The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) has an opening for a Research Scientist to work on the design, implementation, and rigorous verification and validation of high integrity algorithms that support autonomous operations of unmanned vehicles, such as unmanned aircraft. 

The successful candidate will work with engineers and researchers in support of the Safety Critical Avionics Systems Branch at NASA Langley Research Center on designing and developing methods and systems that will aid in assuring safe operations of autonomous systems such as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).  The work includes but is not limited to developing high-integrity algorithms for autonomous operations, implementing these algorithms in safety-critical embedded systems of interest to NASA, and conducting research on the rigorous verification and validation of these systems.  Will be expected to prepare validation of these systems and will also be expected to prepare technical presentations and papers describing the results of the work.

Required skills:

• PhD, Master’s degree or equivalent in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline
• Experience in the development of embedded applications such as avionics systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc.
• Programming experience in Java and C++ and familiarity with functional programming languages such as OCaml, Haskell, Lisp, etc.
• Experience in formal verification tools such as theorem provers, model-checkers, static-analyzers, etc.
• Strong oral and written communication skills

Interested candidates should apply via NIA’s career opportunities site located at www.nianet.org under the ‘About NIA’ tab.  Please include a letter of introduction, resume, and the names and contact information of three current references.

NIA, located near NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is a non-profit research and graduate education institute created to perform aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation, and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.  Additional information about NIA and its research programs is available at www.nianet.org.

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NIA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.  Women, members of minority groups, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.