Postdoctoral Researcher - Physics-Based Engineering Modeling and Validation for Drone Swarm Applications — Boulder, CO

Posting Title

Postdoctoral Researcher - Physics-Based Engineering Modeling and Validation for Drone Swarm Applications.

Location

CO - Boulder.

Position Type

Postdoc (Fixed Term).

Hours Per Week

40.

Working at NLR

NLR’s 305-acre Flatirons Campus is the nation’s premier wind energy, water power, and grid integration research facility. Nestled south of Boulder, Colorado, and north of NLR’s main South Table Mountain campus, Flatirons Campus sits adjacent to the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and countless acres of open space and parks with stunning views of the Flatirons rock formations.

Job Description

The National Wind Technology Center at the NLR Flatiron’s Campus is seeking a qualified candidate to help execute projects related to physics-based engineering modeling and validation for drone swarm applications. The researcher will adopt physics-based engineering tools previously developed for wind turbine and wind-farm tools applications (e.g., OpenFAST and FAST.Farm) to drone swarm applications, including individual drone aero-servo-elastics and drone-wake/downwash interaction. The engineer will identify and support improvements to the engineering tools through theory development and software implementation. They will systematically verify and validate (V&V) the tools through comparisons to fidelity-first modeling results (e.g., Kynema) and measurement data to quantitatively understand their applicability, accuracy, and limitations. They will also collaborate with other researchers focused on drone fidelity-first modeling, drone swarm control, and drone swarm applications. The researcher will be able to move fluidly between theory development, software implementation, model V&V, and applications.

The researcher will work with a wide variety of customers including the U.S. Department of Energy Integrated Energy Systems Office. They may also work collaboratively with other national laboratories, industry and academic partners, and the international community to execute projects. The researcher is expected to demonstrate a broad understanding and wide application of engineering principles, theories, and concepts as well as general knowledge of drone-related disciplines, applications and challenges. Candidates with aerospace or mechanical engineering backgrounds with some knowledge of wind engineering and/or drone applications are encouraged to apply.

.

Basic Qualifications

Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.

• Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

The successful candidate will have excellent writing, interpersonal, and communication skills. The candidate will be expected to publish research results in technical journals/conference proceedings and present work at conferences, symposia, and review meetings. They may also be expected to support the development of new work proposals, preparations, and reviews.

In addition, the candidate is expected to have:

• Experience with physics-based drone modeling principles, including aerodynamics, structural dynamics, and/or controls.
• Experience with programming languages, including familiarity with (or the ability to quickly learn) Python and/or MATLAB, Fortran and/or C++, and high-performance computing environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with wind turbine modeling tools used, e.g., FAST/OpenFAST, Bladed, and/or HAWC2.
• Experience with wind-farm modeling tools, e.g., FLORIS, FAST.Farm, and/or DWM for wind farms.
• Comfort with standard software workflows on GitHub.
• Familiarity with uncertainty quantification and machine-learning principles.
• Knowledge of fidelity-first computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling.
• Experience with processing measurement data.

.

Job Application Submission Window

Job Profile: Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range: $76,600 - $126,400

Benefits Summary

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short-term disability insurance*; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; and paid holidays. NLR employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement.

• Based on eligibility rules

Badging Requirement

Drug Free Workplace

Submission Guidelines

.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Reasonable Accommodations