National Security Ontologist | Ontology Engineer for Impact

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 100,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a skilled ontology engineer to join the Threat Analytic Systems (QAI) Group in Laurel, MD. You will help build ontologies and capabilities bridging data, events, and predictive insights for national security needs.

You’ll collaborate with software engineers, data scientists, and domain experts to translate requirements into robust ontology content and ensure rigorous QA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a field relevant to Ontology. Relevant fields include Philosophy, CS, Cognitive Science, Public/Social Policy, Mathematics, Logic, or Linguistics.
• Proficiency with OWL, RDF, and RDFs.
• Experience crafting SPARQL queries.
• Experience building domain ontologies.
• Familiarity with editors like TopBraid, Protégé, ROBOT or similar tools.
• Ability to work from loosely defined requirements and handle multiple projects.
• Strong problem solving, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; U.S. citizenship with ability to obtain TS/SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

• Work on a team with software engineers and data scientists to build ontologies for national security mission needs.
• Engage stakeholders to determine ontology requirements.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to craft ontology content.
• Contribute to quality assurance and validation practices.

Skills

Ontology

OWL

RDF

SPARQL

Domain ontologies

Problem solving

Communication

Teamwork

Security clearance readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant field

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Protégé

TopBraid Composer

ROBOT

rdflib

Apache Jena

Sesame

RDF4J

Job description

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a skilled ontology engineer to join the Threat Analytic Systems (QAI) Group in Laurel, MD. You will help build ontologies and capabilities bridging data, events, and predictive insights for national security needs.

You’ll collaborate with software engineers, data scientists, and domain experts to translate requirements into robust ontology content and ensure rigorous QA.