Job Description

Do you want to shape how air moves?

Not in theory, not on paper — but on something that could rewire how energy is moved around the planet.

This isn’t about tweaking an airfoil in a controlled tunnel. It’s about making a system fly that’s never flown before. One that has to survive real-world conditions, deliver unprecedented efficiency, and prove itself as a pathway to a cleaner energy future.

The role

• Take ownership of aerodynamic design for a novel payload on a fixed-wing UAV.

• Use CFD and flight test feedback loops to squeeze every ounce of efficiency from mass-constrained platforms.

• Shape airflow around optics and hardware that don’t naturally want to fly, and make them perform.

• Handle thermal considerations along the way, but always with aero performance front and centre.

• Work in lockstep with electronics, systems, and embedded engineers to take concepts from CAD to flight-ready hardware.

Why this matters

• You’ll be contributing to a technology that, if it scales, changes how energy is transmitted globally.

• The aero is make-or-break: without your design, the system doesn’t get off the ground — literally.

• It’s a greenfield challenge with direct impact: your design choices will dictate whether the demo platform becomes a breakthrough.

What you’ll need to show

• Mechanical/Aerospace background with deep aero instincts for fixed-wing aircraft.

• Strength in CFD (Fluent, OpenFOAM or similar) and the judgement to know when low-order models get you there faster.

• Experience tying simulations to actual flight data.

• CAD and prototyping skills to prove out aero solutions in hardware.

• Thermal awareness is useful, but aero is the star of the show here.

If you’ve got ~4–10 years in aero R&D and you want true end-to-end ownership, this is the place.

Curious? Email Thaís at thais@theonset.com.au. If your CV isn’t ready, drop me a message and we’ll build it together.