Hypersonic Propulsion Engineer — CFD/Scramjet

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 100,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is seeking an Aerospace Propulsion Engineer focused on hypersonic propulsion with strong CFD and high-fidelity modeling skills. You will design, analyze, and evaluate scramjet propulsion systems for DoD programs, collaborate with senior engineers, and grow ownership of technical challenges within a multidisciplinary team.

Ideal candidates have a solid background in fluid mechanics, compressible flow, and numerical methods, with hands-on CFD

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• Strong foundation in fluid mechanics, compressible flow, thermodynamics, combustion, numerical methods, or CFD.
• Applied computational methods through employment, research, internships, laboratory work, or substantial academic projects.
• Familiarity with CFD, including meshes, boundary conditions, numerical methods, and physical models.
• Interest in scramjet, dual-mode ramjet, or other high-speed propulsion systems.
• Basic experience with Linux and a programming or scripting language such as Python, MATLAB, C++, or Fortran.
• Ability to work through unfamiliar problems, ask productive questions, and assess whether an answer is physically credible.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Motivated to learn and can work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Able to obtain Interim Secret clearance by start date and ultimately obtain a Secret clearance. U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Support the design and analysis of scramjet inlet, isolator, combustor, and nozzle flowpaths.
• Apply CFD to compressible and reacting-flow problems.
• Create and evaluate computational meshes for internal-flow and integrated-vehicle geometries.
• Execute and post-process simulations using finite-rate chemistry and appropriate physical models.
• Examine mesh sensitivity, numerical convergence, boundary conditions, and modeling assumptions.
• Compare computational results with experimental data, analytical results, and engineering models.
• Investigate unexpected results and develop possible physical explanations.
• Build scripts and workflows for simulation setup, data processing, and visualization.
• Document and present your methods, assumptions, results, and conclusions.
• Take increasing ownership of technical problems as experience develops.

Skills

Aerospace Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Physics

Fluid mechanics

Compressible flow

Thermodynamics

CFD

Python

Linux

C++

Education

Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering

Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelors in Physics

Tools

CFD software

Job description

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is seeking an Aerospace Propulsion Engineer focused on hypersonic propulsion with strong CFD and high-fidelity modeling skills. You will design, analyze, and evaluate scramjet propulsion systems for DoD programs, collaborate with senior engineers, and grow ownership of technical challenges within a multidisciplinary team.

Ideal candidates have a solid background in fluid mechanics, compressible flow, and numerical methods, with hands-on CFD