AI/ML Programmer

MIT Lincoln Laboratory; Lexington (MA); On-site; USD 116,400 - 182,200; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans

MIT-funded pension

Matching 401K

Paid leave

Tuition reimbursement

Mentorship programs

Job summary

MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA is seeking an AI/ML Programmer to contribute to impactful research in artificial intelligence relevant to national security. You'll design and program advanced machine learning methods, develop algorithms across various domains, and publish your research. Applicants should ideally have an M.S. in engineering or CS, advanced AI/ML knowledge, and proficient Python programming skills. The salary range for recent graduates is $116,400 – $140,000, and for experienced applicants, it's $116,400 – $182,200.

Qualifications

• Knowledge with applications on multimedia, cyber security or adversarial AI.
• Ability to read, evaluate, and implement state-of-the-art research papers.
• Experience with benchmark datasets and realistic metrics.

Responsibilities

• Design, program, and architect advanced ML methods.
• Develop algorithms in speech, natural language processing, multimedia, cyber, and graph analytics.
• Publish and present research at premier conferences.

Skills

Knowledge of artificial intelligence

Advanced AI/ML knowledge

Proficient Python programming

Rapid research-to-prototype pipeline experience

Software-engineering best practices

Problem-solving & analytical mindset

Effective written and oral communication

Current TS/SCI clearance

Education

M.S. in electrical engineering, computer science or relevant discipline

BS and 3 years relevant experience

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

NumPy

pandas

SciPy

conda

virtualenv

Job description

AI/ML Programmer

Date: Apr 28, 2026

Location: Lexington, MA, US

Company: MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Are you excited to contribute to world‑class research in artificial intelligence with real impact on national security? The Artificial Intelligence Technology and Systems Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory has over 50 years of experience developing revolutionary technologies for critical national missions.

Group 52 AI Technology & Systems specializes in machine learning (ML) algorithms, technologies, and systems that extract and analyze information from multimedia data—including speech, text, images, and video. In recent years, we have significantly expanded our mission to include developing impactful ML solutions for cybersecurity in collaboration with the Nation's top cyber organizations.

As a recognized leader in both basic and applied AI/ML, our group is shaping emerging AI fields and driving the Laboratory's efforts in AI Assurance across the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. We also integrate expertise in multimedia, cyber, and AI assurance to develop cutting‑edge technologies for Operations in the Information Environment (OIE).

A hallmark of our work is a focus on operational relevance: we design and evaluate AI/ML systems using realistic datasets and metrics, and we partner directly with intelligence analysts and cyber operators to ensure rapid transition of our technologies into real‑world, mission‑critical systems.

Job Description

• Design, program, and architect advanced ML methods.
• Develop algorithms in speech, natural language processing, multimedia, cyber, and graph analytics.
• Publish and present research at premier conferences.
• Internship Opportunities

The AI Technology and Systems Group is seeking motivated applicants that can contribute to projects addressing a wide range of national needs in AI and ML. Assignments may include:

• Research on state‑of‑the‑art algorithms in signal processing, natural language processing, graph analytics, or adversarial AI.
• Applying innovative methods to challenging, real‑world problems.
• Working in a collaborative, team‑oriented development environment.

This is an opportunity to apply your skills to some of the most important technical challenges of our time‑while learning from and contributing to a world‑class research community.

Qualifications

Candidates who possess an M.S. in electrical engineering, computer science or other relevant discipline or a BS and 3 years of relevant experience will be considered.

• Knowledge of artificial intelligence ideally with applications on multimedia, cyber security or adversarial machine learning / AI security experience.
• Advanced AI/ML knowledge – solid graduate‑level coursework or equivalent work experience in machine‑learning theory, deep learning, NLP, computer‑vision, graph analytics, or adversarial/AI‑assurance techniques. Ability to read, evaluate, and implement state‑of‑the‑art research papers.
• Proficient Python programming – comfortable writing clean, modular, and testable code; expert‑level use of deep‑learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, etc.), data‑science stacks (NumPy, pandas, SciPy, etc.), and hands‑on experience with agentic/LLM‑oriented toolkits (e.g., MCP).
• Operating in a rapid research‑to‑prototype pipeline – demonstrated ability to take a cutting‑edge research concept, design an experimental plan, implement a functional prototype, and iterate based on quantitative evaluation. Experience with benchmark datasets and realistic metrics (e.g. latency, accuracy, robustness) is a plus.
• Software‑engineering best practices – strong Git workflow (branching, pull‑requests, code reviews), continuous‑integration testing, environment reproducibility (e.g., conda, virtualenv). Ability to document code, write reproducible experiment notebooks, and maintain versioned releases.
• Problem‑solving & analytical mindset – can decompose novel, ill‑defined problems, propose multiple solution paths, and select the most promising approach based on empirical evidence.
• Detail‑oriented, able to multi‑task, with the ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision.
• Effective written and oral communication skills in technical environments, technical reports, internal wiki pages; delivers clear demo presentations and briefings to both technical audience and senior mission stakeholders.
• Current TS/SCI clearance or willingness to obtain one.

Recent Graduate Hiring Range: $116,400 – $140,000

Experienced Hiring Range: $116,400 – $182,200

Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate's experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT‑funded pension
• Matching 401K
• Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• A range of work‑life balance options
• … and much more!

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre‑employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.

Requisition ID: 42941

Nearest Major Market: Boston