Overview:

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.   

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do: 

1. Students are our top priority.
2. We strive for excellence.
3. We thrive on diversity.
4. We celebrate collaboration.
5. We champion innovation.
6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.
7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.
8. We act ethically.
9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Project/Unit Description

This job is for a full-time research faculty position in the Force Protection Systems Branch in the Aerospace & Acoustics Technologies Division (AATD) with the Aerospace, Transportation, and Advanced Systems Laboratory (ATASL) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). The Force Protection Systems Branch (FPSB) focuses on the development, integration, testing and evaluation of tactical military systems for the protection of personnel and critical infrastructure worldwide. FPSB personnel apply multi-disciplinary engineering expertise to sensors, platforms, and integrated systems, with a focus on small unmanned systems and asymmetric warfare. Program areas include small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), Counter UAS systems, persistent tactical ISR platforms and sensors, and command and control (C2) architectures. Within the Aerospace and Acoustics Technologies Division, FPSB focuses on opportunities for transition of emerging technologies to address urgent requirements. Primary sponsors currently come from the US military acquisition community.

Job Purpose

The Flight Test Engineer (FTE) performs the research, planning, development, execution, data analysis engineering, reporting, and documentation of developmental and operational test events of aircraft, systems, and unique capabilities for DOD customers. In this role, the FTE has a multi-disciplinary engineering approach to problem solving and experience with complex integrated systems to include aircraft, avionics, unmanned autonomous systems, weapons, radar, and electronic warfare offensive and defensive systems. The FTE is responsible for development of the test & evaluation strategy, integrated test & evaluation master plan framework, requirements verification and validation methods, design of experiments, test objectives, methodology, and evaluation criteria. In addition, the FTE produces lab, test facility, ground and flight test plans. The FTE has knowledge of DoD test facilities and ranges, and is able to direct and conduct test events (lab, facility, ground, flight) and support events as required by the sponsor. The FTE is also responsible for the collection and instrumentation requirements of test data, to include the review and quick look assessment of test data. This position performs data analysis engineering functions to ensure verification and validation of test plans and develops the reporting requirements for test projects. The FTE serves as the engineering subject matter expert of all sponsor and program Test and Evaluation (T&E) events, leads and supports all test plan working groups, test and safety boards, and program and technical meetings.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop test cases from system requirements.
• Execute tests based on documented test procedures.
• Analyze test programs to ensure completeness and applicability.
• Develop root cause analyses for test failures or questionable test results.
• Perform data analysis engineering to support verification and validation of test metrics.
• Aggregate test results and execute complex and/or special case tests.
• Record results and perform system checks on success and accuracy.
• Research and diagnose system failures and isolate the source of problems between hardware components and software applications.
• Serve as primary author for sections of technical reports and presentations.

Additional Responsibilities

• Responsibilities include testing and evaluation of unmanned aircraft systems and related technologies.
• Development and systems integration of innovative solutions for Force Protection applications focused on autonomous and unmanned systems.
• Acquisition and analysis of engineering data; systems engineering for complex system-of-systems architectures addressing technical and non-technical metrics.
• Analyzing sensor performance, involving both active and passive sensing modalities, and the physical phenomenology that determines the signatures of targets and backgrounds.
• Writing technical reports, user manuals, and software; and supporting other engineering-related work as needed.
• In support of these technical requirements, intermittent CONUS and OCONUS travel will be required to test ranges/locations and other government and contractor facilities.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Candidates currently enrolled in an accredited degree program relevant to this position will be considered. The candidate must have a graduation date of no later than December 2026.
• Experience preparing technical documentation, engineering reports, or test-related documentation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, on technical and operational topics.
• Strong time management skills and ability to stay organized amid concurrent efforts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret Clearance.
• Experience with test design, execution, and documentation in support of operational requirements.
• Experience with design, integration, and/or testing of at least one of the following sensor types: radar, electro-optical/infrared, acoustic, EW, or similar, or design/integration/testing of military unmanned systems or tactical vehicles.
• Familiarity with tactical military operations and understanding of military requirements and the DoW acquisition process.
• Experience in a relevant leadership role.

Travel Requirements

• 25% - 50% travel.

Education and Length of Experience

This position vacancy is an open-rank announcement. The final job offer will be dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with Research Faculty Extension Professional ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook

• 2 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or a similar field of study.
• 0 years of related experience with a Masters’ degree in Aerospace Engineering or a similar field of study.

Please refer to our Research Faculty Technical Level Guidelines for minimum requirements at the higher levels.

U.S. Citizenship Requirements

Due to our research contracts with the U.S. federal government, candidates for this position must be U.S. Citizens.

Clearance Type Required

Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain an active security clearance.

Benefits at GTRI

Comprehensive information on currently offered GTRI benefits, including Health & Welfare, Retirement Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Time Off, and Professional Development, can be found through this link: https://benefits.hr.gatech.edu/.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia (“USG”) and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of an individual’s race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

USG Core Values Statement

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.