Senior Linear Dynamics FEA Engineer

About the role

CFD Research is seeking a senior linear dynamics finite element engineer to join our growing structural analysis team. The ideal candidate will evaluate vibration, shock, and random/acoustic responses to aid in the design, verification, and manufacture of aerospace structures. Experience with turbomachinery and rotordynamics is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate vibration, shock, and random/acoustic responses for aerospace structures
• Develop and validate linear dynamic FEA models for modal, linear transient, steady state dynamics (SSD), vibration, and shock response spectrum analyses
• Create engineering reports and documentation in support of requirement verification and design reviews
• Interface with Prototype, Test and Evaluation Division engineers located at the company’s Hollywood, AL Engineering Test Center
• Support in-person meetings 3 times a month at the Hollywood location
• Help grow and potentially lead the high fidelity structural analysis team

Requirements

• US Citizenship and eligibility to obtain and maintain a secret security clearance
• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
• 6+ years hands-on experience with linear dynamics FEA for complex structures
• Proficiency with Abaqus and Solidworks
• Strong understanding of structural dynamics, vibration theory, modal analysis, frequency response functions, and damping models
• Experience with vibro-acoustic coupling or specialized acoustics tools
• Ability to create clear technical documentation and present results to stakeholders
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills

Qualifications

• Active secret security clearance
• Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering preferred
• Experience with ANSYS or NASTRAN
• Experience with fatigue assessments and failure-based correlations to testing
• Experience with rotordynamics and associated analysis methods
• Familiarity with high-performance computing (HPC) and large-scale models
• Knowledge of design for manufacturing and producibility affecting dynamics
• Experience with Python for post-processing of tabular data or the creation of automation macros

Skills

• Proficiency with any one of the following FEA tools: Abaqus, ANSYS, or NASTRAN
• Experience with running on a remote HPC cluster and submitting jobs to a bash scheduler

Benefits

• Competitive salaries and excellent employee benefits
• Employer matching 401(k)
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Highly competitive insurance package
• Compensation time, parental leave, long-term and short-term disability, accidental death and dismemberment, and life insurance
• Group and individual bonuses for exceptional performance