Computer Engineer

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented candidate to support NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in Moffett Field, CA, doing fundamental methods development of Cartesian mesh methods. The position will support the Cartesian Methods Team in the Computational Aerosciences Branch (TNA)

This is a part-time position (10-20 hours/week) is designed for candidates with a strong background in high-performance computing (HPC), Cartesian methods development and GPU programming. The work will contribute to development of Cartesian cut-cell methods for viscous compressible flows and numerical methods for GPU-based computing on HPC systems. Exceptional performance may lead to an opportunity to extend the role to full-time in the future.

About the Project:

The Computational Aerosciences Branch (TNA) at NASA Ames Research Center develops and applies advanced computational tools for aerospace applications. This position focuses on approaches for solution of the compressible high Reynolds number compressible flow on Cartesian meshes with strong solvers. A secondary focus is aiding on-going integration of GPU enhancements into primal and adjoint solvers of NASA's Cart3D simulation software. Applications include supersonic flight of low-boom aircraft and space vehicles during launch, ascent, and re-entry. The successful candidate will work with a sophisticated software stack, including C/C++, CUDA, MPI, OpenMP, and NVIDIA profiling tools, in a Linux-based HPC environment.

Responsibilities:

Further the development of Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE)-based wall models for near-wall viscous effects in Cartesian cut-cell methods.

Development of strong solvers and preconditioned GMRES for relaxation to steady state

Collaborate with CFD experts to integrate GPU enhancements into the primal and adjoint flow solvers in the Cart3D package.

Conduct hardware-level HPC and GPU optimizations, including occupancy tuning, register usage, memory hierarchy improvements, and asynchronous stream utilization.

Profile and analyze code performance using on CPU and GPU-based HPC systems.

Document work and present progress to the Computational Aerosciences Branch team.

Desired Skills:

First-hand experience in CFD solver development on cut-cell Cartesian or unstructured grids with an understanding of both primal and adjoint solvers

Strong proficiency in C/C++, Linux, shell scripting and python.

First-hand experience with MPI and OpenMP for parallel computing on HPC systems.

Expertise in CUDA and GPU programming, including high-performance kernel development.

Experience with Git for version control and unit/regression testing for CI/CD pipelines.

Proficiency in using Linux-based systems and HPC queue-based supercomputing environments.

Hands-on experience with Cart3D for aerodynamic simulation and sBOOM for atmospheric propagation.

Hands-on experience with parallel debuggers and NVIDIA GPU profiling tools.

Understanding of CPU and GPU memory hierarchy and optimization techniques.

Required Qualifications:

Programming proficiency in C/C++, CUDA, Python and Linux.

Strong communication and collaboration skills.

U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Residency required.

Salary Range: $40-$44/hour

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) is proud of our customer relationships, our diverse and dynamic work environment, and our employees' career satisfaction. AMA is a small business with a wide reach; headquartered in Hampton, VA, AMA has operations in Greenbelt, MD; Huntsville, AL; Dallas and Houston, TX; Denver, CO; Mountain View, CA; and Edwards Air Force Base, CA. With over 60 years of experience, AMA specializes in aerospace engineering, science, analytics, information technology, and visualization solutions. AMA combines the best of engineering, science, and mathematics capabilities with the latest in information technologies, visualization, and multimedia to build creative solutions. We offer competitive salaries and a substantial benefits package, including but not limited to paid personal and federally recognized holiday leave, salary deferrals into a 401(k)-matching plan with immediate vesting, tuition reimbursement, short/long term disability plans, and a variety of medical, dental, and vision insurance options.

AMA is committed to the professional growth of every employee, understanding that the successes of our employees drive our success. We provide a work environment that is engaging, collaborative, and supportive. To learn more about our company, please visit our website at and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

AMA is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited under federal, state, or local laws.