Physicist - Level 5

Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector is seeking a Physicist - Level 5 to join our team in Chandler, AZ.

Serve as a test and project engineering lead for rain erosion and lightning direct effects on aerospace materials and structures, working closely with senior survivability leadership to ensure test efforts are aligned with vehicle-level hardening strategies. 

The successful candidate will: (1) design, plan, and execute material response tests at internal and external facilities; (2) synthesize test results into clear technical conclusions; and (3) translate those conclusions into survivability assessments and material/design recommendations.  Strong materials science fundamentals and experience with extreme military launch vehicle flight environments are essential to understanding and explaining test outcomes.

• →Evaluate materials for use in extreme aerospace environments including lightning, flight heating, and supersonic/hypersonic rain.
• →Design, plan, execute, and report on rain erosion and lightning direct effects tests.
• →Interface with external test facilities and suppliers to define scope, develop/review procedures, witness tests as needed, and resolve
• →Independently synthesize test results into clear technical conclusions and communicate those conclusions to non-specialist stakeholders (program leadership, systems engineering, suppliers).
• →Lead a team consisting of both junior engineers/scientists and senior/Fellow-level contributors, maintaining focus on objectives while encouraging technical input.
• →Guard against scope creep, keep complex efforts on task, and ensure that tests/analyses align with program schedules and priorities.
• →Produce clear, consistent documentation that can be understood and built upon by others years later.

• Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of experience, master's degree with 10 years of experience or Ph.D. with 10 years of experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical fields.
• U.S. citizenship
• Ability to obtain US Government Secret security clearance
• Demonstrated experience working hands-on with test campaigns (planning, sample fabrication, execution, data review, reporting), not just analysis or paper studies.
• Strong project engineering skills with multiple demonstrated examples of driving technical projects to completion.  Ability to build rapport/confidence with leadership, peers, and support staff to get the job done.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain technical rigor under aggressive schedule pressure.
• Highly structured, focused, and methodical thinker with strong organizational skills.
• Background in materials science, especially structural/thermal aerospace materials.
• Basic understanding of how materials respond to military launch vehicle flight environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to work collaboratively in team environments.

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in physics, electrical engineering, materials science, or mechanical engineering.
• Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance is highly preferred.
• Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-310, MIL-STD-464, SAE-ARP-5412/5414, NASA-STD-4003, and RTCA DO-160.  Experience interpreting industry standards to develop test levels.
• Experience planning and executing subsonic and supersonic rain erosion material response tests (e.g. SuRE, HHSTT), especially in the areas of material selection, specimen design, test matrix development, and post-test damage assessment.
• Experience planning and executing direct effects lightning material response tests, both arc entry and conducted current, with deep knowledge in grounding, fixturing, pre-test damage predictions, and post-test damage analysis/classification.
• Experience performing rain erosion and/or lightning detonation impulse modeling, especially hydrocode and/or G-law modeling.  Ability to critically compare model predictions with test observations and adjust assumptions accordingly.
• Experience with high heat flux material response testing at both low and high shear (e.g. LHMEL, AEDC).
• Experience with dynamic material response characterization testing (gas gun and/or electron beam), especially in the areas of specimen design, instrumentation, and data interpretation.
• Experience with particle and fiber-reinforced matrix materials, refractory metals and ceramic coatings.  Ability to relate microstructure and other fundamentals to macroscopic response to extreme flight environments.
• Working knowledge of shock physics, especially in the areas of shock Hugoniot and/or stress wave propagation in shocked materials.

https://www.northropgrumman.com/space

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