Athena Racing are expanding our technical team with the goal of winning the America’s Cup, the oldest international competition still contested in any sport. We are building an agile, creative and collaborative team to compete and win at the pinnacle of the sport of sailing. Our team values have a sharp focus on maximizing performance from our designs, while fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.
We are looking for creative and highly motivated fluid dynamicists whose efforts will drive the performance of our yacht. This role is a key part of our rigorous, methodical, data-driven approach to performance discovery in an agile and dynamic environment where your work will directly influence our on-water performance.
Responsibilities
- Manage a team of fluid dynamicists, maximizing the rate of performance discovery through thorough understanding of fluid dynamic principles.
- Contribute to the design and optimization of sails, hulls, hydrofoils and appendages using CAD surfacing.
- Collaborate closely with designers, performance analysts, and sailors to interpret correlation trends and inform design decisions.
- Analyse yacht dynamics and real-world flow structures (aero-hydro interaction, free-surface effects) to improve CFD modelling fidelity.
- Implement and maintain CFD best practices, including standards, procedures and documentation.
Required skills/experience
- Strong CAD Surfacing experience alongside a drive to find creative performance solutions.
- Strong experience with commercial or open-source CFD solvers for marine or aerospace applications.
- Strong communications skills, both written and verbal.
- Organized and team focused mindset.
- Ability to thrive in a high-performance, fast-paced America’s Cup environment.
Desired skills/experience
- Experience in yacht or marine hydrodynamic/aerodynamics.
- Experience with 3DX.
- Experience with Fine Marine.
- Understanding of machine learning applications in CFD and design space exploration.
- Experience with HPC environments and parallelized CFD workflows.
Benefits
- Be part of a world-class America’s Cup team working at the intersection of sport and technology, with the chance to contribute directly to our sporting success and push the limits of human and technological performance.
- Opportunities for growth — we have openings from junior to senior levels, and will look to develop you to be part of the future of our team.
- Competitive package with: 25 days annual leave (plus public holidays) per annum, Company Pension Scheme, Private Medical Insurance, Life Assurance, Cycle to Work Scheme.
About the company
Company website•Spectator Sports
GB1 is the Challenger of Record for the 38th America’s Cup. The British team, who race for Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, was formed in 2014.
The team made history in 2024, as the first British team in 60 years to qualify for the America’s Cup Match, the first in 90 years to score points in the Match, and the first ever to win the America’s Cup Challenger Series. Their achievements mark Britain’s most successful performance in the competition’s history.
The America’s Cup, the pinnacle of yachting, was first contested in 1851 in Cowes, Isle of Wight and organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron, predating the modern Olympic Games by 45 years. In challenging for a fourth successive America’s Cup, Athena Racing has much needed continuity, the cornerstone of every successful America’s Cup team.