Director - Digital Platforms

North-Wind,-Inc.; Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 135,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

North Wind is seeking a visionary Director, Digital Platforms to lead architecture, development, and deployment of physics-informed digital twins, M&S frameworks, and AI-enabled toolchains. You will manage multi-disciplinary teams across high-fidelity modeling environments and secure domains from Unclassified to TS/SCI.

The role blends computational physics, software engineering, and AI/ML to accelerate test & evaluation cycles, reduce physical testing, and deliver scalable digital engineering

Qualifications

• Master’s or Ph.D. in a related quantitative field.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership over digital engineering platforms.

Skills

Physics & Modeling

Digital Twin & Synthetic Data

Scientific Software Engineering

Advanced AI/ML Integration

Domain Discipline

Clearance

Education

Master’s or Ph.D. in Physics/Computational Engineering/Aerospace Engineering/CS

Tools

OpenFOAM

ANSYS

GEANT4

MCNP

Julia

OpenModelica

Job description

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Director - Digital Platforms

Full Time Minnesota FLM St Paul, MN, US

Salary Range: $135,000.00 To $250,000.00 Annually

Join North Wind – Accelerating Hypersonic Innovation

At North Wind, we are advancing hypersonic technologies through cutting-edge research, system development, and flight testing. Our team drives innovation in high-speed aerodynamics, propulsion systems, and mission-critical components, supporting every phase of hypersonic programs - from R&D to flight testing, If you are passionate about pushing technological boundaries in a dynamic environment, we invite you to join us.

Director - Digital Platforms

North Wind is seeking a visionary, technically elite Director, Digital Platforms to lead the architecture, development, and operational deployment of physics-informed digital twins, modeling and simulation (M&S) frameworks, and advanced digital engineering toolchains. This pivotal leadership role bridges high-fidelity computational physics, multi-spectral synthetic data generation, and enterprise digital ecosystem integration across complex physical test environments. The Director will oversee multi-disciplinary engineering teams responsible for creating high-confidence digital representations of complex test environments, high-speed range/facility operations, sensor arrays, and high-consequence physical systems. Operating at the intersection of computational modeling, software engineering, and AI/ML, you will establish foundational simulation and digital engineering capabilities that accelerate test and evaluation (T&E) cycles, reduce physical testing iterations, and validate mission performance across defense and national security domains.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership over North Wind’s digital engineering, modeling and simulation, and digital twin platforms.
• You will direct the engineering lifecycle from fundamental computational model development to cloud-native, real-time digital twin deployments operating across Unclassified through Classified (TS/SCI) environments.
• This role requires a rare combination of deep physical systems intuition, mastery of computational simulation methodologies (including Monte Carlo methods and deterministic physics solvers), and demonstrated success leading multi-disciplinary teams of scientists and software engineers.
• Drive the integration of reduced-order modeling, physics-informed neural networks (PINNs), synthetic spectral/data libraries, and automated model calibration workflows against physical test article measurements and Data Acquisition (DAQ) systems.
• Partner closely with executive leadership, national laboratory stakeholders, DoD program offices, and the Director of Mission Applications to ensure digital platform capabilities seamlessly feed operational mission tools.

Key areas of responsibility include:

• Strategic technical leadership and governance of North Wind’s digital twin, digital engineering, and M&S technology roadmap.
• Architecture and deployment of high-fidelity physical systems modeling (e.g., multi-physics transport, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, radiation/spectral transport, structural dynamics) for complex test facilities and test articles.
• Development and validation of synthetic data pipelines, Monte Carlo simulations, and physics-based surrogate models to augment physical test environments and sensor networks.
• Integration of AI/ML, computer vision, Generative AI, and physics-informed neural networks into core simulation and modeling workflows.
• Calibration and validation (V&V) methodologies comparing simulated platform output against physical sensor networks and high-speed data acquisition (DAQ) systems.
• Delivery of scalable, cloud-agnostic digital engineering toolchains across secure domains (IL2 through IL7, CUI, Secret, and Top Secret/SCI).
• Group leadership, technical mentoring, talent acquisition, and resource management across scientific software, physics, and AI/ML engineering teams.
• Serving as Principal Investigator (PI) or senior executive sponsor on major DoD, DARPA, DHS, and national security research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) initiatives.
• Establishing software development discipline (DRY principles, modular architecture, comprehensive documentation, and robust CI/CD practices) for scientific and engineering codebases.

Required Qualifications/Education

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Physics, Computational Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related quantitative field.
• 10+ years of professional RDT&E experience spanning physics-based modeling and simulation, digital twin development, or scientific software engineering within defense, aerospace, or national security domains.
• 5+ years of direct technical leadership or group management experience leading multi-disciplinary teams of scientists, AI/ML researchers, and software engineers on milestone-driven defense or national laboratory programs.
• Proven track record serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) or key program lead delivering high-consequence physical, modeling, or digital engineering systems for agencies such as DARPA, DoD, or DHS.
• Demonstrated hands-on expertise in model validation, calibration, and synthetic data generation against physical sensor data or high-speed data acquisition (DAQ) systems.
• Experience deploying software solutions or modeling frameworks in regulated or classified defense environments (CUI, Secret, Top Secret/SCI).

Technical & Leadership Competencies

• Physics & Modeling: Mastery of computational physics methodologies, Monte Carlo transport, deterministic numerical modeling, reduced-order modeling, or fluid dynamics applied to complex physical geometries and test environments.
• Digital Twin & Synthetic Data: Deep experience building digital-twin representations of physical hardware/facilities/sensor systems to predict performance, generate synthetic data, and optimize operational efficiency.
• Scientific Software Engineering: Proven leadership in C++, Python, and high-performance computing (HPC) workflows, emphasizing rigorous software architecture, DRY principles, modularity, and clear technical documentation.
• Advanced AI/ML Integration: Familiarity integrating physics-informed machine learning, vision-language models, or generative AI into digital engineering and automated modeling toolchains.
• Domain Discipline: Process discipline relevant to high-consequence physical systems (e.g., defense range operations, radiation/aerospace T&E, naval nuclear propulsion, or national lab facilities).
• Clearance: Active Secret clearance with eligibility for Top Secret/SCI, or an active Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Physics, Computational Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Nuclear Engineering.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record and recognized authority in computational modeling, material/system characterization, or scientific software development.
• Prior experience leading DARPA, DHS, NNSA, or DoD test and evaluation (T&E) enterprise programs as a Principal Investigator (PI).
• Expertise with specialized physics toolkits (e.g., OpenFOAM, ANSYS, GEANT4, MCNP), model reduction techniques, Julia (ModelingToolkit.jl), or OpenModelica.

North Wind is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. North Wind supports safe and drug free workplace through pre-employment background checks and drug testing.

The salary range provided is a general guideline. Actual pay will depend on several factors, including, but not limited to, education, experience, training, and other applicable qualifications. North Wind is committed to pay transparency in compliance with applicable state and local laws.

All candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.