Job Title: Senior Engineer for Propulsion Airframe Integration

Location: Arnold AFB, TN

Job Family Code: O-Engineering

Function/Branch: Engineering/Engineering Solutions

Directorate: Engineering & Tech Support

Position Type: Regular, Full Time        

Pay Type: Exempt        

Grade: L10 (OA1015) -L11 (OA1115)

Salary Range: L10: $135,000 - $181,000; L11: $155,000 - $190,000 /year

Job Summary

This engineer will serve as the technical architect for a new, national-scale test capability. You will lead the effort to develop a rigorous framework that unifies force, momentum, and pressure measurements from our world-class propulsion test cells and wind tunnels. This role is crucial for advancing the development of next-generation aircraft, including blended-wing-body and embedded-propulsion designs, where traditional measurement techniques are no longer sufficient.

This role centers on pioneering a methodology to resolve the complex, coupled aerodynamic forces in advanced propulsion-airframe systems. You will be responsible for creating a single, consistent global force and energy budget with quantified uncertainty, integrating data from multiple, distinct test facilities and simulations. The position requires a unique blend of expertise in propulsion testing and force measurement metrology. The successful candidate will be a proven technical leader, capable of architecting a new test methodology from the ground up and mentoring a world-class engineering team.

Job Duties:

• Architect a comprehensive methodology for reconciling force and energy measurements by defining consistent control volumes, reference frames, and sign conventions that span propulsion test cells, altitude facilities, and wind tunnels
• Adapt and extend classical thrust-drag bookkeeping methods for highly integrated and coupled aircraft configurations
• Incorporate modern power balance and exergy-based frameworks to analyze tightly coupled aerodynamic flows
• Specify, oversee, and interpret complex force and flow measurements, including multi-component strain-gauge balances, thrust stands, and advanced gas-path instrumentation
• Lead the technical approach for testing, developing bookkeeping strategies that separate thrust from model drag in the presence of strong external-flow coupling
• Own the end-to-end measurement uncertainty budget, propagating uncertainties through the cross-facility rollup to ensure the credibility of results where thrust-minus-drag is a small difference of large numbers
• Develop and build the data-fusion methodology and supporting software/models required to integrate multi-facility datasets into a global accounting framework
• Serve as a senior technical authority and mentor, interfacing with Air Force customers, engine OEMs, airframers, and other contractor teams to drive technical consensus and collaboration
• It is a condition of employment to wear company issued PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in accordance with supervisory direction and company policy
• Perform other related duties as required

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering (or a closely related field)
• Grade 10: Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience
• Grade 10: Minimum of 14 years of relevant experience
• Demonstrated expertise in either:
  • (a) Propulsion/aerothermodynamic test engineering (engine performance, thrust-drag bookkeeping, inlet/nozzle aerodynamics, gas-path instrumentation, altitude/sea-level engine testing) OR
  • (b) Force measurement/metrology (multi-axis strain-gauge balance design and calibration, load-cell systems, calibration standards, measurement uncertainty)
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense Secret level security clearance and access to the AEDC local area network
• Due to Air Force Security requirements, U.S. Citizenship is required for employment at AEDC

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated working fluency in the other of the two domains listed above
• Proven ability to architect a new test capability or methodology, not merely operate an existing one
• Rigorous command of measurement uncertainty quantification (as applied to force and/or thrust measurement)
• Master’s or PhD in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• Hands-on experience with blended-wing-body (BWB), hybrid-wing, embedded propulsion, S-duct/serpentine inlets, or boundary-layer-ingesting (BLI) configurations
• Experience with engine and/or wind-tunnel model testing and the associated thrust/drag bookkeeping challenge
• Experience with data fusion across facilities, control-volume/CFD-informed force decomposition, and test-data systems/programming (Python, MATLAB)
• Education in fundamental engineering and science, and advanced knowledge of mathematics, algorithms and computer languages
• Strong oral and written communication skills with demonstrated ability to convey highly technical information effectively to a wide audience with varying levels of technical understanding

What We Offer

• Competitive salaries
• Continuing education assistance
• Multiple healthcare benefits packages
• 401K with employer matching
• Paid time off (PTO) along with a federally recognized holiday schedule