  We present the discovery of TOI-1518b -- an ultra-hot Jupiter orbiting a
bright star $V = 8.95$. The transiting planet is confirmed using
high-resolution optical transmission spectra from EXPRES. It is inflated, with
$R_p = 1.875\pm0.053\,R_{\rm J}$, and exhibits several interesting properties,
including a misaligned orbit (${240.34^{+0.93}_{-0.98}}$ degrees) and nearly
grazing transit ($b =0.9036^{+0.0061}_{-0.0053}$). The planet orbits a
fast-rotating F0 host star ($T_{\mathrm{eff}} \simeq 7300$ K) in 1.9 days and
experiences intense irradiation. Notably, the TESS data show a clear secondary
eclipse with a depth of $364\pm28$ ppm and a significant phase curve signal,
from which we obtain a relative day-night planetary flux difference of roughly
320 ppm and a 5.2$\sigma$ detection of ellipsoidal distortion on the host star.
Prompted by recent detections of atomic and ionized species in ultra-hot
Jupiter atmospheres, we conduct an atmospheric cross-correlation analysis. We
detect neutral iron (${5.2\sigma}$), at $K_p = 157^{+68}_{-44}$ km s$^{-1}$ and
$V_{\rm sys} = -16^{+2}_{-4}$ km s$^{-1}$, adding another object to the small
sample of highly irradiated gas-giant planets with Fe detections in
transmission. Detections so far favor particularly inflated gas giants with
radii $\gtrsim 1.78\,R_{\rm J}$; although this may be due to observational
bias. With an equilibrium temperature of $T_{\rm eq}=2492\pm38$ K and a
measured dayside brightness temperature of $3237\pm59$ K (assuming zero
geometric albedo), TOI-1518b is a promising candidate for future emission
spectroscopy to probe for a thermal inversion.
