Aerospace Engineer

Analytical Mechanics Associates•Mountain View, CA

2d•$100,000 - $125,000•Onsite

About The Position

AMA is accepting applications for a full-time on-site position at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. Work will be in support of the Asteroid Threat Assessment Project (ATAP) and Engineering Risk Assessment (ERA) team at NASA. The successful candidate will play an important role in developing physics-based probabilistic risk models and simulations for asteroid threat assessment, space missions, and aerospace systems. This position will support risk assessment evaluating the threat of to potential asteroid strikes on Earth.

Requirements

M.S. or Ph.D. in physical sciences, engineering, math, or computing discipline (aerospace engineering, aeronautics/astronautics, astrophysics, physics, astronomy, computer science, mathematics, or related fields)
At least 1-2 years of experience related to risk assessment, physics modeling, asteroids, data analysis, and/or system engineering
At least 1-2 years of experience with programming and analysis in C++, Python, MATLAB, and/or similar codes
Strong programming, physics modeling, and data analysis skills
Self-motivated with ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively as part of an integrated team
Initiative and aptitude to independently research, learn, and expand upon new subjects
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency required due to project requirements

Nice To Haves

Experience with asteroid detection, characterization, or mitigation strategies
Background in planetary defense research or related NASA missions
Publication record in peer-reviewed journals related to asteroids, risk assessment, or atmospheric entry
Experience with specific computational tools and frameworks for risk modeling
Familiarity with NASA standards and processes for risk assessment
Background in uncertainty quantification and validation methodologies
Knowledge of orbital mechanics and trajectory propagation
Experience with data analysis codes such as R or Julia

Responsibilities

Developing and applying asteroid impact risk models and physics-based models (atmospheric entry, fragmentation, damage, and orbital propagation)
Developing and maintaining risk model codes including architecture and algorithm development, porting models between codes, code documentation, and version control
Running large probabilistic simulations on supercomputing environments
Performing asteroid risk assessment studies, research, and analysis work to advance asteroid threat assessment capabilities
Model development involving numerical simulation results, code comparisons, parametric studies, fitting analytical/statistical models, and training machine learning/deep learning models
Researching new subjects in existing literature and data sources to develop new modeling approaches and solve complex problems
Producing high-quality publications, presentations, and reports of key studies and results
Collaboration with NASA scientists and engineers on planetary defense and risk assessment technologies