Are you looking for exciting opportunities to model, design, and develop the next generation of kinetic weapon systems in air and missile defense? Are you excited to develop innovative solutions to revolutionize the design, analysis, and optimization of US weapon systems? Do you have a passion for finding solutions to current and emerging needs of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC)? If so, then we're looking for someone like you to join the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization team as a weapon system concept development engineer at APL.

As a Weapon System Concept Development Engineer, you will:

• 
  Identify and model considerations related to aerospace vehicle design and kill chain engineering (e.g. detect, control, engage) when conducting trade studies, optimization studies, and sensitivity analyses that guide system/system-of-systems (SoS) concept development and performance assessments on a variety of multidisciplinary missile, weapon system, and SoS design problems. Problems include (but are not limited to): missile design and performance, mission planning, fire control/weapon scheduling, ballistic missile defense (BMD), anti-air warfare (AAW), defense against hypersonics, defensive space control applications, and early-stage hardware design.
• Develop and apply physics and empirically-based models and simulations across the fidelity spectrum for the conceptual design and performance estimation of U.S. and adversary weapon systems. Help derive requirements for next-generation weapons designed to address the threat of tomorrow and uncover critically enabling technologies to get there.
• Apply numerical optimization (to include multidisciplinary design optimization and trajectory optimization) along with the design of experiments, surrogate modeling, and other statistical techniques to weapon system concept development efforts across a wide range of problem spaces. Guide the development of novel analytical techniques with an eye toward the balance of fidelity and computational efficiency trade, model verification and robustness, and software architecting.
• Push the boundary of conceptual weapon design and deliver your findings to DoD/IC program offices. Help guide technical programs to successful outcomes, and identify potential future projects through sponsor engagement and internal research and development (IR&D).

You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...

• 
  BS degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, with two or more years of experience in an aerospace system design capacity
• Experience with aerospace vehicle design, flight dynamics, and familiarity with at least one vehicle/subsystem discipline (e.g. solid/liquid propulsion, aerodynamics, guidance, seekers, etc.)
• Experience developing and running sizing and performance models for aerospace vehicles
• Experience with at least one of the following advanced design methods: numerical optimization, multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) / multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization (MDAO), and statistical modeling techniques such as the design of experiments and surrogate/metamodeling (e.g. response surface equations, neural nets, etc.)
• Experience in decision-making in design problems featuring multiple independent parameters and metrics of interest.
• Ability to codify real-world constraints into representative and meaningful mathematical models which are usable within optimization algorithms
• Ability to translate design and decision making problems into continuous, mixed-integer, linear, and combinatorial optimization problems
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team, with a history of meaningful contributions to multidisciplinary teams on a variety of engineering design problems.
• Significant experience with MATLAB programming.
• Can demonstrate that you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. To ensure the safety and well-being of the community, APL has established a policy requiring that all staff be vaccinated against COVID-19. All staff members must provide proof of full vaccination or have an approved medical or religious accommodation by their start date.
• Are able to obtain an Interim Secret security clearance by your start date and can ultimately a full Secret level security clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

You 'll go above and beyond our minimum requirements if you...

• 
  MS or PhD degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
• Five or more five years of experience with advanced design methods
• Experience with trajectory optimization (3/6 DOF) on tools such as GPOPS-ii, OTIS, etc.
• Enough depth with numerical optimization to understand/bypass potential shortfalls and choose the appropriate algorithms for a given problem
• Ability to absorb perspectives of a complex system (that is unfamiliar to you) from assorted stakeholders and form them into a cohesive system-level view.
• Recognize when design problems are getting too complex, requiring a change in paradigm or refocused research questions.
• Experience in balancing analysis fidelity to best answer conceptual system-level questions. Ability to identify and challenge subject matter expert assumptions as needed in order to achieve this fidelity balance.
• Experience communicating complex problems and the viability/impact of potential solutions, along with the optimality of the solutions, to an audience with different levels of expertise or from other fields entirely
• Current Secret clearance with ability and willingness to obtain a TS/SCI clearance.

Why work at APL?

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world-class expertise to our nation&rsquos most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates.

At APL, we celebrate our differences and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance. APL&rsquos campus is located in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Learn more about our career opportunities at www.jhuapl.edu/careers.

#LI-KW1

#JST

APL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. APL is committed to promoting an innovative environment that embraces diversity, encourages creativity, and supports inclusion of new ideas. In doing so, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact Accommodations@jhuapl.edu. Only by ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard are we empowered to be bold, do great things, and make the world a better place.