Key Responsibilities
- Adapt and enhance existing subsurface CFD models for geothermal well applications.
- Simulate pressure and temperature fields and capture the coupled physics of downhole heat exchangers.
- Apply open-source numerical frameworks such as PETSc or OpenGeoSys for solver development and refinement.
- Provide concise deliverables and progress updates within ~10 hours/month of consulting time.
- Collaborate with the technical team to align modeling assumptions with engineering requirements.
Qualifications
- Current PhD student or postdoctoral researcher in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, geoscience, applied mathematics, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated experience in computational fluid dynamics with applications to subsurface, reservoir, or geothermal systems.
- Proficiency in numerical methods and open-source computational libraries (e.g., PETSc, OpenGeoSys).
- Familiarity with coupled thermal–fluid physics and porous media modeling.
- Ability to work independently with limited time while producing academically rigorous results.
- Ability to work without conflict to other obligations, employment and contracts
What We Offer
- Flexible commitment (~10 hours/month), compatible with PhD/postdoc schedules.
- A unique chance to apply academic research skills in a translational energy technology environment.
- Insight into startup-driven innovation and exposure to industry perspectives.
- Opportunity to build a track record of applied consulting while continuing your academic work.
Top Skills
What We Do
Roadrunner Venture Studios is a company creation factory.
We co-found breakthrough deep-tech ventures with the nation’s most brilliant scientists, engineers, and innovators in Energy, Space, Clean Tech, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, Quantum, and High Performance Computing.
Our team gets involved at the earliest possible moment — often when a company is just a whiteboard scribble, a concept modeled in wire-frame, or as founders are puzzling through how to design a pitch deck or process payroll — and rapidly accelerates product development, commercialization, and recruitment.
We are the ultimate company “starter-kit,” equipping our portfolio companies with everything they need to go from the kernel of an idea to a venture-backed growth engine. Our promise is clear: our founders leave our studio with a company, a check, a customer, and a team.
