Postdoc in Agentic Modeling, Simulation & Wargaming

Vt Arc; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 62,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to advance agentic modeling and wargaming for mission engineering. The role emphasizes testable prototypes, reproducible research, and collaboration with mentors.

The fellowship focuses on generative simulations, decision-support prototyping, and partner-driven research in defense contexts, with strong emphasis on open questions and rigorous validation.

Qualifications

• Completion of PhD by fellowship start date in a related technical field.
• Ability to build, test, debug, and explain analytical software or research prototypes.
• Experience with agent-based modeling and related computational modeling.
• Ability to design experiments and maintain reproducible code and research records.
• Experience with cloud tools (AWS) and data handling requirements.
• Clear communication with technical and nontechnical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Design, code, test, and demonstrate prototype models and analytics.
• Develop generative agent-based simulations and human-supervised workflows.
• Design experiments, conduct sensitivity analyses, and compare baselines.
• Use Python and cloud environments for data prep, APIs, simulation, and analysis.
• Translate research into mission threads and evaluation plans with mentorship.

Skills

Python proficiency

Agent-based modeling

System dynamics

Research & modeling

Cloud tools (AWS)

Version control

Education

PhD in Industrial/Systems Engineering or related

Tools

Python

AWS

Job description

Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to advance agentic modeling and wargaming for mission engineering. The role emphasizes testable prototypes, reproducible research, and collaboration with mentors.

The fellowship focuses on generative simulations, decision-support prototyping, and partner-driven research in defense contexts, with strong emphasis on open questions and rigorous validation.