Dynamics, Controls, Modeling, Simulation and

Job Description

Job Description

CODE Plus, Inc., an experienced IT government contractor in Fairfax, VA with offices in Huntsville, AL and have been in business for 31 years and have been servicing different agencies within the Federal sector. Our mission is to deliver high-quality, cost-effective solutions that empower our clients to achieve their goals. At CODEplus, we value teamwork, integrity, and technical excellence, and we pride ourselves on maintaining long-standing partnerships built on trust and results. 

CODEplus is currently seeking a Dynamics, Controls, Modeling, Simulation and Analysis SME to support its operations in Huntsville, AL.

The Space Exploration Division (ASED) Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) team is a high performing group executing challenging tasks to design and integrate GN&C systems for projects ranging from CubeSats to NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).

We are searching for highly qualified candidates to support the design, development, and oversight of the Human Lander Systems Program in the Control Systems Design and Analysis branch at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as a Dynamics, Controls, Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis Subject Matter Expert. This exciting work will serve as a critical step in sending humans back to the Moon, Mars and beyond!

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide technical leadership, guidance, and mentoring to project/program team members
• Develop and/or oversee the development, verification, and validation of launch vehicle, spacecraft, and lander control systems.
• Model, develop, simulate, and analyze launch vehicle, spacecraft, and lander dynamics and control system performance and stability.
• Resolve complex problems pertaining to the design, development, analysis, integration, evaluation, testing, and verification of control systems and 6-DoF models and simulations.
• Develop, modify, maintain, and improve software simulations, tools, and scripts.
• Periodically analyze HLS partner’ flight data and present findings to NASA management.
• Create, edit, and debug software written in MATLAB, Simulink, and Simscape.
• Configure, conduct, and analyze 6-DoF Monte Carlo simulations.
• Conduct trades studies and/or sensitivity analyses related to launch vehicles and spacecraft control.
• Mentor junior engineers in conducting control system modeling, simulation, and analysis.
• Prepare and present technical reports and/or briefings including visualization of results.
• Create and review engineering and software documentation.

Qualifications

A degree in Aerospace, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or related field from an ABET accredited institution is required. Typical experience requirements are the equivalent of a PhD with at least 19 years of experience, a master’s with at least 23 years of experience, or BS with at least 25 years of experience. Proof of U.S. Citizenship is required.

Required skills/experience:

• Ability to work problems from first principles, including derivation of dynamics equations of motion, including both nonlinear equations and linear state equations and integrate subsystem models into larger simulations.
• Proficiency modeling, simulating, and analyzing the performance of launch vehicles, spacecraft, and landers in the time domain using parametric, Monte Carlo, and statistical techniques.
• Experience analyzing control stability in the frequency domain (Nichols, Bode, Nyquist, Root Locus, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to design flight control systems (PID, state space, etc.) and perform actuator allocation (manual jet selection, quadratic programming, pseudo inverse, etc.)
• Modeling of spacecraft components/subsystems such as: Thrust Vector Control (TVC) actuators, Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, slosh, pogo, rigid and/or flexible body dynamics.
• Programming in MATLAB, Simulink, and C/C++. This includes debugging and improving the efficiency of simulation tools.
• Experience performing software development, verification, and validation.
• Experience performing trade studies, sensitivity, and/or Monte Carlo simulation and analyses related to the control of launch vehicles and/or spacecraft.
• Must be detail oriented and self-motivated that can work independently taking projects from start to finish without much oversight.
• Must also be able to work collaboratively with other team members both locally and remote at other facilities or vendors.
• Strong written and oral communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience leading and/or mentoring junior engineers.

Desired skills/experience:

• Experience with modeling, simulation, and analysis of spacecraft rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking and/or landers
• Experience modeling and simulating manual control of spacecraft including but not limited to controllability, transfer function models, Cooper Harper ratings, and paper pilot modeling.
• Programming in other languages such as Python, Simscape Multi-body.
• Familiarity with and an understanding of trajectory and orbital dynamics.
• Experience with creating animations/visualization from results of 3-DoF/6-DoF simulations using tools such as Unreal Engine, Satellite Tool Kit (STK), etc.
• Model based design experience.