Hypersonic Flight Systems and Control Fellow

This opportunity is offered through the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) and is based at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. It is a paid research appointment and not a government position.

About the Role

As the nation’s first military academy, West Point prepares cadets to become officers in the U.S. Army. The Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) aims to build, educate, and inspire commissioned leaders of character who leverage engineering and professionalism to design and implement innovative solutions.

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering seeks a Fellow to support the Academy's Hypersonic Rocket Program. This program develops and flight-tests high-altitude, two-stage sounding rockets capable of reaching and exceeding the Kármán Line (100 km), with the long-term objective of establishing a reusable hypersonic test platform for scientific research payloads.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for the design, analysis, and flight testing of high-altitude sounding rockets.
• Develop and validate aerodynamic, trajectory, and flight dynamics models.
• Support development of active flight control and guidance systems for future vehicle configurations.
• Conduct stability and control analyses for supersonic and hypersonic flight regimes.
• Develop simulation and modeling tools to improve flight prediction, mission planning, and system performance assessment.
• Support integration of avionics, telemetry, and scientific payload systems.
• Assist cadet capstone teams with engineering design, testing, analysis, and technical documentation.
• Support launch operations, flight test planning, and post-flight data analysis.

Position will require (funded) travel to one to two launches per year.

Requirements

• Ph.D. or master’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field. Candidates in the process of completing their graduate degree (PhD or Masters) will also be considered.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following:
  • Flight dynamics
  • Stability and control
  • Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC)
  • High-speed aerodynamics
  • Rocket or missile systems
  • Hypersonic flight
  • Aerospace simulation and modeling
• Experience with MATLAB and Simulink.
• Experience supporting experimental flight testing or aerospace vehicle development is highly desirable.
• Strong communication and mentoring skills with the ability to work closely with undergraduate engineering teams.
• Prior mid- or high-power rocketry launch experience (IREC, NASA SLI, etc.).
• L1 to L3 certification preferred but not required.
• Membership in rocketry organizations is preferred (NAR, TRA, etc.).

Application Requirements

• Resume and transcripts.
• A brief personal statement describing experience with rocketry and lessons learned.
• Proof of launch certification if applicable.
• Additional supporting documents specific to this experience may be included (links to publications, articles, launch videos, etc.) but are not required.
• Contact information for three references who may be contacted. The ideal reference is a supervisor, teacher, mentor, or other professional who can attest to the candidate’s professionalism, experience, work ethic, and character.

Pay

Total compensation will include an annual stipend of $75,000–$96,000 (pending qualifications) in addition to a health insurance stipend, relocation supplement, and travel support for professional advancement.