Engineer VII

Job Summary

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a world leader in proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft and tactical reconnaissance radars, as well as advanced high-resolution surveillance systems.

The Advanced Programs group has an exciting opportunity in San Diego, CA (Poway, CA) for a VMS Modeling Architect to oversee the definition and development of vehicle management systems for application on emerging unmanned air vehicle concepts. The department seeks a candidate with proficient design and application experience in cross-discipline vehicle modeling.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop technical roadmap and execution plans for the design, development, integration, and test of an advanced vehicle management system and adjacent enabling technologies
• Develop technical and strategy-level briefings for internal and external stakeholder review
• Regular communication with Advanced Programs and ASI executive leadership
• Provide regular technical mentorship to lower-level technical team members
• Develop advanced vehicle routing and trajectory management capabilities
• Develop autonomous fault isolation and mitigation capabilities
• Develop advanced flight critical sensor and effector fusion and allocation algorithms
• Coordinate the development of VMS sensor and effector hardware and software
• Translate the physics of flight control avionics, the aerodynamic characteristics, and the mass properties of a conceptual aircraft into MATLAB scripts and Simulink models for real-time simulation.
• Construct MATLAB/Simulink models for automatic code generation.
• Independently verify and validate the system on simulated hardware and on the actual hardware against higher fidelity simulation and test data.
• Support the decomposition of mission use cases to define system requirements that are compliant with adequate MIL Specs.
• Develop analytical tools as required for advanced concepts.
• Perform vehicle-control-system-related tasks for all phases of a new aircraft development program, including requirements development, clean-sheet design, software integration and validation, wind tunnel, ground test, and flight test planning, and analysis of flight data through prototype flight tests.
• Liaison to propulsion, aerodynamics, mass properties, and other disciplines.

We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.

Job Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelors degree, masters degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; fifteen or more years of experience with a bachelors degree, thirteen or more years of experience with a masters degree, or ten or more years with a PhD. May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
• Degree in aerospace/aeronautical, electrical, mechanical, or related engineering field is highly desirable.
• Demonstrates a detailed and extensive technical expertise and application of engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice with the ability to organize, plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate workloads to meet established deadlines or milestones.
• Must possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly and apply them accurately throughout an evolving environment; strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills to effectively interface with other departments, customers, government representatives, and/or professionals.
• Must be customer focused and able to work on a self- initiated basis or in a team environment and able to work extended hours and travel as required.
• Comfortable in following a stringent software process for flight code production.
• Comfortable in working with a team of subject matter experts.
• Able to mentor and lead less-experienced engineers.
• Excellent documentation and communication skills.
• MATLAB scripting.
• Familiarity with aircraft aerodynamics, propulsion, and mass properties