DescriptionWe are seeking a
Senior Test and Evaluation (T&E) Systems Engineer to directly support the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). This is a full-time, on-site position located at
Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) in Albuquerque, NM.
In this role, you will serve as the principal technical authority overseeing the physical testing, experimental validation, and evaluation of systems designed for the characterization, targeting, and defeat of
Underground Facilities (UGFs) and hardened deeply buried targets (HDBTs). You will bridge the gap between experimental data and simulation, leading large-scale test events to measure weapons effects, structural collapse, and subsequent CBRN agent release within confined subterranean environments to validate critical Joint Force capabilities.
Key Responsibilities- UGF Test Planning & Execution: Lead the end-to-end planning, safety coordination, and execution of high-hazard physical test events focusing on structural defeat, tunnel collapse, weapon penetration, and internal blast effects within complex UGFs and HDBTs.
- M&S Validation Data Collection: Design and deploy instrumentation arrays to capture high-fidelity empirical data necessary to validate and calibrate HPAC and VLSTRACK predictive modeling baselines.
- CBRN Simulant Testing: Oversee experimental test methodologies to measure agent transport, toxic propagation, and source-term generation using chemical/biological simulants in struck underground environments.
- System-of-Systems Evaluation: Direct the testing of integrated sensor networks, data links, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) assets during live-field exercises.
- Test Documentation & VV&A: Author comprehensive Test and Evaluation Master Plans (TEMPs), safety packages, and test reports to support rigorous verification, validation, and accreditation (VV&A) frameworks.
- Data Fusion & Analysis: Synthesize empirical datasets from kinetic field tests at regional test ranges (e.g., White Sands Missile Range) with physics-based simulations to conduct trade studies and optimize survivability metrics.
- Technical Leadership: Mentor junior to mid-level test engineers and field technicians at Kirtland AFB, establishing rigorous engineering and range safety best practices.
- Interagency Collaboration: Present complex, empirically proven test results and operational vulnerability insights to executive DTRA leadership, combatant commands (COCOMs), and international defense partners.
Required Qualifications- Education: Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering (with geomechanical or blast focus), Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, 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 live test and evaluation (T&E), data acquisition, and structural/blast analysis within the Department of Defense (DoD) or intelligence community space.
- Specialized Domain Expertise: Demonstrated experience leading physical testing, instrumentation setup, or data analysis for blast effects, geomechanical properties, or kinetic mitigation within Underground Facilities (UGFs) or hardened structures.
- Predictive Tool Familiarity: Strong working knowledge of how field test data interfaces with 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
- Lifecycle Mastery: Expert understanding of the end-to-end systems engineering lifecycle, specifically DoD 5000-series T&E processes, developmental testing (DT), and operational testing (OT).
Preferred Experience- Range Experience: Extensive familiarity with White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS), or DTRA-specific testing assets and underground test beds.
- Advanced Instrumentation: Experience with high-speed diagnostics, blast overpressure gauges, seismic sensors, and optical diagnostic tools used in underground environments.
