ENGINEER - RESEARCH ENGINEER - Computational Materials Integrity

Southwest Research Institute; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research organization in San Antonio is seeking a Research Engineer to contribute to advanced studies in computational materials integrity. Responsibilities include software development for fatigue crack growth analysis, performing research, and maintaining software programs. Ideal candidates should have a Master's or PhD in a related field and experience in software development, mechanics, and materials science. The role offers an opportunity to work in a collaborative team environment focused on innovative engineering solutions.

Qualifications

• Experience in fracture mechanics and fatigue crack growth assessment.
• Training in software development processes.
• Experience in computational fracture mechanics.

Responsibilities

• Perform research in fatigue crack growth for material integrity.
• Extend and maintain the software programs NASGRO and DARWIN.
• Develop user-friendly methods for damage tolerance assessments.
• Troubleshoot user issues in software programs.

Skills

Analytical methods

Numerical methods

Software development

Mechanical behavior of engineering metals

Fatigue crack growth assessment

Education

Masters or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science or similar

Tools

Fortran

Version control systems

Job description

ENGINEER - RESEARCH ENGINEER - Computational Materials Integrity

18-01577

Who We Are:

We develop and apply advanced computational methods to assess the performance of a variety of engineering materials that are used in a wide range of applications with a particular focus on estimating the life and reliability of high-consequence engineering applications. We seek candidates skilled in analytical and numerical methods that support software development for fatigue crack growth and fracture of metallic materials under sustained and cyclic loading. Most relevant technical areas include damage tolerance, computational mechanics, and computational material science.

Objectives of this Role:

• Join our team to perform fundamental and applied research through the development of advanced fatigue crack growth for material and structural integrity assessments.
• Become an expert with our established software codebase and the technical solutions to solve problems related to practical fatigue crack growth, fracture, and structural integrity assessments.
• Work within a large team and a managed software operations framework to write source code, integrate it, compile it, test it, and debug it as needed to support long-term, commercial software programs.
• Apply principles in advanced continuum mechanics, numerical methods, materials science, and applied mathematics to solve unique problems using the modern Fortran programming language.
• Learn business development skills to support contract research programs and assist developing new technology areas, and to interact with government and commercial clients as needed.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

• Extend and maintain the fatigue crack growth software programs: NASGRO and DARWIN.
• Ensure accuracy, precision, and consistency of predictions implemented within high-criticality commercial software.
• Develop new user-friendly and practical methods to perform damage tolerance assessments.
• Accelerate methods by reducing the memory footprint, reducing computational costs, or handling large datasets efficiently.
• Troubleshoot user issues in a timely manner by fixing bugs and generating reports.
• Interact with a larger development team to coordinate issue resolution within a large, interconnected, and legacy codebase.
• Document results in appropriate repositories. Provide guidance for software use.
• Communicate effectively with colleagues, collaborators, and customers.
• Prepare proposals, reports, and technical papers.
• Manage tasks and projects to completion within scope, budget, and schedule constraints within a team environment.

Requirements:

• Requires a Masters or a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Structural Engineering, Computational Mechanics, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, or similar engineering degree.
• 0-3 years: Experience and/or training in fracture mechanics, fatigue crack growth assessment, continuum mechanics, materials science, applied mechanics, applied mathematics, and mechanical behavior of engineering metals.
• 0-3 years: Experience and/or training in software development processes for scientific computing, including version control, optimization, software verification, relevant programming languages, and programming assisted by ML/AI tools.
• 0-3 years: Experience in stress-intensity factor solutions, weight function methods, fatigue crack growth algorithms, time-dependent crack growth, small-crack growth mechanisms, threshold, shakedown, rain flow, environmental fatigue, and multi-point computational fracture mechanics.
• 0-3 years: Experience in customer issue resolution, supporting for legacy code and application programming interfaces, and using ML/AI tools to streamline software development, sustainment, documentation, and verification.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.

Special Requirements:

Must be a U.S. person (i.e., U.S. citizen, non-U.S. citizen national, lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee) due to ITAR work in section.

For benefits information at our San Antonio location, click here .
For benefits information at all other locations, click here .

An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status.