Senior SRM Propulsion Engineer

nou Systems, Inc. (nSI) is now officially a 100% ESOP company! We value teamwork and collaboration, and this transition allows us to take that commitment to a new level. nSI empowers our customers by supplying products, services, and expertise with powerful, data driven insights that transform defense systems and improve capabilities.

nou Systems, Inc. (nSI) is here to build systems that solve our nation's most challenging defense problems in an enjoyable, stimulating environment. We're looking for talented builders with high levels of curiosity and extremely strong grounding in fundamentals and engineering first principles. If you're hungry for harder problems, used to working quickly, and excited to take innovative systems from napkin to the field, this is your happy place. 

We are pleased to announce the opening for a Senior SRM Propulsion Engineer who will join our elite R&D team in Huntsville, Alabama building transformative low cost interceptors for emerging DoD applications. nSI is known for fielding revolutionary missile defense systems, pioneering step changes in RF seeker technology, introducing principled AI systems, and rapidly pioneering novel defense platforms, from space to the seabed.  We're small and agile, and ready to disrupt the status quo. 

Responsibilities:

Our small team has developed a game-changing interferometric RF seeker technology which has significant implications for making low-complexity, low-cost, high-performance interceptors for combating raids of asymmetric threats. Our seeker approach is patented, tested, funded by multiple customers, and in high demand for emerging threats. 

You will be an integral part of a team developing a best-in-class interceptor around this seeker as our guidance and control lead. Starting from your knowledge of both first principles and practical deployment challenges, you'll architect, rapidly prototype, and implement the propulsion system for highly maneuverable, small diameter (120 mm and lower) surface-to-air interceptor designs. You will design optimal propellant grain geometries, develop thrust profiles that maximize kinematic performance, select and integrate ignition systems, and create innovative propulsion solutions that push the boundaries of what's achievable at low-cost in contested environments against stressing threats. Grain structure, binders, bonding/extrusion, and thrust profiles should be your bread and butter. 

You'll interface directly with aerodynamics, structures, manufacturing, and guidance experts to ensure your propulsion solutions exploit our seeker to the fullest. This includes developing tailored thrust profiles that optimize trajectory shaping, designing motors that maintain performance across temperature extremes and storage conditions, and creating propulsion systems that integrate seamlessly with our low-cost manufacturing approach.

As part of our small, elite team, you'll take propulsion concepts from whiteboard sketches to static fires to flight tests in months, not years. 

Basic Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree minimum in Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or similar technical field
• Seven years of full-time professional experience in solid rocket motor propulsion
• Must possess or have the ability to obtain an active Secret Security Clearance

Technical Competencies - You must demonstrate expertise in:

• Solid propellant grain design including 3D grain geometries, burn rate tailoring, and sliver optimization
• Propellant formulation and characterization (composite, double-base, or CMDB propellants)
• Internal ballistics modeling and analysis
• Nozzle design including throat erosion prediction and thrust coefficient optimization
• Motor case design, insulation systems, and thermal protection
• Ignition system design and pyrotechnic safety
• Impact of propulsion choices on platform cost, other subsystems, and integration/manufacturing complexity

Core Technical Skills:

• Deep understanding of combustion physics, heat transfer, and gas dynamics in solid rocket motors
• Sufficient technical expertise to understand the impact of flight trajectory requirements, divert requirements, packaging constraints, mass fraction targets, and environmental requirements on motor design
• Proficiency in rapid prototyping of propulsion systems from concept through static fire and flight test
• Demonstrated ability to develop propulsion solutions from first principles for various mission requirements
• Strong background in propellant chemistry, formulation science, and agi