Graduate Defense Software Engineer — AI & Planning Tools

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 85,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a recent graduate to join A5C and help develop mission planning tools for U.S. armed forces. You will prototype, develop, and transition software enabling warfighters to configure and optimize military systems across multiple services and command levels.

Responsibilities include cyber‑hardening software, modeling and simulation, and applying AI to improve performance for Ballistic Missile Defense and related domains. U.S.

Qualifications

• Degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Astronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or related discipline.
• Experience designing, coding, and testing with general‑purpose languages (C/C++, Python, Typescript/JavaScript, Java) or MATLAB for systems design.
• Willingness to interact with military warfighters to discover field requirements.
• Ability to obtain Interim Secret clearance and ultimately a Secret clearance; U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and cyber‑hardening software in unclassified and classified environments.
• Conduct critical engineering activities for multi‑mission and multi‑service planning capabilities.
• Help develop planning software for Ballistic Missile Defense, Air Warfare, Hypersonic Defense, and Surface Warfare using AI to improve performance.
• Perform modeling and simulation studies to assess performance of U.S. military systems and support future design and planning goals.
• Learn about enemy capabilities using intelligence resources.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Typescript/JavaScript

Java

Matlab

Education

MS degree in related discipline

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS/Physics/Math

Tools

MATLAB

Job description

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a recent graduate to join A5C and help develop mission planning tools for U.S. armed forces. You will prototype, develop, and transition software enabling warfighters to configure and optimize military systems across multiple services and command levels.

Responsibilities include cyber‑hardening software, modeling and simulation, and applying AI to improve performance for Ballistic Missile Defense and related domains. U.S.