About Wardstone

Satellites for Missile Defense

Tech description:

Our first product, Hailstorm, integrates multiple advanced technologies: - VLEO satellite interceptors with high maneuverability and rapid response times. - Infrared sensing and real-time perception, enabling autonomous target detection and tracking. - High-impulse propulsion and high-energy dispersal systems capable of generating millisecond-scale accelerations. - Advanced guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) for midcourse correction and terminal homing. - Physics-driven simulation environments modeling orbital mechanics, missile trajectories, thermal loads, and pellet-cloud dynamics. - Kinetic particle-cloud intercept architecture that provides a cost-effective, scalable alternative to traditional hit-to-kill missile systems.

Job description:

We are looking for a Simulation & Modeling Engineer who will build and own Wardstone’s end-to-end physics models: orbital mechanics, interceptor trajectories, guidance/dynamics, dispersion behavior, aerodynamic models, sensor models, thermal effects, and Monte Carlo analysis. This role is central to Wardstone’s entire engineering process. Your models will define vehicle design and intercept feasibility, ΔV budgets, terminal constraints, survival envelopes, effectiveness, and system-level design trades. You will work directly with the founders GNC, Propulsion, Sensor, and Avionics engineers to connect your models to real test data and ensure every design choice is grounded in physics. ### **What You’ll Do** **Interceptor Dynamics Modeling** * Build high-fidelity 6DOF models of interceptor trajectories and target maneuvers. * Model aerodynamic forces, flight regimes (subsonic → hypersonic), and uncertainties. * Implement full state propagation with drag, atmospheric effects, gravity, and actuator limits. **Orbital Mechanics & VLEO Modeling** * Implement orbital propagators, Lambert solvers, and multi-body dynamics. * Model VLEO drag, solar flux, eclipse cycles, thermal conditions, and station-keeping budgets. * Quantify ΔV requirements for intercept geometries and constellation designs. **Guidance, Control & Sensor Model Integration** * Integrate GNC algorithms into simulation environments. * Model perception pipelines: IR signatures, SNR, glint, thermal clutter, and atmospheric attenuation. * Build closed-loop simulations with perception → guidance → actuation → dynamics → intercept logic. **Hailstorm Dispersal Modeling** * Model particle trajectories, dispersal cones, cloud expansion, and lethality envelopes. * Model impulse delivery mechanisms: blast, thrust, or hybrid dispersal events. * Work with energetics engineers on momentary high-G propagation and multi-body interactions. **Monte Carlo & Probabilistic Analysis** * Run large-scale Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate hit probability, robustness, and margins. * Develop parameter sweeps for timing, sensing errors, aerodynamic uncertainties, and ΔV constraints. * Produce data-driven design recommendations for system architecture decisions. **Simulation Infrastructure & Visualization** * Build clean, modular simulation tools in MATLAB/Python/C++ for internal engineering teams. * Develop visualization tools (2D, 3D, orbital views) used for engineering and visual storytelling. * Maintain code quality, performance, and model usability across the engineering org. ### **Required Qualifications** * B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or similar. * Strong experience with dynamic simulations (MATLAB, Simulink, Python, C++, Julia, or equivalent). * Deep understanding of orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, or missile/rocket modeling. * Experience with numerical methods, ODE/PDE solvers, filtering, integration stability, and optimization. * Ability to validate simulated results against analytical solutions or experimental data. * Strong intuition for physics and comfort working with incomplete or noisy data. * **US CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED** ### **Nice to Haves** * Experience modeling hypersonic flow, ablation, or high-enthalpy environments. * Experience with high-speed particle or fragment modeling. * Experience connecting simulation to hardware-in-the-loop systems. * Familiarity with CFD tools (OpenFOAM, SU2, ANSYS Fluent). * Experience with sensor modeling: IR/EO tracking, radar, radiometric models, or synthetic scene generation. * Experience building custom visualization pipelines or simulation frameworks.

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