Systems Engineer

MIT Lincoln Laboratory; Lexington (MA); On-site; USD 145,200 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans

MIT-funded pension

Matching 401K

Paid leave

Tuition reimbursement

Mentorship programs

Work-life balance options

Job summary

MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA seeks a highly motivated Staff Engineer/Scientist to contribute to advanced decision support systems for national security. Responsibilities include developing complex systems and collaborating on cutting-edge AI technologies.

Ideal candidates will have a doctorate in a relevant field or a master’s with experience. The role offers a competitive salary range of $145,200 - $220,000, and exceptional benefits including health plans, retirement, and academic programs.

Qualifications

• Doctorate or Master’s degree with relevant experience.
• Ability to quickly learn and apply technical knowledge.
• Proficient in two or more high-level prototyping software languages.
• Experience leading a technical team and managing multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement complex system architectures.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team on advanced technologies.
• Conduct research on defense systems and real-time situational awareness.

Skills

Ability to learn new technical areas

Ability to present technical concepts

Proficient in high-level prototyping languages

Ability to develop and test algorithms

Experience leading a technical team

Prioritizing multiple projects

Intellectual curiosity

Education

Doctorate or equivalent in Computer Science or related discipline

Tools

Python

Java

Julia

Matlab

Job description

The Homeland Decision Support Systems Group focuses on end-to-end system architecture design, decision support, and advanced analytics to enhance the protection of the homeland and U.S. interests overseas. In collaboration with industry and academia, we are working at the frontiers of AI to develop and integrate advanced decision support prototypes that can address national security needs in the land, sea, air, and space domains. We have deployed real-time enterprise and edge solutions that support the warfighters at multiple Combatant Commands across the globe, providing a measurable impact on their missions. Our technical expertise spans deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, graph theory, big data architectures, operations research, and system autonomy. Our goal is to enhance national security by leading the nation in developing and deploying advanced decision support systems utilizing cutting‑edge AI and machine learning technologies.

Job Description

The Homeland Decision Support Systems Group is seeking highly motivated candidates who have a passion for solving challenging problems. As a Staff Engineer / Scientist in our Group, you will be responsible for understanding development of complex systems, implementing software, models based on first principles, and developing recommendations to inform government leadership on the most challenging problems related to homeland protection. You will have the opportunity to work with an experienced, multidisciplinary team of researchers and engineers to develop technologies for complex systems. Our recent research areas include defense systems design recommendations and prototyping, real‑time situational awareness, automated network inference, multisensor fusion, cloud‑based algorithms and assessments, and machine learning applications. We encourage engagement with the academic and government community through publications and conference attendance. We collaborate with Groups across MIT Lincoln Laboratory to provide our team members with access to unique datasets, state‑of‑the‑art resources, and challenging technical problems that will allow you to use your skills to make a real‑world impact.

Requirements

• Doctorate or equivalent in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, or related discipline. In lieu of a PhD, a Master’s degree and 3 years of relevant experience will be considered.
• Ability to quickly learn new technical areas and apply that knowledge effectively to solve challenging mission problems.
• Ability to clearly present technical concepts to a wide spectrum of audiences.
• Proficient at two or more high‑level prototyping software languages (e.g., Python, Java, Julia, Matlab).
• Ability to develop, implement, test and evaluate novel algorithms and concepts.
• Experience leading a technical team.
• The ability to balance and prioritize multiple projects at once.
• Intellectual curiosity and desire to lead exploration into new technical areas in support of the group’s mission.

Desired Skills

• Expertise in processing large datasets and data exploitation techniques.
• Experience mentoring less‑experienced staff.
• Knowledge of sensors and sensing modalities, physics of sensor operation.

Recent Graduate Hiring Range: $145,200 - $170,000

Experienced Hiring Range: $145,200 - $220,000

Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate’s experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.

At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, our exceptional career opportunities include many outstanding benefits to help you stay healthy, feel supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work‑life balance. Benefits offered to employees include:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT‑funded pension
• Matching 401K
• Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• A range of work‑life balance options
• ... and much more!

Please visit our Benefits page for more information. As an employee of MIT, you can also take advantage of other voluntary benefits, discounts and perks.

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre‑employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.

Requisition ID: 42787

Date: Jun 10, 2026

Location: Lexington, MA, US