Director - Digital Platforms

About the role

North Wind is advancing hypersonic technologies through cutting‑edge research, system development, and flight testing. The company seeks a visionary Director of Digital Platforms to lead the architecture, development, and operational deployment of physics‑informed digital twins, modeling and simulation (M&S) frameworks, and advanced digital engineering toolchains. This leadership role bridges high‑fidelity computational physics, multi‑spectral synthetic data generation, and enterprise digital ecosystem integration across complex physical test environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership over North Wind’s digital engineering, modeling and simulation, and digital twin platforms.
• Direct the engineering lifecycle from fundamental computational model development to cloud‑native, real‑time digital twin deployments across Unclassified through Classified (TS/SCI) environments.
• Drive integration of reduced‑order modeling, physics‑informed neural networks (PINNs), synthetic spectral/data libraries, and automated model calibration workflows against physical test article measurements and data acquisition (DAQ) systems.
• Partner closely with executive leadership, national laboratory stakeholders, DoD program offices, and the Director of Mission Applications to ensure digital platform capabilities seamlessly feed operational mission tools.
• Strategic technical leadership and governance of North Wind’s digital twin, digital engineering, and M&S technology roadmap.
• Architect and deploy high‑fidelity physical systems modeling (e.g., multi‑physics transport, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, radiation/spectral transport, structural dynamics) for complex test facilities and test articles.
• Develop and validate synthetic data pipelines, Monte Carlo simulations, and physics‑based surrogate models to augment physical test environments and sensor networks.
• Integrate AI/ML, computer vision, Generative AI, and physics‑informed neural networks into core simulation and modeling workflows.
• Establish calibration and validation (V&V) methodologies comparing simulated platform output against physical sensor networks and high‑speed DAQ systems.
• Deliver scalable, cloud‑agnostic digital engineering toolchains across secure domains (IL2‑IL7, CUI, Secret, Top Secret/SCI).
• Lead, mentor, and manage multidisciplinary teams of scientists, AI/ML researchers, and software engineers; oversee talent acquisition and resource management.
• Serve as Principal Investigator (PI) or senior executive sponsor on major DoD, DARPA, DHS, and national security RDT&E initiatives.
• Establish software development discipline (DRY principles, modular architecture, comprehensive documentation, robust CI/CD) for scientific and engineering codebases.

Required Qualifications/Education

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Physics, Computational Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related quantitative field.
• 10+ years of professional RDT&E experience spanning physics‑based modeling and simulation, digital twin development, or scientific software engineering within defense, aerospace, or national security domains.
• 5+ years of direct technical leadership or group management experience leading multidisciplinary teams of scientists, AI/ML researchers, and software engineers on milestone‑driven defense or national laboratory programs.
• Proven track record serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) or key program lead delivering high‑consequence physical, modeling, or digital engineering systems for agencies such as DARPA, DoD, or DHS.
• Demonstrated hands‑on expertise in model validation, calibration, and synthetic data generation against physical sensor data or high‑speed DAQ systems.
• Experience deploying software solutions or modeling frameworks in regulated or classified defense environments (CUI, Secret, Top Secret/SCI).

Technical & Leadership Competencies

• Physics & Modeling: Mastery of computational physics methodologies, Monte Carlo transport, deterministic numerical modeling, reduced‑order modeling, or fluid dynamics applied to complex physical geometries and test environments.
• Digital Twin & Synthetic Data: Deep experience building digital‑twin representations of physical hardware, facilities, and sensor systems to predict performance, generate synthetic data, and optimize operational efficiency.
• Scientific Software Engineering: Proven leadership in C++, Python, and high‑performance computing (HPC) workflows, emphasizing rigorous software architecture, DRY principles, modularity, and clear technical documentation.
• Advanced AI/ML Integration: Familiarity integrating physics‑informed machine learning, vision‑language models, or generative AI into digital engineering and automated modeling toolchains.
• Domain Discipline: Process discipline relevant to high‑consequence physical systems (e.g., defense range operations, radiation/aerospace T&E, naval nuclear propulsion, or national lab facilities).
• Clearance: Active Secret clearance with eligibility for Top Secret/SCI, or an active Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Physics, Computational Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Nuclear Engineering.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance.
• Strong peer‑reviewed publication record and recognized authority in computational modeling, material/system characterization, or scientific software development.
• Prior experience leading DARPA, DHS, NNSA, or DoD test and evaluation (T&E) enterprise programs as a Principal Investigator (PI).
• Expertise with specialized physics toolkits (e.g., OpenFOAM, ANSYS, GEANT4, MCNP), model reduction techniques, Julia (ModelingToolkit.jl), or OpenModelica.

Additional Information

North Wind is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

The company supports a safe and drug‑free workplace through pre‑employment background checks and drug testing.

The salary range provided is a general guideline; actual pay will depend on education, experience, training, and other applicable qualifications. North Wind is committed to pay transparency in compliance with applicable state and local laws.

All candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.