Assistant Research Scientist (PREP0004124)

PREP Research Associate Part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST encourages collaboration with academic institutions on projects of mutual interest, requiring such institutions to be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program engages staff from diverse backgrounds to conduct scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration. Research Title UAS Research Software Engineer Key Responsibilities Conduct a literature review and document criteria for drone communications simulator solutions and the datasets used to train and test them. Prepare an industry landscape identifying long‑range communications, mesh networking, and best practices for developing communication methodologies. Develop a software program for a new drone communications simulator platform or retrofit an existing platform, integrating radio hardware communications components. Develop open‑source code and processes. Create and collect measurement data for the drone simulator. Document the dataset curation process for public use and determine target public safety datasets and dataset enhancement options. Participate in public safety working groups and stakeholder testing to compare simulations with live UAS flights and curate shared information from collaborators. Evaluate drone simulator use cases and identify technology challenges and gaps to address. Qualifications A Master’s degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related field. Knowledge of network communications, network routing, and radio signaling. Knowledge of robotics, UAS, or autonomous software programming (PX4, ArduPilot, AirSim, MAVLink). Knowledge of software engineering for virtual simulation applications. Experience with modern AI tools and applications (AWS, GCP, Azure, MLFlow, SQL, BigQuery, Snowflake). Experience with development and manipulation of software code, such as Python, C, C++, Qt, JavaScript. Knowledge of data structures, formats, and software coding curation processes. Experience with developing open‑source code, identifying use cases, and evaluating dataset quality and representativeness. Knowledge of mathematical probability and statistics, and optimization methods. Knowledge of machine learning, including supervised and unsupervised learning, deep learning, and model evaluation. Knowledge of dataset biases and labeling issues. Knowledge of translating operational needs into solvable radio signal or networking problems. US Citizenship preferred. Salary Range The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University’s good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, including geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training, and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University. Total Rewards Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees’ health, life, career, and retirement. More information can be found at Equal Opportunity Employer The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. The university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits, and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance, and merit without regard to personal factors or demographic characteristics that are irrelevant to the program involved. Background Checks After receiving a conditional offer, the successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre‑employment background check including education verification. When deciding whether a candidate’s conviction history is job‑disqualifying, the University considers the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since the conviction, and the nature of the job being sought. EEO is the Law Vaccine Requirements Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID‑19 vaccine. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID‑19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. All faculty, staff, and students are required to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the seasonal flu vaccine or COVID‑19 vaccine (for SOM) requirement(s) may be provided to individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs or medical conditions that preclude them from receiving the vaccine. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit and all other JHU applicants should visit #J-18808-Ljbffr Johns Hopkins University