Research Area Specialist Senior
University of Michigan
How to Apply
A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position. Please include at least three references on your resume.
Job Summary
The University of Michigan's Department of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (NA&ME) invites applicants for the position of Research Area Specialist Senior. The successful candidate will spearhead efforts to use and develop state-of-the-art ship design tools, addressing gaps in engineering and operations research by performing rigorous gap analysis and devising strategic improvements. Additionally, this role requires proficiency in utilizing and enhancing existing technologies like NAPA, Paramarine, MATLAB, and GHS.
Central to this position is the mentorship and guidance provided to graduate student researchers. The candidate will lead project-based learning, offering support in areas such as ideation, hypothesis generation, and experimentation, ensuring the practicality, viability, and impact of their research projects.
Who We Are
Michigan Engineers are world-class educators, researchers, students and staff who strive to build a people-first future. As part of a top national public research institution, Michigan Engineering's mission is to provide scientific and technological leadership to the people of the world, develop intellectually curious and socially conscious minds, create collaborative solutions to societal problems, and promote an inclusive and innovative community of service for the common good.
The Department of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan was started in 1879 with an act of Congress authorizing a Navy officer to teach "steam engineering and iron shipbuilding." Since this modest beginning, NA&ME has grown into a worldwide leader in education and research, with 25 faculty and 11 staff, serving our undergraduate and graduate students along with a network of some 3,000 living alumni. Our department continues to develop engineers and technology to advance the state-of-the-art systems operating in the marine environment. The department's students and faculty engage in a wide range of research, with specialists working in hydrodynamics; marine and offshore structures; dynamics, control and marine system integration; robotics and autonomy; yacht design; design, production, and management; marine renewable energy; and structural and hydro-acoustics. Our Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory with its large physical modeling basin continues to serve as a vital resource for our department. NA&ME's externally sponsored research expenditures are averaged around $10 million annually in the past five years.
Responsibilities*
Lead ship design tool development: This role is funded by a research grant for a project-and-research-based graduate education program. The effort will involve using state-of-the-practice ship design tools and developing state-of-the-art ship design tools as part of the capability development in the program. This will involve gap analysis to create both strategy and tactics to close engineering and operations research tool gaps in the ship design domain. It requires coding knowledge to work with or create software APIs.
Lead ship design tool integration efforts: This role must also be able to work with the existing tools such as NAPA, Paramarine, MATLAB, and GHS while simultaneously leading the development of interfaces for bespoke or state-of-the-art capabilities and tools that enhance these and other existing tools.
Provide guidance and mentoring to student teams for their projects: This role will also interface and mentor the graduate student researchers on their projects. The mentoring will go beyond strictly software and draw upon the experience and knowledge of the individual in this role to guide the projects regarding relevance, usefulness, viability, practicality, executability, and other measures.
Provide guidance and mentoring to students regarding research: The grant also involves research, and this role will also guide and mentor graduate student researchers, as appropriate, in their research endeavors. This aspect will include activities such as brainstorming ideas, generating relevant and useful research questions and hypotheses to test, experiment formulation, assistance with analysis, and document and publication reviews.
Required Qualifications*
- Experience in hull form generation methods, strength and structures, general arrangements, and power and propulsion
- Experience in digitalization of ship designs and computational methods
- PhD in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously
- Proficient in decision-methods and ship design processes
- Computational modeling
Desired Qualifications*
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with researchers and students from varied backgrounds
- Autonomous vessels
- AI and ML algorithms and applications in the marine space
- Data systems and high-powered computing design protocols and implementation
- Familiarity with Department of Defense and Department of Navy capabilities, technologies, processes, funding, and opportunities
Modes of Work
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes. The individual in this role will work a hybrid work mode.
Additional Information
This is a five year term-limited position through with possible renewal based on funding extension.
Background Screening
The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Application Deadline
Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.