Post Doctoral Scholar

University of Central Florida • Orlando, FL

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The postdoctoral scholar will support a DARPA project developing predictive pressure-load models for external hypersonics aerodynamics. In collaboration with researchers at another university, an industry partner, and UCF’s research group, the scholar will develop data-informed models and lead rigorous model development, testing, and deployment to address demonstration problems. The role also includes writing scientific journal articles, presenting research at technical conferences, attending collaborator meetings, contributing to quarterly project reports, and, to a lesser extent, mentoring junior researchers.

The position is in the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The appointment is fixed term, with an expected salary of $68,000. Applicants must be authorized to work for any U.S. employer; H-1B sponsorship, transfers, and employment-based visa processing for individuals currently sponsored by another employer are unavailable. UCF expects employees to reside in Florida when employment begins unless the posting explicitly states otherwise.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering.
• Experience with machine learning tools, Python, and end-to-end training paradigms.
• Past experience in high-speed aerodynamics.
• Must be authorized to work for any U.S. employer.
• Submit a curriculum vitae with the online application; the selected candidate must submit official transcripts and, as applicable, U.S. degree equivalency evaluations documenting qualifying academic credentials.

Nice To Haves

• Multiphysics modeling experience focused on fluid-thermal-structural interactions.
• Prior work developing generalizable and explainable machine-learning models.
• Experience designing physics-based loss functions in data-informed modeling frameworks.
• Direct experience with high-speed surface pressure models and panel methods.

Responsibilities

• Develop data-informed predictive pressure-load models for external hypersonics aerodynamics as part of a DARPA project.
• Collaborate with researchers at another university, an industry partner, and UCF’s research group.
• Conduct rigorous model development, testing, and deployment to solve demonstration problems.
• Write scientific journal articles.
• Present novel research at technical conferences.
• Attend collaborator meetings.
• Contribute to quarterly project reports.
• Help mentor junior researchers in the group.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree