Aerodynamicist

About the Role

The role sits within the FIA Single Seater Technical Department as an Aerodynamicist, contributing to the aerodynamic landscape and technical future of Formula 1 and premier single seater racing. The postholder applies advanced CFD and CAD toolsets with a focus on whole car concept architecture and macro aerodynamic behaviour, directly informing the technical regulations and aerodynamic foundations of the sport. Work covers whole car aerodynamics, wake dynamics and sporting equity across current cars and clean sheet future generations, including exploratory research towards new regulations and the wider single seater pyramid (Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula Regional and Formula 4) and Formula E. This newly created position operates within a lean, multidisciplinary engineering team and is structured around aerodynamic concept and whole car development, technical regulations, and advanced technology and tools exploration.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop a detailed understanding of whole car and multi car aerodynamic behaviour through hands on use of advanced CFD analysis techniques, directly investigating wake interactions to foster close, competitive racing.
• Contribute to developing methodologies that determine the fundamental architecture and aerodynamic concepts of future single seater Formula cars (F1, F2, F3, FRegional and F4).
• Specify the aerodynamic development conditions, calculation methodologies and physics models needed to ensure robust and representative aerodynamic solutions, leveraging cloud based HPC infrastructure.
• Generate geometries and concept models using CAD (Siemens NX) and coordinate with the FIA's surface designers to meet agreed performance objectives, scheme rapid design iterations and eliminate development bottlenecks.
• Analyse, report and present aerodynamic results to internal and external audiences, including FIA colleagues, the commercial rights holder and the technical leadership of the Formula 1 teams.
• Assist in the formulation of the Technical Regulations to capture the desired characteristics, safety targets and sporting objectives of future Formula 1 cars.
• Review and comment on Formula 1 team legality interpretations, evaluating unconventional competitor proposals and design queries against the published regulations.
• Participate in CAD based legality assessments and compliance audits of current Formula 1 cars against the published Technical Regulations.
• Attend 2 to 3 race/test events as required to provide general support for scrutineering activities, for which training is provided.
• Remain abreast of the latest wind tunnel and CFD technologies to help steer the future direction of Technical and Operational Regulations relating to Aero Testing Restrictions.
• Collaborate with external technology providers, simulation startups and research institutions to trial emerging aerodynamic and simulation tools.
• Develop, automate and maintain internal aerodynamic post-processing tools, simulation scripts and data analysis pipelines to continually enhance departmental workflow efficiency.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• University degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of hands on aerodynamic development experience within Formula 1, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) or high level single seater racing.
• In depth understanding of aerodynamic development workflows, together with practical knowledge of the strengths, limitations and correlation of both CFD and wind tunnel testing.
• Proven proficiency in CAD design using Siemens NX or Dassault Systèmes CATIA.
• Demonstrated experience in planning, running, analysing and synthesising complex aerodynamic campaigns, with rigorous attention to detail and schedule autonomy.
• Strong collaborative mindset and autonomy under tight deadlines.
• Ability to adapt technical presentations for a wide spectrum of stakeholders.
• Native or fluent proficiency in written and spoken English, including the ability to draft clear, concise technical and regulatory documentation.

Preferred Skills

• Master's degree or equivalent in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Detailed knowledge of the current Formula 1 Technical Regulations and Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions (ATR).
• Familiarity with cloud based simulation environments (HPC), data pipelines and scientific programming languages, ideally Python.

Workplace

• Based in London.
• Occasional travel to Formula 1 race and test events, approximately 2 to 3 events per year.
• Occasional visits to team factories and to the FIA office in Geneva.