Abstract. This paper is concerned with optimal control problems of partial differential equations. In particular, parameterized convection-diffusion problems are considered, where the parameter appears in the coefficients of the partial differential equation. Moreover, the presence of one or more rigid bodies is assumed inside the domain. Both the theory (existence, differentiability, optimality criteria) is investigated and the numerical solution (projected gradient scheme) of such problems is carried out. Finally, it is shown that optimizing the efficiency of a rotating propeller fits into the presented framework and results of corresponding numerical experiments are given.