MQ-Flight Dynamics Engineer

About Peraton

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace.

The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees solve the most daunting challenges that our customers face.

Program management, engineering, and technical support for the Air Systems Group focused on research, systems engineering, and evaluation of naval air propulsion and power systems. The work includes air‑breathing engines, auxiliary power systems, helicopter transmissions, fuel systems, and propulsion system performance, supported by roles such as data scientists, engineers, and chemists.

Peraton is seeking a Flight Dynamics Branch’s (AB21400) MQ‑25 engineering team to assess the overall MQ‑25 air system performance, safety, and reliability, specifically related to flying Mission Plan routes.

Direct responsibility will be for executing six‑degree‑of‑freedom (6

DOF) simulation analyses using Boeing’s MODAVSIM simulation with Mission Plan routes provided by the MQ‑25 Integrated Test Team (ITT) and Air Vehicle Pilots (AVPs). This position plays a critical role in airworthiness and flight certification by assessing criteria relevant to flight path control, air vehicle performance, flight characteristics, and Vehicle Management System (VMS) logic and flight and ground control law (CLAW) performance.

The position requires the ability to create scripts to run batch‑style simulation runs, plot simulation data, analyze and assess safety‑critical aspects, and create documentation of the data and reporting key findings. The position is not responsible for final certification of, nor for producing official recommendations for, Mission Plan routes.

• Develop tools to run batch‑style simulations using MODAVSIM and MATLAB
• Document process/procedures for 6
  
  DOF analysis and reporting as draft content for the MQ‑25 Mission Plan Validation Joint Operating Procedure
• Plot data into reports, including mission plan routes overlayed on satellite imagery, summaries of run groups, individual plots, and varied x‑axis parameters (time, waypoint, etc.)
• Provide initial analysis of runs with a stoplight chart (or other data representation) of parameters against defined thresholds
• Investigate identified issues in mission plans and/or vehicle responses
• Develop test matrices for simulation runs based on mission plan files
• Assess simulation usage and outcomes for required test cases
• Document knowledge of aircraft, GCS systems, mission planning concepts, and relevant flight procedures
• Develop generalized, non‑MQ‑25‑specific requirements for Omniview‑based mission plan validation using a unmanned air platform 6
  
  DOF simulation
• Support other MQ‑25 simulation‑based activities to support Flight Dynamic’s evaluation flight test capabilities and overall MQ‑25 airworthiness

• Tools and source code for generating simulation run data, analysis, and reporting
• Raw MODAVSIM time‑history data
• Reports of plotted time history data with assessment of parameters against thresholds
• Reports on key findings based on simulation data review
• Briefings, white papers, and items of interest as required to the Flight Dynamics engineering team on project status or issues
• Project‑related technical information used to resolve engineering problems and clarify mission planning requirements and other simulation analyses

You would be a great fit if you have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline and a minimum of two years of relevant professional experience.
• Knowledge of aerodynamics and/or computer programming…