Senior Test Engineer

The Senior Engineer (BTO) provides operational and technical subject matter expertise to the Bomber Test Organization at AFOTEC Detachment 5, applying AFOTEC core processes in accordance with the AFOTEC OT&E manual and other Air Force and DoD test directives to deliver timely, high-quality written products and recommendations.

The position contributes to the development and measurement of test objectives and interacts frequently with supervisors, test directors, system program offices, DOT&E, outside customers, and other DoD agencies. All work is advisory and assistance in nature and non-decision making on behalf of the Government.

Essential duties and responsibilities

These are the essential functions of the position. The incumbent must be able to perform each with or without reasonable accommodation.

Test planning and engineering analysis

Research and analyze available test options and determine the most effective and cost-effective effectiveness and suitability test methods.

Develop test concepts, test methods, and analysis approaches for effectiveness and suitability evaluations.

Determine test resources and schedules adequate to achieve the recommended methods, and participate in developing test resource plans.

Identify appropriate test support tools for effectiveness testing, including tools specific to Bomber effectiveness testing.

Recommend appropriate test facilities and ranges, and identify improvements needed to create an operationally realistic environment.

Recommend critical operational issues (COIs) and measures of effectiveness (MOEs) to be addressed during assessments and test and evaluation.

Develop evaluation methodologies and general analytic techniques, assess data requirements, and review the specific tools needed to support the evaluation.

Document development and review

Review and contribute to OT&E-related documents, including requirements capabilities documents, operational requirements documents, Test and Evaluation Master Plans, System Threat Assessment Reports, system description information, development program specifications, equipment interface specifications, program concepts and plans, DT&E and OT&E test plans and reports, design documentation, DIA and Air Force Intelligence approved threat documents, and concepts of operation and employment.

Develop test concepts and test plans, data management and analysis plans (DMAPs), and briefings supporting program, technical, and readiness reviews.

Support the writing of reports and memoranda: memoranda for record, test event progress reports, test event quick-look summaries, test event reports, and draft sections of the final report.

Prepare trip reports on all program-related meetings and conferences attended.

Meetings, reviews, and stakeholder engagement

Lead, participate in, or attend program, technical, and test readiness reviews, including teleconferences, video teleconferences, integrated test team meetings, threat working groups, test plan working groups, system design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and core team meetings.

Facilitate core team meetings.

Review and document lessons learned, and incorporate lessons learned from other test efforts into test planning.

Test execution support

Prepare for and participate in selected flight and ground tests, as required.

Support test execution activities in accordance with the applicable work plan, which may include coverage across shifts and deployment events on a 24-hour operational schedule during active test periods.

Cybersecurity and program protection

Ensure cybersecurity requirements are met per AFOTEC and DOT&E policies and requirements.

Comply with program protection, information security, OPSEC, and ITAR requirements applicable to the task order, and support program security risk assessment inputs as assigned.

Other duties

Perform other duties as assigned within the scope of the task order and the applicable work plan. This phrase does not expand the essential functions above and is not a basis for assigning work outside the SOW.

Requirements

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (electrical, mechanical, aerospace, materials, or manufacturing) or another technical field (mathematics, computer science, chemistry, or physics).
• Minimum six (6) years of practical knowledge of military aircraft systems and related fields. Relevant areas include flight controls; avionics and other electrical subsystems; low observables systems design, manufacturing, and maintenance; propulsion systems; aircrew and human-machine interfaces; radar fundamentals and advanced electromagnetics theory; combat mission planning and weapons employment; and adversary threat capabilities.
• Minimum three (3) years of developmental or operational test and evaluation experience, such as test design, sortie optimization, and data analysis using computer scripts or other computational mathematical techniques.
• Current Top Secret/SSBI clearance updated within the last five (5) years, with eligibility for SCI and SAP access.
• U.S. citizenship. Foreign nationals are not authorized to work on this effort.
• Ability to meet the safety and security training requirements of the SOW and the applicable work plan, and to maintain enduring clearance eligibility.
• Demonstrated technical writing ability sufficient to produce test plans, reports, memoranda, and briefings for a Government audience.

Preferred qualifications

• Direct experience supporting bomber platforms (B-1, B-2, B-52, or B-21) in a test, operations, or program office role.
• Prior AFOTEC, Air Force Test Center, or DOT&E experience, and working familiarity with AFI 99-103 and the AFOTEC OT&E manual.
• Experience as an integrated test team member across developmental, integrated, and operational test activities.
• Proficiency with MATLAB, Python, or similar tools for data reduction and analysis.
• Working knowledge of Design of Experiments methods and applied statistics.
• Experience with modeling and simulation tools, including VV&A documentation.
• Prior DoD service experience in a relevant Duty Military Occupational Skill Category (DMOSC) where applicable to the assigned work plan.
• Current SCI and SAP accesses already in place.