For almost 50 years, Williams Racing has been at the forefront of one of the fastest sports on the planet, being one of the top three most successful teams in history competing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. With an almost unrivalled heritage of engineering and racing F1 cars and unforgettable eras that demonstrate it is a force to be reckoned with, the British squad boasts 16 F1 World Championship titles to its name.
Since its foundation in 1977 by the eminent, late Sir Frank Williams and engineering pioneer Sir Patrick Head, the team has won nine Constructors’ Championships, in association with Cosworth, Honda and Renault. Its roll call of drivers is legendary, with its seven Drivers’ Championship trophies being lifted by true icons of the sport: Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. The team has made history before and is out to make it again with a long-term mission to evolve and return to the front of the grid.
Job DescriptionAbout the Role
A CFD simulation is only as useful as your confidence in it, and that is where this role comes in. As a CFD Engineer in our Aerodynamics Department, you will help build, sharpen and protect the CFD capability the whole team relies on. You will develop new models, refine existing ones and support the processes used to run CFD across the department, covering external flows, internal flows, and thermal modelling.
A big part of the job is correlation. Working within the CFD group, you will help to track down miscorrelations between CFD and wind tunnel or track measurements, work out why they exist, and tune the CFD recipes to close the gap. You will also be a trusted point of contact for aerodynamicists running bespoke simulations, offering guidance when they need it. Accurate, trusted CFD shortens the development cycle and gets more performance onto the car, all within the Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions. When the loop works, everyone moves faster.
Key Responsibilities include:
- Developing, refining and running CFD models and tools across external, internal and thermal disciplines
- Investigating miscorrelations against wind tunnel and track data, establish root cause and recommend corrective action
- Tuning and enhancing department CFD recipes, and developing and validating methodologies that improve accuracy, efficiency and repeatability
- Writing and reviewing Python and shell tooling for CFD analysis, automation and correlation, following our source control and code review standards
- Document model, methodology and correlation changes so results are traceable and reusable across the department
About You
You are curious and methodical, with the patience to chase a discrepancy until it finally makes sense. You have a solid grounding in fluid mechanics and numerical methods, and you understand the limitations of simulation as well as its strengths. You are comfortable breaking down large, noisy data sets, and you can explain your findings clearly and credibly to colleagues who rely on them. Given the nature of Formula 1, a flexible mindset and a drive to continuously improve are essential.
What we are looking for:
- A degree in engineering, physics, mathematics or a related numerical discipline, or equivalent demonstrable experience
- Experience setting up, running and interpreting CFD simulations, including geometry preparation, meshing and solver configuration
- Working knowledge of Python and Linux shell scripting, and a willingness to adopt best-practice code development
- Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail and strong written and verbal communication
- Comfortable in a customer-facing role
It would be great, but is not essential, if you also have:
- Experience in Formula 1, motorsport, automotive, aerospace or a comparable simulation environment
- Experience correlating simulation output against wind tunnel, rig or track data
- Experience with source control, design review and code review
- Exposure to internal flow, thermal or heat-transfer modelling alongside external aerodynamics
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Atlassian Williams F1 Team is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. We are happy to discuss reasonable job adjustments.
