DescriptionWe are seeking a
Senior Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Systems Engineer to directly support the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). This is a full-time, on-site position located at
DTRA Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, VA.
In this role, you will serve as the principal technical authority specializing in the characterization, targeting, and defeat modeling of
Underground Facilities (UGFs) and hardened deeply buried targets (HDBTs). You will lead the development, evaluation, and integration of high-fidelity simulations that predict weapons effects, structural collapse, and subsequent agent release within confined subterranean environments to provide data-driven insights to protect the Joint Force.
Key Responsibilities- Underground Facility (UGF) Modeling: Lead the development and execution of predictive simulations focusing on structural defeat, tunnel collapse, weapon penetration, and internal blast effects within complex UGFs and HDBTs.
- Subterranean CBRN Hazard Modeling: Develop, execute, and optimize complex mathematical simulations utilizing HPAC and VLSTRACK to model agent transport, toxic chemical/biological propagation, and source-term generation from struck underground environments.
- C-WMD Architecture Design: Lead the creation of advanced M&S technical strategies, architectures, and predictive frameworks tailored to adversary capabilities across the WMD and subterranean continuum.
- System-of-Systems Integration: Coordinate Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) environments to integrate physical threat tools with modernized DoD forecasting systems.
- VV&A Oversight: Establish rigorous verification, validation, and accreditation (VV&A) frameworks for HPAC, VLSTRACK, and adjacent geomechanical/structural simulation methodologies to ensure high-accuracy consequence management outputs.
- Data Fusion & Analysis: Synthesize massive datasets from kinetic tests, physics-based simulations, and live exercises to conduct trade studies, perform root-cause analysis, and optimize survivability metrics.
- Technical Leadership: Mentor junior to mid-level engineering personnel at Fort Belvoir, establishing modeling best practices across multidisciplinary mission spaces.
- Interagency Collaboration: Present complex, data-driven simulation outcomes and operational insights regarding underground targets to executive DTRA leadership, combatant commands (COCOMs), and international defense partners.
Required Qualifications- Education: Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering (with geo-mechanical focus), Physics, Applied Mathematics, Nuclear Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a highly relevant STEM discipline; Master's degree or Doctorate (Ph.D.) preferred.
- Experience: Minimum of 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, heavily focused on modeling, simulation, and analysis within the Department of Defense (DoD) or intelligence community space.
- Specialized Domain Expertise: Demonstrated experience modeling blast effects, geo-mechanical properties, or agent release mechanics associated with Underground Facilities (UGFs) or hardened structures.
- Core Toolsets: Proven, hands-on technical proficiency with specialized DoD hazard prediction toolsets, specifically Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) and Vapor, Liquid, and Solid Tracking (VLSTRACK).
- Security Clearance: An active U.S. Government Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance
- Technical Stack: Advanced programming proficiency in Python, C/C++, MATLAB, or Simulink for algorithmic tool modification and statistical data evaluation.
- M&S Frameworks: Mastery of Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS), High-Level Architecture (HLA), Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI), or similar interoperability architectures.
Preferred Qualifications- DTRA Domain Expertise: Deep working knowledge of DTRA RDT&E workflows, Defense Threat Reduction Information Analysis Center (DTRIAC) assets, or specialized weapon effect tools (e.g., IMEA, MALT).
- Grey Zone Competency: Prior experience modeling asymmetric warfare, counter-proliferation networks, or small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) threat signatures.
