Material Response Modeling Engineer

Analytical Mechanics Associates•Mountain View, CA

8d•$120,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) is seeking a highly motivated Material Response Modeling Engineer to support NASA under the Aircraft Systems and Spaceflight Engineering Support Services (ASSESS) contract at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in Moffett Field, California. The selected candidate will work on-site within the Thermal Protection Materials (TSM) Branch, part of the Entry Systems and Technology Division at NASA ARC. This position supports the development, application, verification, and validation of computational tools for predicting the response of thermal protection system (TPS) materials in extreme aerothermal environments. The successful candidate will work as part of an interdisciplinary team of computational and experimental researchers to advance material-response modeling capabilities, support development of advanced TPS materials, and improve the predictive fidelity and computational performance of engineering simulation tools. This opportunity is open to U.S. citizen and legal permanent resident candidates ranging from recent M.S. or Ph.D. graduates through experienced technical contributors and senior researchers. A Ph.D. is preferred but not required; applicants with an M.S. and strong relevant experience are encouraged to apply. The Thermal Protection Materials Branch develops and evaluates materials and predictive capabilities for atmospheric entry, descent, and landing applications. The Material Response Modeling Engineer will contribute to NASA’s open-source PATO material-response software and related computational capabilities used to simulate the thermal, chemical, and physical response of TPS materials. Work may include modeling ablative and charring material systems; developing numerical methods and software for coupled flow–material interactions; modeling pyrolysis, decomposition, oxidation, recession, spallation, and phase-change processes; and verifying and validating models against relevant test data, including arc-jet test results. The role will involve scientific software development, high-performance computing, technical communication, and close collaboration across modeling and materials-development teams.

Requirements

M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, or a closely related technical discipline
Candidates who are near completion of a Ph.D. are encouraged to apply.
Relevant professional research or engineering experience may be considered in place of some educational preferences.
Demonstrated experience with computational modeling, scientific computing, or numerical simulation relevant to material response, heat transfer, reacting flows, ablation, or related multiphysics problems
Strong programming skills in C++ and Python
Familiarity with high-performance computing and large-scale simulation workflows
Knowledge of numerical methods and software-development practices applicable to scientific and engineering computing
Strong problem-solving, critical-thinking, organizational, and self-direction skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Ability to work both independently and effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team
Ability to work full-time on-site at NASA Ames Research Center
Ability to travel occasionally, as required
This position requires U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency due to export control requirements.

Nice To Haves

Ph.D. in a relevant engineering, science, or computational discipline
Experience with PATO material-response software
Experience with other material-response, TPS, ablation, or charring-material simulation tools, such as FIAT, Icarus, CHAR, or comparable government, academic, commercial, or internally developed codes
Experience modeling ablative thermal protection system materials at the macroscale
Experience with coupled fluid-thermal-chemical-material-response modeling or flow-material interaction solvers
Familiarity with modeling pyrolysis, charring, decomposition, oxidation, gas transport, surface recession, spallation, phase change, or gas-surface interactions
Experience developing, verifying, validating, or applying material-response models using high-enthalpy or arc-jet test data
Experience with thermochemistry, chemical kinetics, porous-media transport, or reacting-flow modeling
Experience with uncertainty quantification, sensitivity analysis, material-property modeling, or parameter estimation
Experience with Fortran or other scientific programming languages
Experience developing or maintaining open-source scientific software
Experience working in Linux-based development and HPC environments
Record of technical publications, conference presentations, or other demonstrated technical communication products
Familiarity with NASA Ames Research Center or NASA research and development environments

Responsibilities

Contributing to the development, maintenance, documentation, and application of the open-source NASA material-response software PATO
Developing and implementing computational models for the response of TPS materials in extreme aerothermal environments
Modeling relevant material-response phenomena, including thermal decomposition, pyrolysis, charring, oxidation, surface recession, spallation, phase change, and gas transport
Developing efficient and scalable numerical methods for challenging coupled physics problems, including flow-material interactions and finite-rate physical and chemical processes
Performing ablative TPS material-response simulations in support of material development, system design, and technology maturation activities
Supporting verification, validation, and uncertainty assessment of material-response models through comparison with experimental data, including arc-jet and other high-temperature test environments
Developing, testing, debugging, and maintaining scientific software in C++, Python, and related programming languages
Performing and supporting large-scale simulations using high-performance computing resources
Collaborating with computational modelers, material scientists, experimentalists, contractors, and NASA researchers in multidisciplinary technical teams
Preparing technical reports, presentations, conference papers, and peer-reviewed journal publications, as appropriate
Supporting the development of research proposals and new project concepts, as opportunities arise
Participating in technical meetings, reviews, teleconferences, and project activities as scheduled by task and project leads
Presenting project status, technical results, and recommendations to team members, management, and external technical audiences