Research/coordinator in internal ballistics (H/F/M) (BSP)

17 May 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Royal Military Academy

Department

Defence

Research Field

Engineering » Mechanical engineering

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

7 Jun 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Brussels)

Type of Contract

Permanent

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

38

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Reference Number

BSP

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

In the framework of a collaboration between the Royal Military Academy (Belgium Defense) and the “Commission Internationale Permanente” (C.I.P.), we are looking for an experienced research scientist/engineer with a Master degree and/or a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electro-Mechanical engineering or any Engineering degree with emphasis on Mechanical Engineering.

Context
The Royal Military Academy of Belgium (RMA) is a military institution responsible for the basic academic, military and physical training of future officers, and for the continuing advanced training of officers during their active career in the Belgian Defense department (www.rma.ac.be ). It is fully recognized as a university, fulfilling the same criteria as civilian universities. The Royal Military Academy is also conducting scientific research at university level for projects funded by the Belgian Defense department or external sources.
The “Commission Internationale Permanente” (C.I.P.) for the proof of small caliber weapons is an international organization gathering 14 countries, developing and implementing standards and procedures for testing every individual small calibre weapons recognized by this institution, in order to guarantee the reliability of the weapon and the shooter safety.
You work within the department of Weapon Systems and Ballistics of the Faculty of Polytechnics of the Royal Military Academy. You conduct scientific research at university level and collaborate with the C.I.P. on the framework of internal ballistic evaluation of small calibre weapons.

Project
Individual small calibre firearms are one of the most common equipment used by the Belgian Defence. Vital parts of a small calibre firearm are the barrel and the combustion chamber. During a shot, the barrel undergoes severe mechanical, thermal, and chemical loads that will potentially jeopardize its reliability, its efficiency, and possibly the safety of the user if not dimensioned and tested correctly. In consequence, the C.I.P. has standardized dimensions and tolerances that a small calibre firearm should fulfil in order to be recognized. It has also established repeatable and standardized procedures consisting in testing the weapon with an overpressure in order to be labeled. Every individual small calibre firearm produced or used within a member country is proofed through these standards and procedures. The permanent office of the C.I.P. is busy with constant research and development for guaranteeing that the proposed methodologies are in accordance with the state of the art concerning internal ballistics. One the one hand, it consists in refining and developing new techniques for measuring the firearm dimensions and testing the weapon with an over pressured shot, and on the other hand interacting and collaborating with the proof houses conducting the tests in order to compare results, and consequently refine and improve the procedures of the test. The proposed project consists in working at the Royal military academy in the Weapon Systems and Ballistics (ABAL) department, supporting the permanent office of the C.I.P. in these two activities. The researcher will interact both with the C.I.P. through several meetings a year and will integrate a small team of 3 persons conducting in internal ballistics at the department level.

Main Tasks

• Work in the ABAL ballistic laboratory, perform research in experimental internal ballistics
• Participate to the C.I.P. permanent office activities, organize international meetings, execute administrative procedures, promote and coordinate exchanges between the representative of member nations
• Propose refined methods for guaranteeing repeatability and reproducibility of results in internal ballistics, based on the obtained results and the exchanges gathered through interactions with member nations

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Mechanical engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Required skills
Technical skills
The applicant shall have a Master degree and/or a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electro-Mechanical engineering or any Engineering degree with emphasis on Mechanical Engineering with a few years of experience in these domains.

• The applicant shall have academic and/or professional experience in metrology
• The applicant shall have academic and/or professional experience in post processing results, in terms of signal processing and statistical exploitation
• The applicant shall have academic and/or professional experience in documenting results, writing reports and defining procedures.

