Under Water Warfare Modeler

Working out of the Department of National Defence (DND) Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare Centre (CFMWC) in Halifax NS, the Under Water Warfare (UWW) Modeller shall develop warfare simulations including detailed analyses of underwater engagements under various sets of conditions and various ship configurations. Through these Modelling and Simulation (M&S) studies, the UWW Modeller will be able to develop their knowledge and skills in the Design of Experiments (DoE) and learn how to come up with suitable Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) to assess performance when developing a study.
The UWW Modeller is to be a subject matter expert on the simulation of underwater naval engagements which are situations in which navy ships defend themselves against incoming hostile torpedos and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV). The UWW Modeller will gain competency in the entire sequence of actions from initial detection of the incoming threat to the interception of the threat (detect-to-engage). The position is an all-round theoretical job involving a variety of subject level knowledge and skills with the potential to be involved with very interesting projects.
The UWW Modeller will:

• Increase knowledge on sonars and propagation of sound through water;
• Develop familiarity with Defence Research and Development Center (DRDC) simulation models; and
• Become familiar with threat (hostile) torpedoes and threat UUVs and weapons and countermeasures used against torpedoes and UUVs;
• Develop competency in Command and Control systems and their impact on the Detection to Engagement process;
• Develop competency in UWW.

UWW simulation constitutes a very large knowledge base to acquire and master. The UWW Modeller will take courses and undertake significant self-study. Knowledge would also be acquired over time through experience gained in M&S studies, M&S tool development and in discussion with DRDC experts. To excel in this position requires a long-term commitment to perform the study and work required to become an expert in the field of UWW simulation.
As the UWW Modeller acquires knowledge and skills, this individual will be called upon to engage in the following types of activities:

• Analyzing the output of these simulations to assess performance criteria of the simulated ships and systems;
• Providing knowledge and advice regarding the use of vendor products and DRDC models to other groups within the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare Centre (CFMWC) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN);
• Liaising with simulation model suppliers, especially the DRDC institutions, to coordinate the testing of their models;
• Developing requirements for M&S studies in collaboration with customers;
• Setting up and running simulations on laptops and a computing cluster;
• Incorporating new models into simulation software and use them in studies to debug and improve the simulations;
• Developing new additions or modifications to analysis software;
• Liaising with simulation software vendors to monitor and coordinate the improvement of their products;
• Updating or developing simulation models of ship’s sensors, weapons, and command & control systems;
• Articulating and presenting detailed technical arguments when necessary in a manner that is clear, logical and simple.
• Updating or developing simulation models of threats, decoys, countermeasures;
• Assisting with the development of new software tools;
• Producing and presenting reports of results;

Interactions with Other Parties: There will be engagement with the DRDC institutions regarding the simulation of ships’ sensors, weapons and regarding the simulation of threats. There will also be participation in international meetings with our foreign partners. Currently many of these meetings are online, but there will be a requirement to travel and participate in meetings in foreign locations. These interactions with suppliers develop another basic engineering skill set: liaison with customers and suppliers. Such interactions are an essential part of engineering practice, so any and all opportunities to develop this skill set are valuable.
Education:

• PhD or Master degree in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Chemistry or Computational Biology.

Certifications, Licenses, Registrations, Special Skills:

• Eligible to obtain a Government of Canada security clearance, which requires Canadian citizenship and 10 years of residence in Canada (MANDATORY).

Under the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination, new employees are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of employment, unless accommodated due to certified medical contraindications, religion, or other prohibited grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Scientific, Engineering & Mathematical Skills / Traits / Experience:

• Familiarity with statistics;
• Experience with analysis of large datasets;
• Ability to define technical requirements.
• Experience with underwater acoustics is desired but not required;
• Enthusiasm for problem solving;
• Experience in modelling military systems, especially sonar, is desired but not required;
• Experience with modelling and simulation of physical systems, computer simulations and quantitative analysis in a research context;
• Enthusiasm for continuously learning new concepts, and an ability to learn independently;

Computer Skills:

• Knowledge of C++ programming; and
• MATLAB or Python;
• Familiarity with Linux systems is desirable.
• Familiarity with version control (with Git or equivalent);

Language:

• Proficient in technical writing in English and ability to communicate effectively at all levels with peers, supervisors and clients.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;

Work Environment:

• Team environment requiring collaboration with other analysts;
• Travel may be required to various destinations in North America, Western Europe, and Australia.
• A combination of office and lab environments;