Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Lead Engineer - REMOTE

About the role

This person could work onsite in Alexandria, VA, St. Paul, Minnesota, or Full-Time Remote if not open to relocating. We are seeking an experienced Test Facility Lead Engineer to provide comprehensive technical oversight for the design, integration, operation, and maintenance of new and existing large-scale hypersonic ground test capabilities while providing technical leadership to ensure that once functional, the facility and its systems operate safely, reliably, and in alignment with performance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical oversight and contractor evaluation for the design-build prime contractor's design and execution of a wind tunnel test capability.
• Serve as the authoritative technical Point of Contact (POC), providing critical feedback and strategic guidance to the contractor to ensure designs align with government safety, reliability, and performance requirements.
• Leverage deep expertise of wind tunnel design, wind tunnel operations, and wind tunnel test planning to identify, own, manage, and communicate technical risk, developing mitigation plans in partnership with the Assistant Project Manager (APM).
• Represent the government program office while attending contractor-chaired Integrated Product Team (IPT) meetings, Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs), technical design reviews, and milestone reviews, applying subject matter expertise to provide insights and communicate government questions and concerns to the contractor.
• Conduct detailed technical reviews of contractor-developed designs, drawings, specifications, and analyses such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
• Validate contractor technical findings by performing independent verification analyses and coordinating with external SMEs, FFRDCs, UARCs, etc., to assess risk and inform government decisions.
• Possess and apply a strong safety ethos, leading and contributing to safety reviews and audits.
• Collaborate seamlessly within a highly matrixed team of mechanical, electrical, aerothermal, controls and instrumentation, and systems engineers, program management, program controls, physical security, cybersecurity, and construction professionals.
• Translate complex project data into decision-ready insights; lead executive briefings to present technical summaries, risk assessments, and recommendations to support government action and decisions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline and 10+ years of experience in the aerospace or defense industry.
• Direct experience with the design, construction, operation, and/or modernization of large-scale Test and Evaluation (T&E) facilities such as wind tunnels, arc jets, rocket stands, turbine cells, etc.
• Proven ability to conduct comprehensive technical reviews and assessments, resolve complex technical issues, and oversee project phases from initial design through closeout.
• Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to translate complex engineering data into decision-ready briefings for government and contractor stakeholders.
• Proven tactical project management skills with a demonstrated ability to drive accountability, manage action plans, and maintain project momentum.
• Knowledge of engineering principles related to mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and control systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 suite of software.
• Must possess an active SECRET security clearance.

Desired Skills

• Master’s Degree or Ph.D. in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
• Specific, direct experience with test-customer focused wind tunnel operations subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic Aerodynamics, or Hypersonic Propulsion.
• Experience working in a matrixed or collaborative technical oversight environment (SETA).
• Experience with Facility Engineering specializing in high-temperature and high-pressure systems.
• Experience in instrumentation systems, data collection, and data analytics.
• Understanding and regular use of Generative AI tools applied to engineering analysis, code generation, or document review.
• Experience with modern digital engineering design and analysis tools and software.
• Familiarity with DoW weapon acquisition programs and their T&E needs.

Benefits

Scientific Research Corporation offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 401(k) with a company match, life insurance, vacation and sick paid time off accruals with amounts increasing based on role and years of service, 11 paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, and a work environment that encourages excellence and more.

Pay

Estimated Starting Salary Range: USD $136,850.00/Yr. - USD $228,100.00/Yr. Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Schedule

Travel approximately 20% of the year (approximately ten non-consecutive weeks)

About Us

Scientific Research Corporation is an advanced information technology and engineering company that provides innovative products and services to government and private industry, as well as independent institutions. At the core of our capabilities is a seasoned team of highly skilled engineers and scientists with multidisciplinary backgrounds. This team is challenged daily to provide cutting edge technology solutions to our clients. SRC offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 401(k) with a company match, life insurance, vacation and sick paid time off accruals with amounts increasing based on role and years of service, 11 paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, and a work environment that encourages excellence and more. For positions requiring a security clearance, selected applicants will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. EEO Scientific Research Corporation is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state or local law. SRC endeavors to make www.scires.com accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact jobs@scires.com for assistance. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.