What Your Job Will Be Like

The rapid growth and proliferation of autonomous systems technologies provides exciting and impactful opportunities for applying these tools to solve national security problems. The Autonomy for Hypersonics department is applying next-generation intelligence concepts to several components of the national defense domain for hypersonic and missile defense flight systems.

Our organization is actively seeking an Early/Mid-Career Autonomous Aerospace Systems Engineer who has [1] significant interest and knowledge in autonomous system concepts (e.g., uncertainty, perception, decisioning, algorithm V&V in simulation/hardware), [2] experience/familiarity in sensing, control, navigation, and/or dynamical systems, such as flight vehicle mechanics, and [3] formal training in Aerospace Engineering or a closely related autonomous systems field such as Electrical, Computer, or Mechanical Engineering.

If you are passionate about making valuable contributions to a high-impact program, we urge you to apply! You will collaborate with a team of researchers, engineers, and technologists to develop autonomous flight system technologies and to mature them from concept to simulation to flight. In the near-term, you will be supporting projects from the Autonomy for Hypersonics developmental research portfolio. These projects are applying state-of-the-art autonomous systems concepts to sensing, mission planning, and analysis for hypersonic vehicle missions. Long-term, you will be developing autonomous flight solutions for prototype vehicle demonstrations (i.e., flight tests), developing agent-driven simulation and analysis tools for challenging mission scenarios, and creating/executing/leading new projects for applying trusted autonomy to high-consequence missions.

On any given day, one may be called upon to:

• Collaborate with a team of researchers, engineers, and technologists to develop autonomous flight system technologies and to mature them from concept to simulation to flight
• Develop autonomous flight solutions, such as design of subsystems/payloads or development of algorithms in flight software, for full flight vehicle demonstrations
• Develop physics-based and/or agent-driven simulation and analysis tools for challenging mission scenarios
• Create, implement, and lead new projects for applying trusted autonomy to high-consequence missions
• This position will include simulation, laboratory, and field-testing operations.

You will be working on highly collaborative teams but will be given responsibility for, and ownership of, a growing body of R&D work as you progress in your career at the Labs. Components of your work will be classified and will consequently require a security clearance.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite at Sandia's New Mexico or, for a limited set of opportunities, at Sandia's California site. Some travel is required for this position.

Salary Range

$102,400 - $199,700

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Qualifications We Require

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E Aerospace Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience in applied aerodynamics, flight mechanics, or trajectory simulation with application to the design, modeling, simulation, optimization, and analysis of aerospace flight systems.
• Experience with the capabilities, use, and application of MATLAB®, Simulink®, Python, C/C++, or other modern programming languages and repositories in technical analysis/computing and software development.
• Proven ability to work and communicate effectively in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced/schedule driven environment.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• Coursework and/or experience with modern applied information science and/or autonomous systems concepts.
• Coursework and/or experience with dynamical system modeling, simulation, navigation, guidance, and/or control, especially for flight systems.
• Ability to acquire and maintain an SCI-level clearance, which may require a polygraph test; or an active SCI-level Clearance.

About Our Team

Department 05449, Autonomy for Hypersonics, manages an innovative research portfolio in autonomous systems development and flight demonstrations of technology advancements. The department supports the research and development of software, autonomy algorithms, prototype hardware, target recognition, and navigation/guidance/control. We actively partner with domain experts both at the Labs and throughout the nation to implement high-impact research to meet national defense needs.

A4H is pursuing research and development in autonomous systems to enhance the capabilities of the nation's hypersonic vehicles as well as other high-consequence systems. A4H enables increasingly agile hypersonic weapons that adapt to unexpected scenarios, empowering the U.S. to respond to threats anywhere in the world without putting our warfighters at unnecessary risk. The challenging flight environment and limited available flight data make hypersonics one of the most complex applications for autonomy. Sandia and its partners are developing algorithms, sensors, and compact computing hardware that compress complex data processing and analysis methods into real-time decisioning tools. The goal of A4H is unprecedented flexibility in response to newly designated targets, evolving target conditions, difficult operating environments, and unexpected flight conditions.

Posting Duration

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.