Lead Research Scientist - Structural Engineering

Employment type:

Full-time, exempt salaried position based in office at FM’s Science and Technology Office in Norwood, MA.

Relocation assistance is available for this position.

This is a multi-level research and engineering opportunity, with scope and responsibilities aligned to the selected candidate's relevant experience, technical expertise, and demonstrated capabilities.

The Research Scientist – Computational Fluid Dynamics and Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI) will lead and conduct research using CFD, coupled Multiphysics modeling, and FSI to assess how fluids and structures interact under environmental and extreme conditions. The successful candidate will develop, validate, and apply computational methods that improve understanding of loading, response, damage, failure, reliability, resilience, and property loss across multiple industries.

Examples of applications may include modeling wind and tornado loads on large buildings; wind loads on ground-mounted and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems and wind turbines; and wind, flood, wave, and current loads on structures and infrastructure. These applications will integrate FSI, finite element analysis, experiments, model validation, and uncertainty quantification to support structural risk and fragility modeling, natural hazard assessment, loss estimation, and practical loss-prevention solutions.

• Lead research using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), fluid–structure interaction (FSI), and coupled multiphysics methods to evaluate fluid loading, structural response, heat transfer, vibration, damage, and failure.
• Develop high-fidelity and fit-for-purpose CFD and FSI models, including appropriate geometry, meshing, turbulence treatment, boundary conditions, coupling strategies, material behavior, and solution controls.
• Model wind and tornado loads on large buildings and other structures, including wind effects on rooftop equipment, ground-mounted and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems, wind turbines, cooling towers, stacks, and other exposed components.
• Evaluate wind, flood, wave, and current loads on structures and infrastructure, as well as flow-induced vibration and aerodynamic instability.
• Couple CFD with finite element and structural dynamics models to predict stresses, deformation, fatigue, buckling, damage progression, and failure under operational and extreme events.
• Use available wind-tunnel, laboratory, component, or system-level experiments to calibrate and validate CFD, FSI, and reduced-order models.
• Assess model sensitivity, uncertainty, verification, validation, strengths, and limitations, and communicate their implications for engineering and risk decisions.
• Integrate simulation results with structural reliability, vulnerability and fragility modeling, natural hazard risk assessment, and loss estimation.
• Develop and evaluate mitigation measures, improve structural or equipment resilience, and support property loss prevention.
• Collaborate with scientists, engineers, modelers, business stakeholders, academic partners, and industry organizations to define research needs and implement results.
• Prepare high-quality technical reports, presentations, scientific publications, engineering guidance, and recommendations for technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Support research project planning, execution, documentation, quality assurance, and implementation.

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering, or a closely related field required; plus 3 years of relevant experience preferred,

or Master’s degree in one of these fields plus at least 5 years of relevant experience considered, 10 years strongly preferred.

• A strong background in CFD and…