Research Associate (Aerospace/Mechanical)

The School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) invites applications for the position of Research Associate. 

Key Responsibilities: 

The Research Associate (RA) will work on a project with an overarching goal to launch a compact, high-power satellite and operate it at the very-low Earth orbit (VLEO) altitude. Studies have shown that aerodynamics drag and moment can be significant for this range of operation. The roles of this position include:

• Develop a base gas kinetics solver (e.g., direct simulation Monte Carlo method) to capture the VLEO gas dynamics phenomena over the satellite body.

• Collaborate with thruster team and overseas experts to couple base gas kinetics solver with a plasma solver (e.g., particle-in-cell technique) to account for charge exchange effects over the satellite body.

• Incorporate optimizer (e.g., surrogate-based) with gas kinetics solver to investigate how satellite shape can be modified to improve drag coefficient and stability.

• Couple gas kinetics solver and optimizer with an orbital mechanics solver (e.g., FreeFlyer) to evaluate the effects of shape/size optimization on orbit life cycle.

• Gather scientific insights by working with the rest of aerodynamics team on tasks such as comparing results from other gas kinetics solver and developing multi-dimensional gas kinetics/plasma solver.

Job Requirements: 

• Master in Aerospace, Mechanical, or fields that relate to fluids mechanics, gas kinetics, particle methods, and CFD.

• Mandatory to have a good knowledge and experience in gas kinetics programming, particle methods, or at least CFD programming (i.e., a developer and not just a user).

• Proficiency in English is compulsory.

• Expertise in at least one of the topics/techniques listed in Section 3; more will be an advantage.

• Publication track record is an advantage, but not mandatory.

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We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Hiring Institution: NTU

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