2025 PhD Graduate - AI Research Scientist

Are you an early-career researcher who wants to invent the future of artificial intelligence (AI)?

Are you looking for a supportive environment that empowers you to pursue your own vision?

Do you want your research to have a real-world impact on areas like national security, public health, or space exploration?

The AI Group in the Intelligent Systems Center (ISC) is currently looking for early-career scientists that are passionate about advancing intelligent systems with emerging AI research. Our research thrusts include multimodal perception, autonomous decision-making, safe/trustworthy AI, and adversarial vulnerabilities/defenses. If you are publishing in any of these areas, we want to talk to you!

As an AI researcher in the ISC, your primary responsibility will be contributing to and leading fundamental research and applying your ideas to real-world problems. You will begin by writing code, analyzing data, and running experiments in support of current projects. Within your first year, you will get many opportunities to propose your own ideas for internal seedling funding. Within the first five years, we expect you to work with our Program Managers to grow these seedlings into externally-funded projects. Along the way, you will continue to publish your work and engage the scientific community, external collaborators, and/or government sponsors.

Our team is committed to groundbreaking research with mission intent. Successful researchers tend to be creative problem solvers who have lots of initiative. Our culture welcomes a diversity of backgrounds and professional experience as we strive to solve hard, interdisciplinary problems.

You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you:

• Have a PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Applied Mathematics with dissertation work in fundamental AI research.
• Have published your dissertation work in peer-reviewed journals and/or conferences.
• Are skilled in Python programming and are have working knowledge of PyTorch and the HuggingFace stack, including the Transformers library.
• Are eligible for a DoD Top Secret security clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a background investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

You'll go above and beyond our minimum requirements if you have experience in any of these areas:

• Generative AI, including large language models (LLMs) and vision-language models.
• Single- or multi-agent deep reinforcement learning in constrained environments.
• Adversarial attacks and defenses in models pertaining to imagery, video, audio, or text.
• 3D neural rendering techniques such as Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF).
• Project management or leading small technical teams.
• Writing technical proposals, particularly to government research sponsors.

Why work at APL?

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world-class expertise to our nation's most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates.

At APL, we celebrate our differences and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance. APL's campus is located in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Learn more about our career opportunities at www.jhuapl.edu/careers

APL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

APL is committed to promoting an innovative environment that embraces diversity, encourages creativity, and supports inclusion of new ideas. In doing so, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact Accommodations@jhuapl.edu. Only by ensuring that everyone's voice is heard are we empowered to be bold, do great things, and make the world a better place.

The referenced pay range is based on JHU APL's good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level with consideration for internal parity. For salaried employees scheduled to work less than 40 hours per week, annual salary will be prorated based on the number of hours worked. APL may offer bonuses or other forms of compensation per internal policy and/or contractual designation. Additional compensation may be provided in the form of a sign-on bonus, relocation benefits, locality allowance or discretionary payments for exceptional performance. APL provides eligible staff with a comprehensive benefits package including retirement plans, paid time off, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, education assistance, and training and development. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.