Parachute Modeling Engineer

Amentum•Houston, TX

4d•Remote

About The Position

This position will work on NASA's Development and Analysis Team, which provides software development and analytic support for a variety of NASA and commercial programs, including Orion and the Artemis Program. The selected applicant will develop a state-of-the-art multi-body parachute system model, including parachute deployment, inflation, and full-open flight, for use on the Orion and Commercial Crew programs and future programs. The role involves integrating this model into NASA's flight mechanics simulation (Julia) and NASA Trick-based simulations (C++). Collaboration with subject matter experts will be key for planning and reconstructing parachute drop tests and spacecraft flight performance. The engineer will also assist the GN&C team with parachute system analyses, including touchdown condition assessments, and execute simulations on the High-Performance Computing (HPC) system. Verification and validation of flight mechanics models and simulations, development of requirements documentation, and providing recommendations for process improvements are also core responsibilities. This position is open to remote work.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering and a minimum of 2-5 years of experience in the field or in a related area.
Experience with 6-DOF and multi-body flight mechanics simulations.
Experience with software development (any language).
Experience developing, verifying, and validating parachute simulation models.
Experience analyzing spacecraft performance.
Experience in product delivery utilizing source code management tools such as Git/GitLab.
Excellent communication skills.
Able to work in a team environment consisting of NASA civil servants and contractor employees.
Strong interpersonal skills to enable successful performance in a collaborative engineering team.
Ability to organize and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and schedules with limited supervision.
Ability to prepare written documents and to verbally present at various meetings.
Experience with Microsoft Office products.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited engineering school with five (5) years of related engineering experience, a master's degree from an accredited engineering school and four (4) years of related engineering experience, or a Ph.D. from an accredited engineering school and zero (0) years of related experience.
PhD in Aerospace Engineering with a focus on flight mechanics.
Proficiency in Julia, C++, and Linux.
Experience with software design.

Responsibilities

Develop a state-of-the-art multi-body parachute system model, including parachute deployment, inflation, and full-open flight, for use on the Orion and Commercial Crew programs and future programs.
Integrate the multi-body parachute system model into NASA's flight mechanics simulation (Julia) and NASA Trick-based simulations (C++).
Collaborate with parachute analysis subject matter experts to plan and reconstruct parachute drop tests and reconstruct the parachute system performance from spacecraft flights.
Assist the GN&C team in performing parachute system analyses, including assessments of the touchdown conditions.
Assist the parachute analysis team with executing simulations on our High-Performance Computing (HPC) system.
Perform verification and validation for flight mechanics models and simulations.
Develop requirements documentation for flight mechanics models and simulations.
Provide recommendations for improvements in design and software development processes.
Perform other duties as required.