Senior Weapons Effects Phenomenology & Simulations SME

Red Gate Group; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible PTO

11 paid holidays

401(k) with generous match

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

100% company-paid life insurance and 2

Job summary

The Red Gate Group, Ltd. seeks a Weapons Effects Phenomenology / High Fidelity Simulations SME to support DTRA.

The role blends experimental science with predictive hydro-code simulation to characterize material and system response under shock, thermal, and detonation loading. You will design models, validate networks, plan diagnostics such as laser shock and gas gun tests, and translate findings into technical reports for program decisions.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of high energy density physics or shock physics experience.
• Experience developing and validating predictive, multi-physics models of material response under shock, thermal, and mechanical loading.
• Track record of authoring technical reports, peer-reviewed publications, and program documentation supporting certification and technical decision milestones.
• Experience mentoring technical staff and collaborating across engineering, safety, and program teams in high-hazard environments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical authority on weapons effects phenomenology for DTRA programs.
• Design, develop, and validate reactive chemistry network models describing material behavior under thermal, mechanical, and shock-driven loading.
• Integrate experimentally derived reaction networks and material models with hydro-codes and reactive MD frameworks to produce predictive simulations.
• Plan and execute experimental diagnostics—laser-driven shock physics, gas gun testing, and advanced spectroscopy—to characterize detonation chemistry and shock-driven reactions.
• Translate experimental and simulation findings into technical reports and analyses for program decisions, certification milestones, and T&E requirements.
• Support process and model validation reviews to confirm reproducibility, safety controls, and technical benchmarks.
• Collaborate with government leads, engineering teams, and cross-functional staff to integrate results into validated simulation frameworks.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to junior scientists on testing methodologies, safety, and high-fidelity simulation practices.
• Identify instrumentation upgrades to expand high-strain-rate and shock-response testing capability.
• Support proposals, capture, and business development with technical approaches for weapons effects phenomenology and simulation.

Skills

High energy density physics

Shock physics

Energetic materials research

Predictive multi-physics modeling

Hydro-code integration

Experimental design & diagnostics

Tools

CTH and ALE3D

ReaxFF and LAMMPS

CHEETAH thermochemical code

AXSIA chemical imaging

LabVIEW

MATLAB

Mathematica

Job description

The Red Gate Group, Ltd. seeks a Weapons Effects Phenomenology / High Fidelity Simulations SME to support DTRA.

The role blends experimental science with predictive hydro-code simulation to characterize material and system response under shock, thermal, and detonation loading. You will design models, validate networks, plan diagnostics such as laser shock and gas gun tests, and translate findings into technical reports for program decisions.