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Lead Combustion Engineer

El Segundo, CA

About Us

At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we’re creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them.  Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions—modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today’s energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale. 

Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. While many of us began our journeys looking to the stars, we’re applying that expertise here at home to deliver dependable, emission-free baseload power and a future of lasting abundance.  

If you share our values and are drawn to rigorous work with lasting impact, we’d love to learn more about you. Come build what the future will run on.

Steward our planet: We build for tomorrow, ensuring every bolt we tighten and every hand we lend leaves our environment stronger than we found it.

Lead with Love: We champion the success of our people, partners, and planet, nurturing excellence through camaraderie and rigor.

Explore the Uncharted: We embrace the unknown with curiosity, using courage and discipline to transform uncertainty into opportunity.

Role Overview

Our Lead Combustion Engineer serves as the technical authority pioneering our rocket-inspired, high-pressure oxy-fuel combustion systems - integral in delivering carbon-neutral and carbon-negative power cycles at scale. 

In this leadership role, you’ll own the combustion subsystem, guiding a talented team through end-to-end development of breakthrough, high-efficiency devices in a fast-paced, collaborative startup environment. You’ll drive strategy from clean-sheet concepts and advanced modeling through hands-on testing, rapid iteration, and performance validation, establishing the technical direction that powers a sustainable future. 

You’ll mentor junior engineers, align cross-functional efforts with test, analysis, and design teams, and make critical trade-off decisions to accelerate progress while pushing the boundaries of efficiency and reliability. 

Responsibilities

  • Serve as technical lead for oxy-fuel combustion systems: own architecture, clean-sheet design, rigorous analysis, and delivery of breakthrough performance 
  • Define and lead high-pressure/high-temperature test campaigns—from planning and execution through in-depth data analysis and actionable recommendations 
  • Direct system configuration trades and performance optimization to achieve maximum efficiency, reliability, and scalability 
  • Own rapid hardware development cycles—from manufacturing and assembly through testing and iterative improvements 
  • Champion the use of additive manufacturing, modern CFD/tools, and advanced simulation to shorten timelines and enable innovation 
  • Mentor team members, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and implement design upgrades that elevate system capability 

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, chemical engineering, or related field
  • 7+ years of experience in combustion system design, analysis, and testing
  • Deep expertise in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and combustion
  • Hands-on experience with high-temperature and pressure equipment
  • Strong leadership presence with experience mentoring engineers and influencing cross-functional teams  
  • Demonstrated ability to own product lifecycle from conceptual design to validation
  • Curious, inventive, and entrepreneurial mindset—thrives in ambiguity and drives progress relentlessly 

Preferred Qualifications

  • Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Mechanical, Aerospace, or Chemical Engineering 
  • Direct experience leading hot-fire testing campaigns in rocket propulsion, gas turbines, or similar environments 
  • Proficiency in programming for data analysis and automation (Python, MATLAB, etc.) 
  • Prior success in startup or fast-paced hardware development environments 

Benefits & Compensation

  • Pre-IPO stock options
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
  • Basic life insurance fully covered
  • Health savings account (HSA) with matching
  • Flexible savings account (FSA)
  • Unlimited PTO  
  • 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!  
  • 401(k)
  • Commuter benefits
  • Annual learning and development stipend
  • And more!
Base Pay: $170,000 - $185,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

Our Commitment

Arbor Energy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.

Our hiring process is designed to be accessible, fair, and focused on the work that matters most for this role. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and employment—please let us know if you need one.

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