2026 PhD Graduate - Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Overview We are seeking a new PhD graduate with expertise in machine learning to support multi‑disciplinary teams performing a variety of quantitative tasks for defense and national security applications. You will join a varied team of engineers, software developers, statisticians, data scientists, and analysts who are committed to advancing the state‑of‑the‑art in performance evaluation of the nation’s strategic weapons systems throughout their lifecycle. Responsibilities Work with multi‑disciplinary teams to support development of data collection, processing, and analysis efforts to assess the performance of a number of systems supporting the Navy and Air Force. Contribute to the full research and development lifecycle for emerging problems, including model and algorithm selection, experimentation, analysis, and presentation of results. Apply appropriate statistical and machine learning expertise towards selecting modeling approaches for complex, real‑world data. Use internal funding opportunities to shape the direction of future research. Communicate technical knowledge by articulating ideas clearly through papers and presentations to technical staff, management, and government decision makers. Minimum Qualifications Have a PhD in Data Science, Statistics, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science or a related field. Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently and on a team. Have a solid understanding of the mathematical foundations of ML, including probability, statistics, and linear algebra. Have experience using modern AI/ML libraries or frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow), including adapting or extending methods for domain‑specific problems. Demonstrate experience selecting appropriate modeling techniques for supervised, unsupervised, or reinforcement learning problems in research or real‑world settings, understanding when and why they are appropriate. Be able to obtain Interim Secret level security clearance by your start date and ultimately obtain Top Secret level clearance. Eligibility requires U.S. citizenship. Preferred Qualifications Experience in project management or leading technical teams. Experience writing technical proposals for government research projects. Experience mentoring students, teaching, or communicating complex technical concepts in academic, research, or professional settings. Experience applying machine learning methods to scientific, engineering, or data analysis problems, such as computer vision, NLP, time‑series analysis, or scientific machine learning. Contributions to peer‑reviewed publications, technical reports, or presentations in statistics, machine learning, applied mathematics, or related fields. Experience understanding, developing, or adapting modern AI models and workflows, including large language models, for quantitative analysis and decision support. Compensation Minimum Rate: $105,000 Annually Maximum Rate: $245,000 Annually EEO Statement All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. APL is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io. #J-18808-Ljbffr Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory