Main responsibilities 

In the department, you will collaborate on technical-scientific research projects that aim to support Defence, in making better decisions. This can be done on numerous fronts. From the purchase and maintenance of equipment on board ships, to the preparation and execution of operations. Together with your colleagues, you analyse qualitative and quantitative data (obtained through simulations that you carried out yourself), devise concepts and algorithms, and make recommendations that affect the work of military units, policy makers, and politicians, both nationally and internationally.

In the beginning you follow a general (internal) training program aimed at your personal development and learning skills that are important for working in the team, so that you can quickly become a full team member in the above-water warfare projects. Gradually you will work more and more independently, get more responsibility, and contact with customers. For you, "another day at the office" means something different than for most people. Chances are you will start your day on a frigate or naval base. You'll visit these locations to retrieve information, interview people or run tests. You may also be present to present research findings and conclusions. Eventually, you will give these types of presentations of your own research.

Besides your colleagues from your department, you work in the project teams together with top experts from other departments and from (international) organizations and research institutes. This way you quickly build a large network and expand your knowledge. Within your department you will become a colleague of some 40 driven men and women who conduct research into the optimization of military and security operations in the maritime, air and space domain. Defence and other security organizations use our expertise, for example, in large-scale procurement processes or to determine the most effective deployment of weapon or radar systems.

Requirements

• At least a completed Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering (toward space mission design or a direction within control & simulation) or STEM (in a direction that includes modelling physical motion of large objects such as rockets, aircraft, etc.).
• Experience in JAVA (or C++).
• Experience in Python.
• Demonstrated affinity for defence, specifically the Navy.
• Demonstrated affinity with optimization issues.
• Projects / thesis assignments that point to modelling equations of motion such as flight behaviour.
• Mandatory Fluency in Dutch and English, both spoken and written.