Air Systems Modeling Engineer

DCS is seeking an Air Systems Modeling Engineer to support the full lifecycle of threat system model development for manned and autonomous integrated air systems. In this role, you will apply NASIC’s Model Production and M&S R&D processes to design, implement, validate, and maintain high-fidelity aircraft and subsystem models utilized across advanced multi-vehicle simulation environments. You will characterize threat system performance through all-source technical intelligence analysis, subsystem engineering, and the integration of physics-based, algorithmic, and behavioral components.

Operating directly alongside NASIC subject matter experts and intelligence analysts, you will leverage deep expertise in MATLAB/Simulink and airborne system analysis to model sensors, C2/datalinks, signal processing chains, flight dynamics, and electronic warfare behaviors, ensuring simulation accuracy and operational fidelity for national defense applications.

Essential Job Functions

• Design, develop, maintain, and upgrade TMAP manned and autonomous air system threat models in compliance with NASIC model production standards.
• Construct robust MATLAB, Simulink, and Stateflow threat representations and subsystem modules leveraging templates, legacy baselines, and technical intelligence data.
• Maintain and scale standard Simulink block libraries, helper tools, and automation scripts utilized across the TMAP model generation pipeline.
• Verify seamless integration and compatibility of models within advanced simulation testbeds, including AFSIM, NGTS, ITASE, and JSE.
• Evaluate all-source intelligence assessments and engineering data to pinpoint subsystem performance gaps and model fidelity deficiencies.
• Perform detailed engineering characterization of foreign threat air platforms in direct coordination with the Government Task Manager (GTM).
• Characterize critical aircraft subsystems, including fire control systems, radar and EO/IR sensors, datalinks, C2 networks, pilot/agent behavioral algorithms, electronic attack methods, and signal processing chains.
• Author comprehensive technical documentation defining algorithms, hardware characteristics, signal processing techniques, and subsystem interaction logic.
• Verify and validate model performance against intelligence assessments, formalizing findings in Threat Verification & Validation Reports (TVVRs).
• Execute cross-source data comparisons to reconcile modeling discrepancies and harmonize underlying subsystem assumptions.
• Publish specialized technical studies, architecture trade analyses, and workflow recommendations detailing modeling rationale and fidelity constraints.
• Audit candidate models and production pipelines to implement workflow tuning, code maintenance, and performance optimizations.
• Incorporate complex sensor physics, RF communications, aero coefficients, mass properties, and propulsion dynamics directly into modeling workflows.
• Formulate architectural improvements and recommend toolchain modernization when existing modeling platforms fail to meet runtime or fidelity standards.
• Execute NASIC M&S R&D workflows to capture emerging threat platforms, collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), and specialized mission variants.
• Drive subsystem-level R&D initiatives to maximize code modularity and cross-platform model reuse across evolving threat libraries.
• Partner closely with all-source intelligence analysts and NASIC technical SMEs through regular technical reviews, code walk-throughs, and characterization working groups.

Required Skills

• U.S. Citizenship (mandatory due to customer security requirements).
• Active TS/SCI security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or an equivalent STEM discipline.
• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience in modeling and simulation, aerospace systems analysis, threat representation, or related domains.
• Advanced proficiency in MATLAB, Simulink, and Stateflow for subsystem-level model development and integration.
• Demonstrated track record of developing or integrating aircraft, sensor, or electronic warfare (EW) models within algorithmic or physics-based frameworks.
• Working familiarity with multi-vehicle simulation environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS, ITASE, JSE).
• Comprehensive understanding of core aircraft functional systems, including avionics, RF/optical sensors, communications, flight dynamics, propulsion, and weapon interfaces.
• Proven capability to translate raw technical intelligence, flight test data, and technical manuals into functional software models.
• Strong written technical communication skills for delivering formal verification reports, engineering studies, and model documentation.

Desired Skills

• Direct operational experience with specialized NASIC toolsets (e.g., Simian Lite, Cyclops Lite, Hercules, Artemis Lite, Chiron, Cerberus, Diana).
• Prior engineering experience directly supporting NASIC, Air Force M&S organizations, or DoD intelligence community modeling programs.
• Hands-on familiarity with EWIRDB datasets, ITASE threat representations, and airborne system characterization pipelines.
• Specialized modeling background in advanced digital signal processing, multi-sensor fusion, active electronic attack, and tactical C2/datalink structures.
• Direct experience implementing AFSIM plug-ins, custom components, or large-scale multi-platform simulation experiments.