Flight Dynamicist

Leidos • San Diego, CA

6d • $69,550 - $125,725

About The Position

Leidos’ Defense Systems Advanced Development Organization is seeking a talented Flight Dynamicist to join our team to create unique solutions for complex problems. With offices across the United States engaging in the defense, space, cyber and commercial fields, Leidos provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific and IT solutions. The Advanced Concepts Flight Dynamicist will support modeling and simulation development, conceptual design, and vehicle development of various phases of Missiles, Hypersonic Vehicles, Satellites, and other Space Vehicles. The candidate will perform detailed analysis of flexible and rigid body simulations, separation dynamics, orbit dynamics, trajectory analysis, vehicle sizing, and optimization studies across a multi-disciplinary team.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related engineering discipline from an ABET-accredited institution.
• Minimum 2-4 years of experience in flight dynamics, trajectory analysis, mission design, guidance and control, modeling and simulation, or related aerospace engineering disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience developing and analyzing tools in support of 3DOF and/or 6DOF vehicle simulations.
• Basic understanding of flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, trajectory optimization, vehicle stability and control, mass properties, and aerospace vehicle performance.
• Demonstrated capability establishing data pipeline transformations, executing batch simulation runs, or debugging continuous integration test sequences.
• Ability to work effectively within cross-functional engineering teams in a fast-paced development environment.
• Experience supporting technical proposals, customer interactions, and engineering reviews.
• Active Secret security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain TS, as required.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelors or Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related discipline.
• Experience supporting hypersonic systems, missile systems, space vehicles, launch vehicles, reentry vehicles, or advanced weapons programs.
• Experience creating automated device tracking architectures, signal capture setups, or localized RF / wireless detection configurations within secured engineering environments.
• Hands-on experience configuring hardware interfaces, firmware execution (e.g., microcontrollers, embedded single-board computers), or mechanical prototyping layouts.
• Familiarity with collaborative design suites, parameter manipulation, and distributed configuration tooling (such as Onshape, Fusion 360, or Solid Edge).
• Background supporting complex tactical defense systems, global missile defense simulation suites, or precise long-range missile performance studies.
• Passion for KSP.
• Active TS Clearance

Responsibilities

• Update current and create new aerospace modeling and simulation tools in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C++. FORTRAN, or other similar programming languages.
• Develop and analyze 3DOF and 6DOF flight dynamics models to evaluate vehicle performance, stability, controllability, and mission effectiveness across the full flight envelope.
• Perform trajectory design, optimization, and trade studies for hypersonic, missile, launch vehicle, and space systems, balancing performance, range, payload, thermal, and operational constraints.
• Develop low/med-fidelity simulations and digital engineering models to support concept development, requirements analysis, mission planning, system design, verification, and test activities.
• Conduct prelimiary aerodynamic, propulsion, mass properties, and environmental sensitivity analyses to assess vehicle performance and identify key design drivers and technical risks.
• Perform flight mechanics analyses including stability and control assessments, separation dynamics, staging events, atmospheric flight, reentry, and orbital mission operations as applicable.
• Develop and integrate mission-level models within modeling and simulation frameworks, digital engineering environments, and hardware-in-the-loop or software-in-the-loop test architectures.
• Support flight test planning, pre-flight predictions, post-flight reconstruction, and data analysis activities to validate models and improve system performance.
• Collaborate across disciplines including aerodynamics, propulsion, thermal, systems engineering, software, and mission analysis teams to translate requirements into executable vehicle designs.
• Support technical proposals, customer engagements, concept studies, and strategic growth initiatives related to advanced aerospace, missile defense, hypersonic, and space systems.
• Present technical results, trade studies, and recommendations to internal leadership, customers, and stakeholders through briefings, reports, and design reviews.

Benefits

• Diverse portfolio of systems, solutions, and services covering land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace for customers worldwide.
• Solutions for Defense include enterprise and mission IT, large-scale intelligence systems, command and control, geospatial and data analytics, cybersecurity, logistics, training, and intelligence analysis and operations support.
• Solving the world’s toughest security challenges for customers with “can’t fail” missions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level