of the organization are critical to innovation and employee development. This includes but is not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, ability, parenthood status, veteran status, educational background, citizenship status, or any combination of these characteristics.
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
We encourage you to apply even if you aren't an exact match for our open role as many of our team members come from nontraditional backgrounds.
Elroy Air is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.
We are committed to an inclusive, harassment-free workplace and we gladly provide reasonable accommodations to support our team.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder). All employees will be screened through E-Verify.
Elroy Air does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters that we do not have a written agreement with and all employment activities are managed through our internal team. We reserve the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes received without being responsible for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes.
