Open Orion, Inc. CAE Developer San Francisco, CA · Full time Company website

Apply for CAE Developer

We are an early stage research and design company with the mission to supercharge engineering using AI + simulations. Our goal is to streamline intricate design workflows, elevate performance and efficiency, and boost overall productivity. Right now we are in stealth but stay tuned for some exciting developments later this year.

The Role

We're looking for a computational engineering modeler who writes code as much as they run simulations. This is a programming-heavy role that spans geometry processing, mesh generation, and multi-physics simulation. You'll build automated workflows that minimize manual setup and maximize design exploration, while also developing the underlying algorithms for meshing and geometry manipulation. You need to understand the physics deeply, but you also need to be the kind of engineer who would rather write a script than click through a GUI. Please link a GitHub or portfolio of nontrivial, notable work above all else.

What You'll Do

• Build automated simulation workflows that reduce manual setup and accelerate design iteration
• Write Python code to programmatically define geometry, simulation parameters, and post-processing steps
• Design and develop scalable algorithms for mesh generation and geometry processing
• Develop parametric design setups that enable rapid exploration across large design spaces
• Implement new features and enhancements to meshing and geometry libraries
• Create validation and post-processing tooling that catches bad results early
• Optimize code for performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Work across engineering domains including aero, thermal, structural, and coupled problems

What We're Looking For

Must-haves:

• Strong Python skills. This is a code-first role, not a GUI-first role
• Professional experience in software development with a focus on mesh generation, computational geometry, simulation, or related domains
• Experience automating simulation or CAD workflows through scripting
• Hands-on experience with CFD and/or FEM simulations in a professional or research setting
• Comfort with programmatic CAD and parametric modeling like CadQuery/Build123d. GUI-only experience is not sufficient
• Proficiency in Python (NumPy preferred) and familiarity with C++ or C
• Experience with Linux development environments (Git, Bash, etc.)
• Solid understanding of the physics behind the simulations you run. You can spot a bad result without someone telling you

Strong pluses:

• Experience with programmatic CAD tools and parametric modeling
• Background in simulation optimization including design of experiments, surrogate-based optimization, or adjoint methods
• Familiarity with cloud-based or HPC environments for running large-scale simulations
• Experience across multiple engineering domains (aero, thermal, structural, fluid-structure interaction)
• Contributions to open-source simulation, CAD, or computational geometry projects

Why Open Orion

• Real impact. Engineering simulation software is a bottleneck for innovation. We're removing it.
• Hard problems. Multi-physics simulation, parametric design, and AI, all in one product.
• Open source. We build in the open and contribute back to the community.
• Small team. Your domain expertise directly shapes what we build.
• San Francisco. Based in SF at the center of the engineering and AI ecosystem.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary with equity options
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement savings plan