Research Aerospace Engineer, AST, Airbreathing Propulsion Systems (Direct Hire)
Langley Research CenterAs a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) research aerospace engineer in the Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion Branch at NASA Langley Research Center, you will be working to apply computational methods and tools to numerically simulate the flow in high-speed propulsive flowpaths and around hypersonic vehicles. You will also be part of the branch's VULCAN-CFD software development team working to enhance existing capabilities, as well as incorporating new capabilities into the software.Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.Applies CFD and numerical tools in a parallel processing environment to simulate and analyze the performance and operability of high-speed air-breathing propulsive components.Estimates numerical uncertainties and applies optimization methods to improve performance.Conducts research to understand the fundamental physics associated with air-breathing propulsive components, flowpaths and ground test facilities and uses CFD to design and evaluate new components, flowpaths and test facility hardware.Uses programming skills to add new models and new capabilities into CFD and utility codes. These codes are used in a parallel processing environment and use modern CPU and GPU computing hardware.Develops new algorithms, methods, and solution approaches to reduce the time it takes CFD practitioner to go from an initial concept to a final solution.Implements, verifies and validates CFD software utilizing unit testing, benchmark cases, analytical solutions, and / or method of manufactured solutions to ensure accurate simulation results.Utilizes industry standard software tools (development environments, build systems, continuous integration, version control, and performance profiling) to aid in the development of CFD simulation tools for High-Performance Computing environments.Prepares technical reports, research papers, and presentations to communicate simulation results in a clear and concise manner.
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