Modeling & Simulation Engineer, Missiles

CHAOS Industries•El Segundo, CA

About The Position

CHAOS Industries is hiring a Modeling & Simulation Engineer for its Missiles team. The Modeling & Simulation team builds physics-based models, simulation environments, and analysis tools used to design, integrate, test, and validate advanced aerospace and defense systems. The role develops, integrates, and validates dynamic and closed-loop simulations for guided weapons, interceptors, missiles, and related flight vehicles. Programs may include ground- and air-launched weapons, tactical or strategic missiles, cruise missiles, ballistic systems, interceptors, hypersonic vehicles, and other advanced effectors. The engineer works across fast-running trajectory models, 3-DOF and high-fidelity 6-DOF simulations, software-in-the-loop environments, real-time simulations, and hardware-in-the-loop test systems. The work supports vehicle design, GNC and seeker integration, system-performance analysis, verification, test planning, preflight prediction, and postflight reconstruction. Candidates need not have experience in every listed area; depth in one or more relevant modeling and simulation domains is encouraged. The position requires a bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical discipline or equivalent demonstrated expertise, relevant missile or flight-vehicle modeling and simulation experience, strong dynamics fundamentals, programming ability, model validation experience, and an active Secret clearance. A master’s degree or higher and additional missile, control, guidance, test, or simulation experience are preferred. The stated base salary range is $140,000–$190,000.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, physics, applied mathematics, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent demonstrated expertise.
Relevant experience in missile or flight-vehicle modeling and simulation, flight dynamics, GNC, trajectory analysis, weapon-system performance, or a closely related field.
Hands-on experience developing, integrating, or using 3-DOF or 6-DOF dynamic simulations.
Strong fundamentals in flight mechanics, rigid-body dynamics, coordinate systems and transformations, numerical integration, control or estimation concepts, and dynamic-system analysis.
Demonstrated depth in at least one relevant missile modeling area, such as flight dynamics and vehicle modeling; guidance-law development or analysis; flight-control, autopilot, or control-system modeling; navigation, estimation, or multisensor integration; trajectory optimization or weapon-system performance analysis; seeker, tracker, fire-control, or terminal-engagement integration; or real-time simulation, HITL, or HWIL.
Strong programming ability in at least one scientific or analytical environment such as MATLAB, Python, or C++.
Experience performing Monte Carlo analysis, error-budget analysis, sensitivity analysis, robustness analysis, uncertainty quantification, or design of experiments.
Experience validating or correlating dynamic models against analytical references, subsystem-test data, laboratory data, ground-test data, telemetry, flight-test data, range data, or other authoritative sources.
Experience working with system requirements, subsystem interfaces, test objectives, verification methods, and performance criteria.
Experience with Git, code review, automated testing, issue tracking, continuous integration, and reproducible software or analysis workflows.
Ability to work independently, make sound technical judgments, document assumptions and limitations clearly, and collaborate across engineering disciplines.
Active Secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or higher in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, or a related field.
Experience with tactical or strategic missiles, ballistic systems, interceptors, cruise missiles, air-launched or ground-launched weapons, hypersonic vehicles, launch vehicles, or other advanced guided flight systems.
Experience designing, tuning, or evaluating guidance laws, autopilots, control laws, state estimators, Kalman filters, or multisensor navigation systems.
Experience with classical, modern, robust, optimal, adaptive, or nonlinear control methods.
Experience with trajectory optimization, optimal control, multidisciplinary design optimization, launch-zone analysis, intercept analysis, or engageability analysis.
Experience creating or integrating aerodynamic databases, propulsion models, boost-phase models, thrust-vector-control models, staging or separation models, and mass-property models.
Experience integrating RF, EO/IR, multimode, passive, or other seeker and target-tracking models.
Experience with fire-control, weapon-target assignment, target-state estimation, fuzing, lethality, or endgame-performance models.
Experience integrating embedded flight software, tactical software, auto-generated code, or processor-representative software into closed-loop simulations.
Experience supporting flight-test planning, range operations, telemetry analysis, preflight prediction, postflight reconstruction, or flight-anomaly resolution.
Experience with large-scale or high-performance Monte Carlo execution, parallel simulation, cloud or cluster execution, or simulation campaign orchestration.
Experience with MBSE, model-based development, requirements traceability, formal V&V, verification evidence, or simulation-credibility assessments.
Experience supporting DoD, DARPA, AFRL, ONR, MDA, NAVAIR, DEVCOM, intelligence-community, or advanced aerospace programs.
Active or eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance.

Responsibilities

Develop, integrate, and maintain 3-DOF and 6-DOF flight and engagement simulations for missile systems and related flight vehicles.
Implement and validate equations of motion, coordinate-frame transformations, rigid-body dynamics, numerical integration, kinematics, environmental models, and vehicle-state propagation.
Develop or integrate applicable models of vehicle subsystems, sensors, seekers, launch and ejection systems, staging and separation events, environments, targets, and threats.
Integrate guidance, navigation, estimation, autopilot, control, seeker, tracker, fire-control, tactical, embedded flight software, and hardware models into closed-loop simulations.
Evaluate trajectory and engagement performance, including launch and intercept envelopes, timing, accuracy, stability, robustness, actuator usage, control margins, navigation error, seeker performance, terminal performance, and degraded or failure modes.
Develop error budgets and conduct Monte Carlo, sensitivity, uncertainty-quantification, covariance, design-of-experiments, and robustness analyses.
Support system-design trades involving vehicle configuration, guidance concepts, control architecture, sensor selection, actuator performance, propulsion, aerodynamics, launch conditions, and operational scenarios.
Translate system and subsystem requirements into model requirements, simulation cases, performance measures, verification methods, and objective evidence.
Integrate models and flight or tactical software into desktop, SIL, SITL, HITL, HWIL, real-time, processor-in-the-loop, and batch simulation environments as applicable.
Support hardware and software integration laboratories, including interface definition, timing analysis, real-time execution, hardware stimulation, test automation, and anomaly investigation.
Develop preflight predictions, test scenarios, test points, expected-performance envelopes, and flight- or range-test analysis products.
Reduce and analyze telemetry, laboratory, ground-test, captive-carry, flight-test, and range data.
Perform postflight reconstruction, model correlation, parameter estimation, root-cause analysis, and simulation-to-test discrepancy resolution.
Develop and maintain simulation software, reusable model components, APIs, configuration systems, scenario-generation tools, data pipelines, visualization tools, analysis workflows, and automated regression tests.
Produce model documentation, assumptions and limitations, validation evidence, performance reports, engineering-review material, and customer or program deliverables.