Freelance Lead Flutter Developer Jobs in Riverside, RI

At REGENT, we’re on a mission to revolutionize regional transportation between coastal cities. We're not just building vehicles, we're creating a new category of transportation: the Seaglider. These groundbreaking wing-in-ground-effect craft travel just above the water’s surface, combining the speed of an airplane with the low operating costs of a boat. Capable of 180 miles at 180 mph on today's battery tech (and up to 400 miles with next-gen batteries), Seagliders will unlock fast, affordable, and sustainable coastal transit for passengers and cargo - connecting cities, islands, and communities like never before.

Backed by leading investors and powered by a team of passionate, forward-thinking engineers, builders, and operators, we’re now scaling from a breakthrough prototype to full production - and building the team to make it happen.

As the Senior Manager, Loads & Dynamics, you will build and lead the function that defines the forces our vehicles must withstand - and ensures those definitions are technically sound, internally consistent, and certifiable.

This role sits at the foundation of vehicle integrity. You’ll establish the methodologies, assumptions, and datasets that drive structural design, inform flight physics, and underpin certification. Today, these responsibilities are distributed across teams; your role is to bring them into a coherent, defensible system.

You’ll start as a player-coach: setting direction, doing hands-on technical work, and building the team over time. You’ll work across Structures, Flight Physics, and Certification to align on a single source of truth for loads - resolving ambiguity, closing gaps, and ensuring the program is built on a solid and scalable foundation.

Success in this role means the organization is operating from a single, trusted loads basis - clearly defined, consistently applied, and ready to support both structural design and certification - supported by a strong, scalable Loads & Dynamics team you’ve built and developed.

If you’re energized by working at the intersection of cutting-edge innovation, real-world impact, and hands-on engineering, you’ll be in the right place - and we’d be thrilled to have you on the team!

• Build and Lead the Loads & Dynamics Function: Establish the team from the ground up - defining standards, operating cadence, and technical expectations - while hiring, mentoring, and developing engineers. Act as a player-coach, contributing directly while scaling the team.

• Define the Vehicle Loads Basis: Develop a coherent, traceable set of load cases across all operating modes and environmental conditions. Establish the operating envelope and ensure loads assumptions are consistent, controlled, and clearly communicated across the program.

• Own Dynamics and Aero/Hydroelastic Approach: Define how the program addresses flutter risk, modal behavior, and dynamic response, including analysis methods, GVT strategy, and how coupling effects are incorporated into loads and verification.

• Establish Loads Validation and Integration: Define how simulation, structural models, and test data come together. Build the processes for CFD-to-loads mapping, FEM integration, and correlation between predicted and measured loads.

• Enable Certification Through Defensible Methods: Develop the compliance approach for loads and dynamics, including assumptions, traceability, and required evidence. Produce certification-ready artifacts and support technical discussions with regulators and classification bodies.

• Drive Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with Structures and Flight Physics to define clear interfaces, resolve gaps, and maintain a single source of truth for loads across the organization.
  

• Deep Loads & Dynamics Expertise: Significant experience defining loads for complex aerospace, maritime, or hybrid vehicles, including ownership of load cases used for structural design and certification.

• Experience Building or Owning a Vehicle Loads Basis: You’ve led or directly contributed to a Vehicle Loads Document (or equivalent), with clear traceability to requirements and use in substantiation and/or certification.

• Leadership and Team-Building Experience: Proven ability to lead technical teams - setting direction, mentoring engineers, and building a high-performing group. You’re comfortable operating as both a hands-on contributor and a manager, especially in early-stage or scaling environments.

• Strong Foundation in Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics: Experience with flutter risk identification, modal analysis, dynamic response, and test planning (e.g., GVT), and how these influence loads definition.

• Experience in Regulated, Certification-Driven Environments: Familiarity working with certification or classification bodies (FAA, EASA, Lloyd’s Register, or similar), including developing compliance approaches and supporting technical discussions.

• Fluency in Loads Workflows and Toolchains: Strong understanding of CFD-to-loads mapping, integration with FEM/FEA tools (e.g., Nastran), and how loads outputs are consumed by Structures.

• Validation and Correlation Mindset: Experience tying together simulation, analysis, and test data into a coherent validation strategy, including model calibration and documentation for defensibility.

• Clear and Effective Communication: Able to translate complex loads and dynamics concepts into clear, actionable insights for cross-functional teams, leadership, and external stakeholders.

• Collaborative Team Player: You believe that great things happen when teams work together. You partner effectively across engineering, certification, and leadership to align on requirements, risk, and execution. You bring clarity to complex discussions and ensure teams are working from a shared understanding of system behavior and certification goals.

• Creative Problem Solver: You thrive on tackling complex, system-level challenges and bringing structure to ambiguity. You don’t just react to gaps - you identify where assumptions, models, or processes are breaking down and build scalable solutions that improve how the organization defines and uses loads.

• Adaptable & Agile: In a fast-paced, evolving environment, you balance rigor with speed. You know when to introduce structure and when to simplify, helping the team move forward without losing sight of safety and certification requirements. You remain calm and decisive in the face of uncertainty.

• Innovative Mindset: You’re driven by curiosity and a passion for building safe, high-performance systems. You continuously look for ways to improve loads methodologies, toolchains, and cross-team workflows - raising the bar for how the organization understands and manages physical risk.

• Competitive compensation including a robust equity incentive plan to reward your contributions to our success.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance - we cover 100% of your premiums (including dependents!).

• 401(k) with company matching, so you can plan for the future.

• Generous flexible time off, paid parental leave, and company-wide holiday breaks.

• Relocation packages available for those moving to join our team.

• Daily, free catered lunches

• Learning & professional development opportunities with the chance to make a direct impact on the company’s growth and success.
  

If you’re ready to take on an exciting challenge, grow with us, and make a lasting impact, we want to hear from you. Even if you don’t meet every requirement, but you see yourself contributing to our mission, we encourage you to apply! We value diverse skillsets and experiences and believe in the potential of passionate individuals to make a big impact.

Equal Opportunity Employer

REGENT is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.