Modeling & Simulation Engineer, Missiles
$140,000–$190,000 year
On-siteEl Segundo, California, United States
El Segundo, California, United StatesOn-siteFull Time$140,000–$190,000 yearTechnologySmall
Full TimeSmallTechnology
Job Summary
Develop, integrate, and maintain 3-DOF and 6-DOF flight and engagement simulations for guided weapons, interceptors, and missiles. Implement equations of motion, coordinate-frame transformations, and rigid-body dynamics while developing models of aerodynamics, propulsion, and control surfaces. Integrate guidance algorithms, navigation functions, and embedded flight software into closed-loop environments including SIL, SITL, and HITL. Evaluate trajectory performance, launch envelopes, and miss distance through Monte Carlo analysis, error budgets, and sensitivity studies. Support system-design trades, preflight predictions, and postflight reconstruction by reducing telemetry and resolving simulation-to-test discrepancies. Produce model documentation, verification evidence, and engineering deliverables for advanced aerospace programs.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, physics, applied mathematics, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent demonstrated expertise.
- Relevant experience in missile or flight-vehicle modeling and simulation, flight dynamics, GNC, trajectory analysis, weapon-system performance, or a closely related field.
- Hands-on experience developing, integrating, or using 3-DOF or 6-DOF dynamic simulations.
- Strong fundamentals in flight mechanics, rigid-body dynamics, coordinate systems and transformations, numerical integration, control or estimation concepts, and dynamic-system analysis.
- Demonstrated depth in at least one relevant missile modeling area, such as flight dynamics and vehicle modeling; guidance-law development or analysis; flight-control, autopilot, or control-system modeling; navigation, estimation, or multisensor integration; trajectory optimization or weapon-system performance analysis; seeker, tracker, fire-control, or terminal-engagement integration; or real-time simulation, HITL, or HWIL.
- Strong programming ability in at least one scientific or analytical environment such as MATLAB, Python, or C++.
- Experience performing Monte Carlo analysis, error-budget analysis, sensitivity analysis, robustness analysis, uncertainty quantification, or design of experiments.
- Experience validating or correlating dynamic models against analytical references, subsystem-test data, laboratory data, ground-test data, telemetry, flight-test data, range data, or other authoritative sources.
- Experience working with system requirements, subsystem interfaces, test objectives, verification methods, and performance criteria.
- Experience with Git, code review, automated testing, issue tracking, continuous integration, and reproducible software or analysis workflows.
- Ability to work independently, make sound technical judgments, document assumptions and limitations clearly, and collaborate across engineering disciplines.
- Active Secret clearance.
Desired Qualifications
- Master's degree or higher in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, or a related field.
- Experience with tactical missiles, strategic missiles, ballistic systems, interceptors, cruise missiles, air-launched weapons, ground-launched weapons, hypersonic vehicles, launch vehicles, or other advanced guided flight systems.
- Experience designing, tuning, or evaluating guidance laws, autopilots, control laws, state estimators, Kalman filters, or multisensor navigation systems.
- Experience with classical, modern, robust, optimal, adaptive, or nonlinear control methods.
- Experience with trajectory optimization, optimal control, multidisciplinary design optimization, launch-zone analysis, intercept analysis, or engageability analysis.
- Experience creating or integrating aerodynamic databases, propulsion models, boost-phase models, thrust-vector-control models, staging or separation models, and mass-property models.
- Experience integrating RF, EO/IR, multimode, passive, or other seeker and target-tracking models.
- Experience with fire-control, weapon-target assignment, target-state estimation, fuzing, lethality, or endgame-performance models.
- Experience integrating embedded flight software, tactical software, auto-generated code, or processor-representative software into closed-loop simulations.
- Experience supporting flight-test planning, range operations, telemetry analysis, preflight prediction, postflight reconstruction, or flight-anomaly resolution.
- Experience with large-scale or high-performance Monte Carlo execution, parallel simulation, cloud or cluster execution, or simulation campaign orchestration.
- Experience with MBSE, model-based development, requirements traceability, formal V&V, verification evidence, or simulation-credibility assessments.
- Experience supporting DoD, DARPA, AFRL, ONR, MDA, NAVAIR, DEVCOM, intelligence-community, or advanced aerospace programs.
- Active or eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance.
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.