Research Engineer I

Overview

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our Strategic Plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

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.

About the School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

For more than two decades, the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering has consistently ranked among the nation's top 5 aerospace engineering programs, attracting aspiring engineers to pursue their academic journeys at the Atlanta campus With an esteemed faculty of more than 40 tenured-track professors and a thriving student body of over 2,000 individuals, the school is uniquely positioned to offer a comprehensive and hands-on approach to research, scholarship, and education, spanning fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, ad space domains.

Atlanta, GA

The Rocket Lab Mission to Venus, funded by the Schmidt Foundation and led by MIT's Prof. Sara Seager, aims to explore the potential for organic carbon chemistry in the Venusian clouds. This project involves the development and validation of the Autofluorescence Nephelometer (AFN), an instrument designed to measure particle size, shape, fluorescence, and refractive index in the Venus atmosphere.

• Attend and actively participate in science team meetings.
• Contribute to the assessment of instrument development, validation, verification, and modeling activities.
• Assist in managing science team activities.
• Model Venus aerosols and predict particle size and abundance during probe entry.
• Analyze particles detected by the AFN and assess risks, including multiple coincidence.
• Implement and validate Mie scattering codes to model AFN responses based on particle size, wavelength, and refractive index.
• Evaluate AFN data compression algorithms and decision trees.
• Collaborate with the science team to mitigate risks related to forward contamination.
• Define nominal raw, calibrated, and derived data products for the mission in conjunction with NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) Atmospheres node.
• Provide necessary information for reporting purposes.

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related field.

• Experience with space mission instrumentation.
• Knowledge of Venusian atmospheric chemistry.
• Familiarity with data compression algorithms and decision trees.
• Background in risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
• Experience with aerosol modeling and particle size analysis.
• Proficiency in Mie scattering codes and data analysis.
• Strong understanding of instrument development and validation processes.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
• Ability to contribute to complex scientific projects and manage multiple tasks effectively.

Applicants should submit a letter of application; curriculum vitae; and the names and contact information for 3 references. Application materials should be submitted as PDF files.

Requests for information may be directed to Chris Carr cecarr@gatech.edu

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.

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The University 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 University 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.

Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. This prohibition applies to faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including affiliates, invitees, and guests. 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.

More information on these policies can be found here: https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/c2714 Board of Regents Policy Manual | University System of Georgia (usg.edu).

The candidate of choice will be required to pass a pre-employment background screening. http://policylibrary.gatech.edu/employment/pre-employment-screening.