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Southwest Research Institute

COMPUTER SCIENTIST - ENGINEER - RESEARCH ENGINEER - GT Performance Analyst & Met

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas


Who We Are: The Propulsion & Energy Machinery Section performs R&D in the fields of air-breathing and liquid propulsion. Our team develops the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation software, the industry-standard software for cycle and performance analysis of these advanced propulsion systems. Objectives of this Role: Work in a team to support Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) software. Activities include engineering model development, program interface development, software testing, code infrastructure development and code development. Conduct thermal-fluid simulations using one-dimensional tools, either NPSS or commercial software, for propulsion and power generation applications which include common cycle components, such as compressors, turbines, heat exchangers, combustors, and motor/generators. Provide model development support and hands-on testing support for complex test rigs and prototype machinery being built and tested at SwRI. Provide engineering support to NPSS users and clients. Participate in teaching NPSS training courses. Promote the use of NPSS at technical conferences through papers and presentations. Daily and Monthly Responsibilities: Resolve NPSS software bugs in the engineering elements, models, and interfaces. Add new modeling capabilities to NPSS. These are generally long-duration, complex efforts that are decided upon annually by the NPSS consortium members. Support cycle model efforts for projects within the Department using NPSS or other engineering software to perform evaluations of problems of propulsion, power, and energy machinery and associated sub-systems. Document progress through technical presentations and update Consortium members through regular meetings. Work independently with minimal supervision. Participate in design and code reviews. Requirements: Requires a Bachelors, Masters or a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineer, Aeronautical Engineering, Computer Science, or related. Advanced degrees will be considered in lieu of some years of experience. 1-2 years: Experience conducting fluid and thermodynamics analyses of gas turbines or similarly complex systems using software similar to the following: NPSS, MATLAB, LabVIEW, Engineering Equation Solver (EES), Flownex, Easy5, Thermal Desktop, or PROOSIS, GasTurb, Modelica. 1-2 years: Experience developing engineering software or scripts based on the C++, FORTRAN, Python, or other pertinent programming languages. A valid/clear driver's license is required.