Aerodynamic Modeling Research Scientist, Prime Air Flight Sciences Aerodynamic Modeling
DESCRIPTION
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How do you get items to customers quickly, cost-effectively, and—most importantly—safely, in less than an hour? And how do you do it in a way that can scale? Our teams of hundreds of scientists, engineers, aerospace professionals, and futurists have been working hard to do just that! We are delivering to customers, and are excited for what’s to come. Check out more information about Prime Air on the About Amazon blog (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drone-reveal-photos).
If you are seeking an iterative environment where you can drive innovation, apply state-of-the-art technologies to solve real world delivery challenges, and provide benefits to customers, Prime Air is the place for you.
Come work on the Amazon Prime Air Team!
Our Prime Air Drone Flight Sciences High Fidelity Methods (HFM) team is looking for an outstanding member to develop and verify our Aerodynamic Database and associated aerodynamics models used for engineering analyses and vehicle simulations. These models are the backbone of every flight simulation performed within Prime Air and are a critical element in the aircraft design, verification, and certification process.
These models are used to predict many attributes of the vehicle performance including range, maneuverability, tracking error, and aircraft stability. They are a key input to design decisions, vehicle component sizing and flight software algorithm development. The accuracy and reliability of these flight model are critical to the success of Prime Air.
Key job responsibilities
The person in this role is responsible for owning the development, deployment, verification, and maintenance of models from end-to-end. This includes the initial gathering of the downstream customer needs, identifying the most suitable modelling approach, coordinating the generation of input data, training models, developing and maintaining software interfaces, and verifying the model accuracy.
This person will also be responsible for determining the most suitable modeling approach for a given physical phenomena. They need to possess knowledge of various machine learning techniques, and their respective advantages and limitations. They will need to have a detailed understanding of the types of physics to be modelled including vehicle aerodynamics, multibody dynamics, and atmosphere physics.
They will be responsible for designing experiments for generating data used to train and verify surrogate models. They need to have a basic understanding of the methods used to generate high-fidelity aerodynamics predictions including CFD, wind tunnel testing, and flight testing. They will be responsible for validating the models by leveraging uncertainty quantification, system identification, and statistical analyses.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelors Degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics and 5+ years experience or equivalent
- Experience with flight vehicle design, simulation, development, and verification & validation (V&V)
- Proficient with at least one modern programming language (e.g. C++, Python, Java, VBA)
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master's or PHD in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, physics or equivalent
- 3+ years experience in air vehicle aerodynamic design, analysis, and testing (preferably electric propulsion vehicles)
- Experience with flight test planning, instrumentation and data reduction techniques
- Experience with high-fidelity aerodynamics prediction methods including wind tunnel testing, and computation fluid dynamics (CFD)
- Knowledgeable about fixed-wing and/or rotorcraft flight physics
- Experience with uncertainty quantification in the context of computational models
- Experience with Gaussian Process (GP) Regression
- Experience with regulatory and certification processes pertaining to flight performance
Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us.
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $136,000/year in our lowest geographic market up to $212,800/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.