Powertrain Architect — Hybrid-Electric Propulsion

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Archer is a leader in the next-gen aerospace sector building an end-to-end advanced air mobility platform that delivers air taxis, unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), aviation-related physical artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions, and other technologies to customers worldwide across the commercial aerospace and defense sectors.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

THE ROLE

As Powertrain Architect, you will evaluate and size the hybrid-electric propulsion system for a next-generation eVTOL — spanning combustion engine selection, electromagnetic sizing, thermal management, and battery behavior — and contribute the resulting models into Archer's broader vehicle-level sizing and optimization stack. You will work closely with the Vehicle and Structures Architects to close the powertrain within the overall vehicle concept.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Evaluate and trade hybrid-electric powertrain architectures (series, parallel, turbo-electric), integrating battery energy storage and electric motors/inverters, with a turboshaft-driven generator as one of the configurations considered.

• Size electric motors and generators from first principles, validating and refining designs with electromagnetic solvers as needed.

• Size the thermal management system architecture — heat exchangers, ducting, and coolant line routing — for all major powertrain components, using thermal/CFD tools as needed.

• Generate performance and efficiency maps for electric motors and generators across the operating envelope.

• Model battery charge and discharge behavior (C-rates, thermal behavior, degradation) to inform sizing and duty-cycle decisions.

• Estimate thermal limits and duty cycles for motors, inverters, and batteries across representative mission profiles.

• Build powertrain models suitable for integration into Archer's larger vehicle-level MDO stack, supporting the vehicle-level sizing and performance predictions led by the Vehicle Architect.

• Collaborate with the structures and vehicle architects on packaging, weight, and integration of the full powertrain stack.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Background in hybrid-electric, turbo-electric, or conventional turbine aircraft propulsion (aerospace or adjacent high-power industries).

• Some background in optimization, including multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO), is necessary.