Principal Engineer/Scientist (FAA)

MDR is looking for an amazingly talented Principal Engineer/Scientist to join our team supporting the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST)! In this role you will define and lead the approach for complex flight safety and system safety analyses, driving technically sound end-products that inform AST's licensing and public-safety decisions.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Leading and defining the approach and conduct of complex technical analyses and the development of technical processes, reports, and tools
• Performing and directing flight safety analysis - trajectory analysis (guided and unguided, launch and reentry), flight abort rule development and simulation, malfunction and explosion modeling, debris and blast-wave propagation, toxic dispersion, population exposure, hazard-area development, and risk-metric evaluation
• Conducting system safety analysis across hazard identification, safety-critical hardware and computing systems (including flight termination and automated flight safety systems), reliability and probability-of-failure analysis, and mishap/emergency response
• Producing independent analyses and consequence assessments for impacts of objects, toxic substances, and blast waves on people, structures, and transportation modes
• Developing advanced modeling concepts and computational tools, and supporting the technical rationale behind regulations, guides, and advisory circulars
• Mentoring engineers and analysts and reviewing their work products for technical soundness

What You'll Need:

One of the following combinations:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, mathematics, or science, plus a minimum of ten (10) years of industry experience performing work relevant to the statement of work; or
• Master's degree in engineering, mathematics, or science, plus a minimum of eight (8) years of relevant industry experience; or
• Ph.D. in engineering, mathematics, or science, plus a minimum of five (5) years of relevant industry experience

Clearance: An active Secret clearance is strongly preferred and is required for select hires. The contract requires two team members total, across the Technical Subject Expert and Principal Engineer/Scientist categories, to hold and maintain a Secret clearance for the duration of the contract - necessary for access to federal launch ranges and military launch operations at commercial ranges.

About the work:

Mission Driven Research (MDR) provides advanced flight safety and system safety support to the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. AST carries a serious public-safety mandate: under U.S. law it is responsible for protecting public health and safety, property, and the national security and foreign-policy interests of the United States during commercial space launch and reentry activities. AST meets that responsibility by licensing and permitting commercial launch and reentry vehicle operations and launch/reentry site operations, issuing experimental permits and safety approvals, and supporting the FAA's Air Traffic Organization on airspace management and amateur rocket activities.

Our team helps AST evaluate license, permit, and safety-approval applications; develop regulations, guidance, and training; build analytical tools; and conduct research on advanced modeling and computational methods. Quantitative and qualitative risk analysis sits at the center of the work - explosive safety, debris and toxic risk, distance-focusing overpressure, hazard-area determination, maximum probable loss, flight safety systems, software safety, and system safety - applied across launch and reentry vehicle operations, range operations, and the public-safety issues tied to launch and reentry site operations. Work is ordered and scoped through individual task orders, so the mix of activity evolves with AST's priorities.

All contractor personnel must satisfy applicable FAA personnel security requirements (per FAA Personnel Security Order 1600.1) and complete required information systems security training.

Mission Driven Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. If you are interested in applying for employment with Mission Driven Research and need special assistance or an accommodation to use our website, please contact us by email (hr@missiondrivenresearch.com) or by phone by calling (256) 299-9288. When contacting us, please provide your contact information and state the nature of your accessibility issue.