Postdoc: Agentic Modeling, Simulation & Wargaming

Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 128,943,000 - 157,597,000; Full time

Job summary

Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation seeks a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arlington, VA, to advance generative agent-based modeling, human-supervised workflows, and decision-support prototypes for mission engineering and wargaming. The appointment is mentored, paid, and contingent on contract award in late 2026.

The role emphasizes research design, code development in Python, cloud-enabled experiments, and collaboration with experienced researchers and government stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Doctoral-level research experience with publications or substantial projects.
• Working Python proficiency or strong proficiency in another language with ability to become productive in Python quickly.
• Experience with agent-based modeling, system dynamics, generative agents, or related computational modeling.
• Ability to design experiments, evaluate evidence, conduct sensitivity analysis, and maintain reproducible code and records.
• Experience using cloud tools such as AWS and related environments.
• Ability to structure open-ended problems and communicate clearly with technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Completed Ph.D. by fellowship start date in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Operations Research, CS, Applied Math, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Design, code, test, debug, and demonstrate prototype models and simulations.
• Develop agent-based simulations and agentic workflows with human oversight.
• Design experiments and compare results with baselines; document limitations.
• Use Python and APIs; operate in AWS or approved cloud environments.
• Translate research into mission threads, requirements, and evaluation plans.

Job description

Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation seeks a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arlington, VA, to advance generative agent-based modeling, human-supervised workflows, and decision-support prototypes for mission engineering and wargaming. The appointment is mentored, paid, and contingent on contract award in late 2026.

The role emphasizes research design, code development in Python, cloud-enabled experiments, and collaboration with experienced researchers and government stakeholders.