Rotorcraft Flight Dynamics Modeling and Simulation Engineer

Analytical Mechanics Associates•Huntsville, AL

4d•$100,000 - $135,000•Onsite

About The Position

AMA provides technical support to the U.S. Army’s Technology Development Directorate (TDD) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. This work supports the development, application, and advancement of high-fidelity modeling and simulation tools used in Army rotorcraft acquisition programs, including Future Vertical Lift (FVL). Advanced flight-dynamics modeling and analysis tools such as Gen Hel, FORECAST, and HeliUM are used to predict the responses of Army rotorcraft under various configurations and flight conditions, including real-time simulation with a pilot in the loop. They are also used to generate high-order linear models that are needed to design and optimize both flight controls and autonomy algorithms for Army rotorcraft. Such models play a critical role in reducing technical risk and informing Army rotorcraft design and acquisition decisions for both future vertical lift and for legacy fleet upgrades. About the Project: The Flight Dynamics Modeling and Simulation Engineer will support Army rotorcraft engineering efforts through the development, improvement, and application of flight-dynamics models for both legacy fleet and future vertical lift, including models needed for real-time piloted simulations on NASA’s Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS). Additionally, the position will support the development of flight-dynamics models for simulation of advanced and novel vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft configurations, both manned and unmanned. Work location will be at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Pay for this position is approximately $100,000 - $135,000 per year, commensurate with experience, and includes a competitive benefits package.

Requirements

BS in Aerospace Engineering or related field required.
Education in the following areas: aerospace flight dynamics and control; aircraft simulation; classical control, linear control theory, digital control; MATLAB.
This position requires U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with component-type simulation models such as Gen Hel or HeliUM would be a plus.
Experience in rotorcraft dynamics and analysis
Experience with flight dynamics modeling/identification tools (CIFER, HeliUM, FORECAST, GenHel) and in an applied research setting.

Responsibilities

Perform flight dynamics modeling and simulation of modern vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft configurations, both manned and unmanned.
Provide flight dynamics modeling expertise to the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program office.
Participate in FLRAA design reviews and keep abreast of flight dynamics modeling needs for the FLRAA aircraft.
Develop, update, validate both generic and specific physics-based models of the FLRAA tiltrotor.
Develop proficiency with the HeliUM comprehensive modeling tool.
Update HeliUM as need to generate reduced-order real-time aerodynamics simulation models for UAS.
Develop and validate UH-60M flight dynamics simulation models to enhance existing capabilities by enabling the modeling and simulation of relevant rotorcraft configurations.
Assess and plan the necessary source code modifications and investigate considerations for the software development environment.
Conduct applied research to develop and validate advanced identification techniques needed to accurately model configurations with multiple redundant effectors.
Validate and update models so that they can in turn be used to more accurately predict further configuration changes.
Attend technical group meetings, branch meetings, design reviews, etc. and report project updates and activities.
Communicate research results through technical presentations and written reports.