MQ-25 Flight Dynamics Engineer

Peraton•Government Site, MD

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Peraton is seeking a Flight Dynamics Engineer for the Flight Dynamics Branch’s (AB21400) MQ-25 engineering team. This role is responsible for assessing the overall MQ-25 air system performance, safety, and reliability, specifically related to flying Mission Plan routes. The position plays a critical role in airworthiness and flight certification by assessing 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. The position requires the ability to create scripts to run batch-style simulation runs, plot simulation data, analyze and assess safety-critical aspects of the data, and create documentation of the data and reporting key findings. This is a hybrid position in the Lexington Park, Maryland area.

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.
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, and a 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, with 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

Executing six degree of freedom (6DOF) simulation analyses using Boeing’s MODAVSIM simulation with Mission Plan routes.
Creating scripts to run batch-style simulation runs.
Plotting simulation data.
Analyzing and assessing safety-critical aspects of the data.
Creating documentation of the data and reporting key findings.
Developing tools to run batch-style simulations using MODAVSIM and MATLAB.
Documenting process/procedures for 6DOF analysis and reporting.
Plotting data into reports, including overlay of Mission Plan routes and vehicle location time history over satellite imagery, summaries of groups of runs, individual plots, and full Mission plans and smaller route segments.
Providing initial analysis of runs with a stoplight chart (or other data representation format) of parameters against defined thresholds.
Providing initial investigation into identified issues in the mission plan and/or vehicle response.
Reviewing and interpreting mission plan files to develop appropriate test matrix for simulation runs.
Reviewing 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 accounting for findings as appropriate in 6DOF mission plan analysis.
Assessing generated data to ensure proper simulation usage and outcomes that are appropriate for required test cases.
Developing and documenting knowledge of aircraft and GCS system, mission planning concepts, and relevant flight procedures.
Developing generalized, non-MQ-25 specific, requirements and/or task definitions for Omniview-based mission plan validation using a unmanned air platform 6DOF simulation.
Supporting other MQ-25 simulation-based activities to support Flight Dynamic’s evaluation flight test capabilities and overall MQ-25 airworthiness.