Job Description

Job Description

With a presence in both Blacksburg and Washington D.C. metro areas, the Virginia Tech National Security Institute (VNTSI) serves dual missions of (1) performing cutting-edge research and development for externally sponsored Department of Defense and Intelligence Community programs and (2) cultivating the next generation of national security workforce and thought leaders by engaging students in curricular, extracurricular, and research and development opportunities. As one of the fastest-growing thematic research institutes at Virginia Tech, sponsors and collaborators benefit from VTNSI through both highly experienced student talent pipelines and senior technical leadership that addresses some of our nation’s greatest national security challenges and threats.

The Intelligent Systems Division (ISD), one of the three research divisions of VTNSI, is seeking a Research Associate in Data Science to conduct research in artificial intelligence and systems engineering. This is a research and development position that may be based in Blacksburg or Arlington, Virginia. ISD brings together researchers from computer science, statistics, machine learning, networks, signals processing and other fields to develop interdisciplinary solutions to cutting-edge technological challenges. Successful candidates for this position will have relevant experience in one or more of the following areas: statistics, systems engineering, data science, or computer science.

Specific responsibilities include the following:
1. Support research conducted in ISD in projects focused on the design of experiments, time series analyses, anomaly detection, natural language processing, large-scale data infrastructure, test and evaluation, computer vision, cyber security, and systems engineering
2. Contribute to technical documents/presentations and peer-reviewed academic papers
3. Provide mentorship to students working on programs

Required Qualifications

• US citizenship
• Ability to obtain and maintain a clearance
• An earned Master's degree in Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, or related discipline; or an earned Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related discipline and significant related experience
• Experience with artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, R, JMP or related statistical analysis tools.
• Demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team in executing research and/or development projects
• Evidence of high potential for excellence in research and development as demonstrated through academic study or experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Active security clearance
• Experience working in an academic environment
• Experience executing on research and/or development programs supporting the federal government
• Interest and/or experience working effectively with a diverse faculty, staff and student population