AL/ML Programmer

MIT Lincoln Laboratory; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 145,200 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans

MIT-funded pension

Matching 401(k)

Paid leave

Tuition reimbursement

Mentorship programs

Job summary

MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Fort Meade, MD, seeks a talented researcher to advance AI technologies impacting national security. Ideal candidates hold a Ph.D. or equivalent experience and possess an active TS/SCI clearance. Responsibilities include designing machine-learning algorithms and conducting research on state-of-the-art AI strategies. Excellent communication skills and proficiency in Python with ML libraries are essential. Competitive salaries range from $145,200 to $220,000 based on experience, alongside comprehensive benefits including health plans, tuition reimbursement, and work-life balance options.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance is required.
• Proficiency in system analysis and problem decomposition.
• Experience with rapid research-to-prototype pipeline.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement advanced machine-learning methods.
• Apply AI techniques to real-world problems.
• Publish research findings in top conferences.

Skills

Artificial intelligence

Machine learning

Deep learning

Python

Communication

Team leadership

Education

Ph.D. in electrical engineering, computer science, or relevant discipline

Master’s with five years of relevant experience

Bachelor’s with nine years of relevant experience

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face

Job description

Overview

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.

Location

This position is based at our field site in Fort Meade, MD. Candidates must be willing and able to commute to and work onsite and will regularly interface directly with government sponsors in secure facilities.

Job Description

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

The AI Technology and Systems Group is seeking motivated applicants who 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.

Qualifications

Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, computer science, or another relevant discipline, or a Master’s with five or more years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor’s with nine or more years of relevant experience. Current TS/SCI clearance required (must be active at the time of application).

Desired Skills

• Knowledge of artificial intelligence with applications on multimedia, cyber security or adversarial machine learning/AI security experience.
• Deep AI/ML experience – graduate‑level (or professional) knowledge of state‑of‑the‑art machine‑learning, deep‑learning, large‑language models, multimodal perception, graph analytics, adversarial/AI‑assurance, or cyber‑ML; ability to read, critique and extend advanced research papers.
• System analysis and problem decomposition – translate high‑level requirements into clear research tasks, define quantitative success metrics, produce task‑breakdown structures that align with program milestones, and form hypotheses, design experiments, and draw data‑driven conclusions.
• Operate within a rapid research‑to‑prototype pipeline – demonstrable ability to turn novel algorithms and approaches into robust, reproducible prototypes in tight timescales with iterative refinement.
• Agentic‑AI framework experience – hands‑on work with MCP or comparable toolkits; design, implement, and evaluate end‑to‑end LLM‑driven agents.
• Advanced Python and ML libraries – expert‑level proficiency in Python, deep‑learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, etc.), the Hugging Face ecosystem, and data‑science libraries (NumPy, pandas, SciPy, etc.).
• Software‑engineering best practices – strong Git workflow, continuous integration testing, environment reproducibility (e.g., conda, virtualenv), documentation, reproducible experiment notebooks, and versioned releases.
• Team and project leadership – experience leading research teams, assigning tasks, tracking progress, removing blockers, and mentoring junior staff.
• Stakeholder communication – strong written and oral skills for preparing technical briefings, white papers, demo presentations, and funding proposals; ability to convey complex research outcomes to sponsors, senior leadership, and external partners.
• Detail‑oriented, able to multi‑task, work autonomously, set technical direction, and operate with minimal supervision.

Salary

Recent Graduate Hiring Range: $145,200 – $170,000
Experienced Hiring Range: $145,200 – $220,000

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT‑funded pension
• Matching 401(k)
• Paid leave (vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• Work‑life balance options
• Additional benefits

Security Clearance

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre‑employment background investigation and must possess a current in‑scope Top Secret level security clearance.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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

42940

Location Information

Nearest Major Market: Baltimore
Nearest Secondary Market: Washington, D.C.

Job Segment

Security Clearance, Top Secret Clearance, TS / SCI, Military Intelligence, Cyber Security, Government, Security