Simulation Engineer (Modeling & Simulation)

About this role

ABOUT CODE METAL

Code Metal is redefining code translation for mission-critical industries, helping defense partners move more quickly and reliably from algorithm to silicon. Our platform accelerates deployment of DSP, RF, communications, and embedded signal processing algorithms onto heterogeneous compute targets, including GPUs, FPGAs, ASICs, and edge SoCs. We also support automotive, aerospace, and semiconductor partners deploying complex algorithms onto constrained hardware with speed and rigor.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Our Modeling & Simulation team is building the next-generation wargaming and decision-support platform that helps the DoW make multi-billion-dollar force-design decisions before those decisions are made in the real world. The team spans simulation and physics, backend and data systems, frontend and geospatial visualization, and AI systems, working together to turn operational questions into extensible, mission- and campaign-level simulations that government users can trust.

In this role, you'll develop simulation frameworks, platform and effects models, scenario infrastructure, and evaluation workflows that let defense users explore force-design choices before committing to them in the real world. This is a deeply hands-on software-engineering role — you'll spend most of your time designing, writing, reviewing, and shipping production C++ and Python. You'll own important parts of a cloud-distributed simulation environment and work directly with government users, leading through technical execution. Scope of ownership, architectural authority, and mentorship responsibility scale with level — see “Level Expectations by Track” below.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

- Design and implement mission- and campaign-level simulation capabilities in modern C++ and Python.

- Build and extend event-driven, discrete-event, agent-based, and constructive simulation frameworks.

- Own core framework functionality, including event scheduling, simulation time, state transitions, platform abstractions, scenario execution, data collection, and deterministic replay.

- Develop models for platforms, sensors, weapons, communications, electronic warfare, jamming, command and control, logistics, and environmental effects.

- Extend AFSIM and comparable simulation environments through C++ plugins, framework services, SDK integrations, new platform types, and reusable model interfaces.

- Translate operational concepts, system specifications, and subject-matter expertise into maintainable software models with explicit assumptions and testable behavior.

- Modernize legacy campaign and mission-analysis tools and integrate them into a coherent simulation architecture.

- Build scenario-generation, Monte Carlo, sensitivity-analysis, campaign-execution, and evaluation workflows.

- Scale simulations across developer workstations, on-premises infrastructure, and cloud compute while preserving reproducibility and model provenance.

- Connect constructive simulations with distributed, operational, hardware-in-the-loop, or human-in-the-loop environments where appropriate.

- Establish verification and validation practices, reference scenarios, regression suites, and quantitative measures of model credibility.

- Work directly with government, Air Force, and broader DoD stakeholders to understand acquisition questions and deliver usable capabilities quickly.

- Collaborate with physics, backend, geospatial, AI, and product teams to integrate the simulation kernel into a larger interactive platform.

- Lead design and code reviews, mentor teammates, and improve architecture, documentation, testing, and release practices.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The following apply to this role at every level. Years of experience, scope of ownership, and architectural/mentorship expectations scale by level — see “Level Expectations by Track” below.

- Five or more years of professional software-development experience building simulation, autonomy, robotics, game-engine, digital-twin, or similarly complex systems.

- Strong production experience in modern C++, with proficiency in Python for tooling, orchestration, analysis, or automation.

- Hands-on experience developing or extending a simulation framework — not only configuring simulation tools or analyzing their output.

- Experience with event-driven, discrete-event, agent-based, constructive, or distributed simulation architectures.

- Demonstrated ability to represent complex real-world entities, interactions, rules, and edge cases as clear software abstractions.

- Experience building plugins, SDKs, reusable model interfaces, framework services, platform types, or similar extension mechanisms.

- Strong understanding of software architecture, data structures, algorithms, APIs, testing, debugging, and performance engineering.

- Experience making substantial changes within a large existing codebase while maintaining ongoing delivery.

- Experience with model verification, validation, calibration, or regression testing.

- Ability to turn ambiguous operational or technical requirements into executable engineering plans.

- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document model assumptions, limitations, interfaces, and intended use.

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in computer science, engineering, applied mathematics, operations research, physics, or a related discipline.

- Active Secret clearance or eligibility to obtain one.

STRONGLY PREFERRED:

- Direct experience developing AFSIM plugins, framework extensions, event infrastructure, or custom platform types.

- Experience with behavior trees, finite state machines, and planning languages (e.g., PDDL) in the context of mission planning and behavior modeling

- Experience supporting Air Force, Space Force, joint, or broader DoD acquisition and mission-analysis programs.

- Experience developing models for…