Senior Missile Performance & Flight Systems Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory • Laurel, MD

2d

About The Position

The Senior Missile Performance & Flight Systems Engineer provides technical leadership in modeling, simulation, and performance assessment of missile systems and hypersonic vehicles. The role leads complex engineering analyses, guides system-level trade studies, and contributes to conceptual design and development efforts supporting national security missions.

The engineer works with multidisciplinary engineering teams, government sponsors, and industry partners to evaluate system performance, investigate technical challenges, and provide independent engineering assessments for design and program decisions. The position also contributes to advanced modeling and simulation capabilities, mentors engineers, and participates in missile system integration, testing, and evaluation activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline, with at least 10 years of relevant professional engineering experience.
• Substantial experience in one or more missile or aerospace flight system disciplines, such as modeling and simulation, aerodynamics, flight dynamics, guidance, navigation and control, propulsion, or system performance analysis.
• Experience leading complex technical analyses, system-level trade studies, or multidisciplinary engineering investigations.
• Strong background developing and applying computational models and simulations to evaluate aerospace vehicle performance.
• Strong programming and computational skills, including proficiency with MATLAB, Python, or similar engineering analysis environments.
• Ability to exercise independent technical judgment, evaluate competing design considerations, and develop defensible engineering recommendations.
• Experience communicating complex technical findings and recommendations to technical leadership, customers, or stakeholders.
• Success collaborating with multidisciplinary engineering teams and external technical partners.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and interest in mentoring and developing engineers.
• Willingness and ability to travel occasionally to government and contractor sites for meetings or field tests, approximately 10–20 days per year.
• Comfort working in closed-area facilities.
• Active Secret security clearance and ability to ultimately obtain a Top Secret clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for eligibility to access classified information.

Nice To Haves

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline, with 12 or more years of relevant engineering experience.
• Extensive experience in missile system or hypersonic vehicle performance analysis, conceptual design, or advanced modeling and simulation.
• Technical leadership of major engineering analysis efforts, including responsibility for technical approaches, analytical methods, and independent assessments for government sponsors.
• Experience developing and applying high-fidelity three-degree-of-freedom (3DoF) or six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) flight simulations.
• Experience using trajectory optimization or optimal control software such as OTIS, POST, or GPOPS.
• Experience developing engineering simulation tools using Simulink, C/C++, or other advanced computational environments.
• Experience evaluating missile system design trades involving vehicle configuration, aerodynamics, propulsion, guidance and control, or subsystem integration.
• Experience supporting missile or hypersonic flight test programs, including preflight performance predictions and post-flight data analysis.
• Experience with missile system or subsystem design, development, and integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead modeling, simulation, and performance analysis efforts for missile systems and hypersonic vehicles.
• Direct system-level trade studies and conceptual design analyses to evaluate configurations, technologies, and operational approaches.
• Develop, enhance, and apply missile and flight system simulation tools to assess vehicle performance and investigate technical challenges.
• Provide technical leadership evaluating flight dynamics, aerodynamics, propulsion, guidance and control, and related engineering disciplines.
• Lead and contribute to missile test and evaluation activities, including test planning, preflight predictions, test operations, and post-flight performance assessments.
• Advise government sponsors and industry partners through independent engineering assessments, identification of technical risks, and recommendations for resolving system performance challenges.
• Lead multidisciplinary technical investigations and coordinate engineering analysis across disciplines.
• Prepare and present technical findings, assessments, and recommendations to sponsors, program leadership, and technical stakeholders.
• Guide development and use of analytical methods, modeling capabilities, and computational tools.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to less-experienced engineers.

Benefits

• Robust education assistance program.
• Retirement plans and contributions.
• Paid time off.
• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Training and development.
• Potential sign-on bonus, relocation benefits, locality allowance, or discretionary payments for exceptional performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior