SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars. SR. SOFTWARE ENGINEER, PROPULSION SIMULATION & DATA ANALYSIS (RAPTOR)
The Raptor Systems Modeling and Control Team is responsible for the power-balance, optimal control, and calibration of one of the worlds most prolific and advanced rocket engines. In addition to this we aid in root cause analysis for anomaly resolution, providing data and model driven insights supporting operations and components teams in high-consequence decision making. Our models and analysis are relied upon day-in-and-day-out to evaluate the safety and optimality of flight trajectories. With hundreds of engines, hundreds of simulations, and hundreds of hot fire operations, the work we do guides both the engine design process and operation of every single mission and engine test. In this role you will work with brilliant, passionate engineers to develop rapid, seamless processes to translate engine test data into accurate predictions of future performance for the most reliable and cutting-edge rocket engines in the world. RESPONSIBILITIES:
Maintain and improve the accuracy of the lumped-parameter thermofluid physics model of the Raptor engine
Conduct engine cycle analysis to steer future-state engine design and thrust upgrades
Conduct anomaly resolution utilizing the engine model and sparse instrumentation
Develop a detailed understanding of the physics underlying rocket engine performance, sources of performance variability, as well as related modeling and measurement techniques
Maintain and improve the accuracy of the representation of the Raptor engine used in integrated vehicle simulations, control software validation and flight Monte Carlo analysis
Develop tools and portals to understand the sources of engine performance variability and enact improvements to manufacturing and engine hardware design
Automate processes and software tools that are used to predict test performance and generate flight performance predictions for GNC (guidance, navigation, and control) and flight software
Collaborate with engineers across the company to extend and improve interoperability among existing tools as well as to standardize hardware and software practices, tools, and methods to maximize functionality and value while minimizing future overhead and obsolescence
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a STEM discipline
5+ years of professional experience writing computer software
2+ years of professional experience with physics-based simulations of real dynamic systems
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
Dynamical systems modeling
Experience with lumped parameter modeling of physical systems
Experience implementing physics-informed neural networks to solve real-world engineering problems
Data driven analysis of complex systems
Experience inferring root cause from sparse measurements
Demonstrable proficiency in the basic principles of compressible and incompressible flow, thermodynamics, thermochemistry, mechanics, and materials
Strong written and verbal communication skills, ability to make presentations to team members, internal customers and management
Experience building data pipelines providing sanitization, curation, visualization, exploration to high dimensional datasets
Experience working with or simulating combustion engines or fluid systems
Full stack web development experience (database design, frontend) Frontend experience in Angular, React, or a similar JavaScript framework
Backend development: deliver well-tested, performant, and maintainable Python, C#/.NET, C++ or Java code
Experience with version control, continuous integration, Unix-like operating systems
Experience with control feedback loop design and implementation
Experience with numerical analysis techniques and signal processing in multiple domains