Personal skills

• Motivation to conduct scientific research at university level
• Ability to work independently and in a multidisciplinary research team
• Ability to work in an international environment
• Good written communication skills, both for scientific communications and for general public communications
• Good administrative skills for organizing meetings and coordinating research
• Good oral communication skills for scientific communications
• Honesty and loyalty towards the organization
• Solution-oriented

Other skills

• Interest/Experience in ballistics and small calibre firearms is a strong added value
• The applicant shall have a very good command of the English and French language
• Minimal knowledge of Dutch is an added value (collaboration with the department colleagues)
• Experience in scientific literature review and scientific writing is an added value
• Experience with the use of a CMM or other dimension measurement techniques is an added value

 

Specific Requirements

Specific requirement

• The researcher can be exposed to classified information and will therefore have to obtain the required security clearance. The candidate must consent with the background check required to obtain this clearance, which will be executed by the Belgian Defence.
• The researcher can be exposed to classified information and should be citizen of a NATO or EU country.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Basic

Languages

DUTCH

Level

Basic

Research Field

Engineering » Mechanical engineering

Years of Research Experience

4 - 10

Internal Application form(s) needed
20240517_job offer BSP_ENG_senior profile.pdf
English
(362.26 KB - PDF)
Download
Additional Information
Benefits

Contract

• Probable date of recruitment: September 2024, in consultation with the applicant.
• Status: Full-time employment (38h/week) based on an open-ended contract with the Patrimony of the Royal Military Academy (you will not be a civil servant). The financing of the contract will be tied to the funding project (4 years). Prolongation of the position is possible according to the availability of funds past the four-year period.
• Wage scale: class A2 (holder of an Ir degree or equivalent Master's in Engineering Sciences, doctor’s degree in the same area of expertise). RMA-Patrimony applies a merit-based research career track, allowing researchers to advance in wage scale based upon annual evaluations.
• Holiday pay.

Extra-legal benefits

• Possibility of receiving a bilingualism allowance (Dutch/French) following a SELOR test;
• End-of-year bonus;
• Free DKV hospitalization insurance. Possibility of additional affiliation for one or more persons living under the same roof: partner, child(ren) (50% of the price per additional member);
• Bike allowance / Free public transport (home-work commute);
• Free access to campus sports facilities outside working hours;
• On-campus restaurant and cafeteria with democratic prices (discount on the daily menu);
• Meal vouchers (6€/day)
• Flexible working hours within the 38-hour week;
• Teleworking possible with allowance;
• Additional holiday for all staff between Christmas and New Year;
• 29 days holiday / year from the 1st year of contract (then from 45 years: +1 day holiday every 5 years) ;
• Advantages and interesting offers thanks to the Benefits@work card (discounts, vouchers...);
• Entitlement to services offered by the ‘Office Central d'Action Sociale et Culturelle de la Défense’ (OCASC): among others holiday centres, discount on travel organised by the tour operator...;
• Possibility of benefiting from the nursery funded by Belgian Defence (subject to availability).

Selection process

Application
You will be working in a military environment. That is why everyone is expected to undergo a security verification. Please add to your application the filled out document. The form can be downloaded from: http://www.rma.ac.be/nl/aanvraag-veiligheidsverificatie
Send by email:

• a motivational letter;
• a CV
• a scan of your ID card (both sides);
• the filled out security document

to Mr. Cyril ROBBE ([email protected] ) and to Mrs Helena BRUYNINCKX ([email protected] ).
Please mention clearly the reference of the project: “BSP”.
Application deadline: 7th June 2024.
The interviews will take place preferably at the Royal Military Academy, Hobbemastraat 8, 1000 Brussels. In some specific situations, on-line interviews can be organized. The date and time of the interview will be communicated to the preselected candidates.

Additional comments

Workplace

• Royal Military Academy, Avenue de la Renaissance 30, 1000 Brussels;
• Occasional travels abroad for scientific conferences, etc.

Points of contact

• Concerning the research project: Mr. Cyril ROBBE ([email protected] )
• Concerning the recruitment modalities: Mrs. Helena Bruyninckx ([email protected] )
• For more information about the Royal Military Academy, see http://www.rma.ac.be

Website for additional job details

https://www.rma.ac.be/nl/jobs

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Royal Military Academy - Patrimony

Country

Belgium

State/Province

Brussels

City

Brussels

Postal Code

1000

Street

Hobbemastraat 8

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

State/Province

Brussels

City

Brussels

Website

http://www.rma.ac.be

Street

Hobbemastraat 8

Postal Code

1000

E-Mail

[email protected]

Phone

+3224413750

STATUS: EXPIRED