PhD Mission-Planning AI Systems Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 105,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) invites applicants with a Ph.D. in a technical field to join a team developing advanced mission planning capabilities across air, missile, space operations, and multi-domain campaigns.

You will work with engineers, scientists, and military operators to translate research into deployable solutions, publish findings, mentor junior staff, and shape future technical strategy while pursuing security clearances.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a technical discipline as listed.
• Proven ability to conduct independent research.
• Experience building analytical models, simulations, or AI solutions with MATLAB or Python.
• Experience leading collaborative research projects.
• Excellent written and oral communication of complex concepts.
• Willing to obtain interim and final security clearances, U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical efforts advancing mission planning and decision-support capabilities.
• Develop algorithms, modeling/simulation frameworks, and AI techniques.
• Design and evaluate mission planning architectures across services.
• Conduct analyses to assess capabilities and guide future development.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and transition research to operations.
• Work with military operators to translate needs into solutions.
• Publish findings and influence technical strategy.
• Mentor junior engineers and foster technical excellence.

Skills

Independent research

Analytical modeling

MATLAB/Python

Leadership of research

Technical communication

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Security clearance eligibility

Education

Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Astronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, AI, Data Science, Mathematics, OR Applied Mathematics, or related field

Tools

C++

Python

JavaScript

TypeScript

Cloud computing

Job description

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) invites applicants with a Ph.D. in a technical field to join a team developing advanced mission planning capabilities across air, missile, space operations, and multi-domain campaigns.

You will work with engineers, scientists, and military operators to translate research into deployable solutions, publish findings, mentor junior staff, and shape future technical strategy while pursuing security clearances.