MQ-25 Flight Dynamics Engineer

Peraton•Government Site, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Peraton is seeking a Flight Dynamics Engineer for the MQ-25 engineering team, focusing on assessing the overall MQ-25 air system performance, safety, and reliability, specifically related to flying Mission Plan routes. The role involves executing six degree of freedom (6DOF) simulation analyses using Boeing’s MODAVSIM simulation with Mission Plan routes. This position is critical for airworthiness and flight certification, evaluating flight path control, air vehicle performance, flight characteristics, and Vehicle Management System (VMS) logic and flight and ground control law (CLAW) performance. The engineer will create scripts for batch simulation runs, plot and analyze simulation data, assess safety-critical aspects, and document findings. While the role is crucial for assessment, it does not involve final certification or producing official recommendations for Mission Plan routes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
A minimum of two years of relevant professional experience.
Knowledge of aerodynamics and/or computer programming.
Experience or skillsets in one or more of the following areas: Computer programming, Physics-based simulations, Use of software-based data plotting and analysis tool(s) (e.g. MATLAB).
Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain.
Must be a U.S. citizen.
Full-time access to an NMCI RDT&E computer system with MATLAB, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and Notepad++ (or similar text editor).
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Ability to be a self-directed team player with proven ability to deliver tasks timely and efficiently.
Demonstrated ability to interact professionally with all levels of management.
High level problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a pilot, UAS operator, or mission planner.
Professional knowledge of aerodynamics, Unmanned Air System (UAS), 6DOF aircraft simulation, and/or mission planning.
Experience or skillsets in one or more of the following areas: MATLAB scripting and plotting, 6DOF aircraft simulations (will need to utilize MODAVSIM), Flight dynamics and/or aircraft performance and associated acceptable aircraft behavior for safe flight, CLAW design and analysis of aircraft, Contingency management for unmanned systems, Flight control systems redundancy management for fixed-wing and/or rotary-wing aircraft.
Experience with UAS waypoint-based mission planning.

Responsibilities

Execute six degree of freedom (6DOF) simulation analyses using Boeing’s MODAVSIM simulation with Mission Plan routes.
Assess criteria relevant to flight path control, air vehicle performance, flight characteristics, and Vehicle Management System (VMS) logic and flight and ground control law (CLAW) performance.
Create scripts to run batch-style simulation runs.
Plot simulation data, analyze and assess safety-critical aspects of the data.
Create documentation of the data and reporting key findings.
Develop tools to run batch-style simulations using MODAVSIM and MATLAB.
Document process/procedures for 6DOF analysis and reporting as draft content for the MQ-25 Mission Plan Validation Joint Operating Procedure.
Plot data into reports, including overlay of Mission Plan routes and vehicle location time history over satellite imagery, summaries of groups of runs, individual plots using different x-axis parameters, and full Mission plans and smaller route segments.
Provide initial analysis of runs with a stoplight chart (or other data representation format) of parameters against defined thresholds.
Provide initial investigation into identified issues in the mission plan and/or vehicle response.
Review & interpret mission plan files to develop appropriate test matrix for simulation runs.
Review results of mission plan assessments conducted using a hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) lab and/or the MQ-25 Training and Test Rehearsal Unit (TTRU) and account for findings as appropriate in 6DOF mission plan analysis.
Assess generated data to ensure proper simulation usage and outcomes that are appropriate for required test cases.
Develop and document knowledge of aircraft and GCS system, mission planning concepts, and relevant flight procedures.
Develop generalized, non-MQ-25 specific, requirements and/or task definitions for Omniview-based mission plan validation using a unmanned air platform 6DOF simulation.
Support other MQ-25 simulation-based activities to support Flight Dynamic’s evaluation flight test capabilities and overall MQ-25 airworthiness.