Advanced Combustion Engineer
About POWERTECH
POWERTECH is a center of excellence for propulsion technologies, specializing in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of advanced propulsion systems for aerospace, defence, and autonomous applications. Our expertise spans combustion engines, expendable turbojet engines, turbofan engines, and emerging high-speed air‑breathing propulsion concepts supporting fixed‑wing aircraft, UAVs, and advanced high‑speed platforms.
Position Overview
POWERTECH is seeking a Senior Combustor Design Engineer to join its advanced propulsion team. This role focuses on the design, development, and analysis of combustors for a broad range of propulsion systems, including turbofan, turbojet, and advanced high‑speed air‑breathing applications. The position supports both product‑driven engineering programs and early‑stage technology development, with emphasis on combustion performance, operability, emissions, durability, and aero‑thermal integration across a wide operating envelope.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the design and development of combustors for turbofan and turbojet engines, including concept definition, detailed design, and performance evaluation.
- Contribute to the development of advanced combustor concepts for high‑Mach‑number air‑breathing propulsion systems, addressing ignition, flame stabilization, fuel–air mixing, and thermal management.
- Perform aero‑thermal and reacting‑flow analysis to evaluate combustion efficiency, pressure loss, emissions, pattern factor, and liner heat loads.
- Develop and support experimental test programs, including rig definition, instrumentation planning, test execution, and data reduction for combustor performance and durability assessment.
- Utilize CFD and combustion simulation tools for design and analysis, including ANSYS Fluent, STAR-CCM+, CONVERGE, Cadence CFD tools, and HEEDS for design optimization.
- Apply open‑source CFD frameworks (e.g., OpenFOAM‑based combustion solvers) for customized modeling of reacting flows, chemical kinetics, and turbulence‑chemistry interaction.
- Support fuel flexibility studies, including conventional aviation fuels, SAF, and alternative fuels, with respect to ignition, stability, emissions, and operability.
- Collaborate with materials and manufacturing teams on combustor liners, cooling strategies, thermal barrier coatings, and high‑temperature materials to ensure durability and life requirements.
- Work closely with system, aerothermal, and integration teams to ensure seamless combustor integration with compressors, turbines, and high‑speed flow‑path components.
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to design reviews, technical documentation, and technology road‑mapping activities.
Qualifications & Experience
- Master’s or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Combustion Science, or a related discipline.
- 8+ years of experience in combustor design, development, or combustion R&D for gas‑turbine or advanced air‑breathing propulsion systems.
- Strong understanding of gas‑turbine combustor fundamentals, including flame stabilization, emissions formation, liner cooling, and operability.
- Experience with aero‑thermal analysis and reacting‑flow CFD, using tools such as ANSYS Fluent, STAR-CCM+, CONVERGE, Cadence, and HEEDS.
- Demonstrated capability in open‑source CFD tools for combustion modeling, including solver customization and kinetic mechanism implementation.
- Familiarity with experimental combustion testing, diagnostics, and data interpretation.
- Experience working in product development and/or low‑TRL research environments.
- Strong communication skills and ability to lead technical discussions across multidisciplinary teams.
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