Space Warfighting Modeling and Simulation Engineer

Do you want to apply your expertise in modeling, simulating, and analyzing the capabilities that support national defense?

Do you want to apply your expertise in modeling, simulating, and analyzing the capabilities that support national defense?

Are you motivated by open-ended, difficult modeling tasks that directly impact United States Space Force operations, activities, and investments?

The Space Control Systems Group within APL's Space Exploration Sector applies advanced modeling, simulation, and analysis to some of the nation's most challenging national security space problems. Our team brings together expertise in engineering, physics, astronomy, applied mathematics, computer science, and other technical disciplines to assess space control capabilities and inform future operations, technologies, and investments.

Our team explores multiple facets of the Space Control mission, including Space Situational Awareness, Defensive Space Control, and Offensive Space Control. We use modeling and simulation, multi-domain operational planning, tactics and techniques, test and evaluation, threat analysis, performance assessments, space war fighting operations, and force design to evaluate mission effectiveness and address critical operational challenges.

• Develop new models and leverage existing modeling and simulation tools to conduct sophisticated system- and mission-level analyses supporting national security space missions.
• Translate complex operational and technical questions into well-defined simulation studies, analytical approaches, and executable experiments.
• Design and execute modeling and simulation experiments, analyze results, and develop technically defensible conclusions and recommendations.
• Model and assess sensor performance in support of missions such as space object tracking, characterization, and discrimination.
• Evaluate expected system and mission performance resulting from hardware, software, or operational modifications.
• Analyze the impact of factors such as data latency, sensor performance, and system architecture on mission effectiveness.
• Apply programming and computational tools such as C, C++, MATLAB, and Python to develop models, conduct analyses, and evaluate results.
• Leverage modeling and engineering tools such as Systems Tool Kit (STK), Astrogator, Thermal Desktop, and PTC Creo, as appropriate, to support technical investigations.
• Collaborate with technical teams and subject matter experts to explore complex and often open-ended space mission challenges.
• Communicate analysis methods, results, and technical conclusions through briefings, reports, visualizations, and other technical products to internal teams and government sponsors.
• Expand your knowledge of the space domain while developing expertise in mission-level modeling, simulation, and analysis.

You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...

• Possess a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related technical field
• Have 5+ years of demonstrated experience developing, modifying, executing, and analyzing system- or mission-level technical simulations
• Have experience using programming and/or scripting languages such as AFSIM Script, Python, MATLAB, Linux/BASH, or similar tools to support modeling, simulation, and analysis
• Have demonstrated ability to analyze technical data and use modeling and simulation results to answer system- or mission-level questions
• Are able to communicate technical approaches, assumptions, results, and limitations to technical and non‑technical audiences
• Are willing and able to…