Principal Application Engineer - Missile Defense

This position is a remote role; however, the successful candidate must be based in either the Huntsville, AL, or Colorado Springs, CO area.

At Synopsys, we drive the innovations that shape the way we live and connect. Our technology is central to the Era of Pervasive Intelligence, from self-driving cars to learning machines. We lead in chip design, verification, and IP integration, empowering the creation of high-performance silicon chips and software content. Join us to transform the future through continuous technological innovation.

Ansys Government Initiatives (AGI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Synopsys, focused on advancing digital modeling and simulation for critical aerospace and defense applications. Our Ansys Customer Excellence (ACE) team collaborates with industry leaders and government agencies to model real-world systems and deliver state-of-the-art solutions for multi-domain missile defense, sensor simulation, and AI/ML-driven analysis.

You are a highly experienced engineering professional with a passion for advancing technology in aerospace and defense. Your expertise spans missile defense, sensor phenomenology, and signature modeling, allowing you to bridge the gap between physics-based simulations and real-world operational needs. You thrive in environments where complex systems require innovative thinking and technical rigor, and you are eager to make a meaningful impact on national security and defense initiatives.

Your deep domain knowledge enables you to integrate multi-domain sensing systems and radar phenomenology into simulation frameworks, supporting next-generation analysis and simulation.

You possess a strong background in modeling threat trajectories, sensing environments and phenomenology, and generating datasets for AI/ML training. Your technical leadership and collaborative spirit empower you to work alongside subject matter experts, government partners, and industry stakeholders, ensuring the highest standards of simulation fidelity and accuracy.

With an active DoD TS/SCI clearance, you are ready to tackle sensitive and challenging projects. Your self-motivation, organizational skills, and ability to multitask equip you to excel in a fast-paced, timeline-driven environment.

You are fluent in technical communication, adept at problem-solving, and driven to succeed in contributing to the aerospace and defense community.

• Develop high-fidelity modeling and simulation environments for air and missile defense systems.
• Model threat trajectories and associated signature behaviors across multiple sensing modalities, including RF, IR, and other relevant spectra.
• Develop and integrate signature simulation capabilities to represent realistic missile launch, staging events, and associated sensor-observable phenomena.
• Apply expertise in radar phenomenology and RF sensing systems, including understanding how different radar bands and sensor architectures observe and interpret target behavior.
• Simulate complex sensor observations for threat detection, tracking, discrimination, and battle management decision support.
• Implement and utilize advanced modeling frameworks to represent sensing systems, track fusion, and custody management functions across the missile defense kill chain.

• Contribute to the design and generation of synthetic data environments for training AI/ML systems used in sensor interpretation, target discrimination, and data fusion.
• Develop robust training datasets covering target-present and target-absent scenarios to mitigate algorithmic bias.
• Collaborate with experts in signature characterization, sensor phenomenology, and threat modeling to ensure simulation fidelity and technical accuracy.
• Support integration of modeling and sensing simulations into larger operational and analysis frameworks.
• Provide technical leadership in missile defense sensing, signature modeling, and simulation fidelity.
• Assist in defining modeling requirements and technical approaches for emerging programs involving generative simulation of sensing systems.

• Advance the development of next-generation air and missile defense systems through…