Purpose of the Role:
To deliver aerodynamic performance by extensive understanding and control of the flow structures, taking the lead for one or more aerodynamic objectives, guiding a team and using the resources made available to the project team in the most effective way.
Role Dimensions:
- Key role in Aerodynamics Dept, reporting to the Principal Aerodynamicist and collaborating with other senior members of the Aerodynamics team to drive whole-car performance.
- Ownership of one or more aerodynamic objectives, leading and supervising aerodynamicists, designers and model makers working on the project, and managing the resources available.
- Access to CFD resource, WT time and other department resource based on priority of projects.
- Reports to the Principal Aerodynamicist.
- This role is predominantly factory based but may involve occasional travel.
- Predominantly normal working hours, but will sometimes require evenings and weekends.
Key Relationships:
- Principal Aerodynamicist, other Project Leaders, Aerodynamics management team.
- Aerodynamicists, designers and modelmakers involved in the projects.
- Aerodynamicists from the Aerodynamic Performance group
Principal Accountabilities:
- Deliver aerodynamic performance at a rate matching the set targets. To ensure that this is achieved in full consideration of full scale parts quality and aerodynamic correlation, delivery will be assessed through performance achieved at the track.
- Prioritize programmes and allocate resources according to the high level priorities, release schedules and performance potential.
- Ensure project team members - and any resource assigned to the team – understand and are bought in to the aerodynamic objectives, and work in a focused and coordinated manner to achieve them.
- Develop a high level of aerodynamic understanding within the project team, both for the areas for which the team is responsible, and the interactions elsewhere on the car.
- Develop a high level of understanding of the other factors which influence the aerodynamic design for this area: packaging, structural integrity etc – and build a good relationship with the engineers outside of Aerodynamics who work on them. Ensure that, in trade-offs between aerodynamic performance, packaging, risk and structural integrity, the aero performance implications (including long term potential) are clearly presented to and understood by the rest of the engineering team.
- Develop a high level of understanding of the on-track aerodynamic performance, correlation, and of the track as an experimental environment. Use this to liaise effectively with Race Team and Aerodynamic Performance Group, driving track tests, assessing components, analysing the car’s performance and feeding this back to your group and their projects.
- Ensure that any geometry generated by the team for CFD, WT or WSR is legal and to the standards of surface quality and aerodynamic refinement of the department.
- Be a part of the Aerodynamics Steering Group that collaborates, innovates and helps to build understanding and drive aerodynamic development for the whole car.
- Through a holistic view of the whole aerodynamic process, collaborate with colleagues responsible for the CFD process and methodology, surface designers model design, technology, software etc to help drive quality and operational improvements in these areas.
- Support the Principal Aerodynamicists in maintaining a high level of motivation and achievement within the project team.
- Attend team wind tunnel reviews, make significant contribution to the ideas and design philosophy discussions about where to find the aero performance.
- Promote collaborative work when discussing results or defining development direction.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
- Several years of aerodynamic development experience on all or most of the areas of the car, including wind tunnel, CFD and / or track.
- Expert knowledge and experience of the particular areas of the car influenced by the aerodynamic objectives assigned to you as a Project Leader.
- Demonstrable experience of planning and organising technical projects to pre-agreed targets.
- Proven leadership and project management skills and a track record of fostering innovation and creativity in aerodynamics.
Personal Attributes:
- A team player but with the initiative to make own decisions and work with minimal supervision.
- Self-starter, able to identify requirements independently, then make proposals for solutions.
- Able to work under pressure, to tight deadlines, often with ever-changing priorities.
- Organized, with good planning skills, able to coordinate a project group to execute and deliver projects to challenging targets and within tight deadlines.
- Highly driven and ready to go beyond what is expected at every opportunity.
- Excellent communication skills to target a variety of audiences.
- The ability to influence and embed knowledge to other members of the team.
- The ability to follow aerodynamic development directions independently.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and analytical approach, with attention to detail.
- Open mindedness to ensure high flexibility and the capacity to manage rapid and profound changes of scopes, development directions and processes.
- Aptitude to learn from others and share knowledge with others.
- Flexible approach to working hours and occasional travel.