GN&C Flight Analyst

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Are you excited by the thought of evaluating missile and hypersonic aerospace vehicle performance using advanced simulation tools and real flight test data? Are you up to the challenge of working with and learning from specialists in the field of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) and state estimation? If so, we're looking for someone like you to join our team at APL. We are seeking an inquisitive engineer with a background and strong interest in Inertial Navigation, Guidance, Control, and Estimation to help us evaluate the performance of our nation’s most advanced hypersonic and ballistic missile systems.

Requirements

Have a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics (or closely related technical field).
Have 1+ years of relevant experience in one or more of the following: Optimal Estimation Methods (Kalman Filters), Inertial Navigation, Flight Dynamics, Flight Data Analysis, or Guidance and Controls Performance Analysis.
Are willing and able to travel occasionally (potentially 2-3 trips per year with a duration of one week or less).
Are able to obtain an Interim Secret clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a Top-Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

Have an M.S. (or above) in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Physics (or closely related technical field) or 3+ years of relevant professional experience.
Have a strong sense of curiosity to understand how and why a system works and the ambition to follow up on that curiosity.
Have experience evaluating the performance of aerospace vehicles using real-world test data (IMU, GPS, RADAR, or similar) and have a strong understanding of their dynamics.
Have experience evaluating aerospace vehicle Guidance and Control performance and stability
Have proficiency with simulation tools (functional or covariance) that predict the performance of dynamic systems.
Are proficient in Matlab object-oriented programming.
Currently hold an active Secret clearance (or above).

Responsibilities

Analyze flight test data from GNC telemetry and navigation sensors including inertial measurement units (IMU), Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, RADAR, or other sensor systems.
Develop proficiency with analysis tools and methods to understand overall flight performance of ballistic and hypersonic missile and reentry systems.
Support the design, development, and maintenance of flight analysis software and procedures required to evaluate current and future flight system performance.
Present findings to a broad internal audience as well as sponsors and external organizations at working groups, post-flight briefings, and program reviews.
Collaborate with experts in industry and academia to gain a better understanding of weapon system performance and accuracy.