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Chief Scientist – Artificial Intelligence Research

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) • Full-time • Laurel, MD, US • $105k - $290k / year • 2m ago

Description

Are you a senior AI researcher with a burning desire to serve a bigger purpose?

Are you motivated by challenges facing our nation’s security and prosperity?

Does the challenge of pioneering AI research with mission intent excite you?

If so, we're looking for someone like you to be the Chief Scientist for the Artificial Intelligence Group at JHU/APL!

Our team works at the intersection of AI research and national defense, tackling problems that few other institutions are trusted to solve. Some examples of our current work include:

Improving alignment of AI agents used in human-machine teaming and wargaming
Training multimodal foundation models on language and sensor data
Intelligent robots that use agentic AI to perform complex tasks in a self-directed way
Assessing, mitigating, and exploiting vulnerabilities of frontier models
Mission-driven test and evaluation (T&E) of novel research

As Chief Scientist, you will be recognized as a thought leader while serving as a steward of APL’s AI research strategy — ensuring the success of the group as much as your own. In close partnership with the Group Supervisor, you’ll help shape the future of our research by managing the group’s Independent Research and Development (IRAD) portfolio, ensuring projects led by early- and mid-career staff are of the highest quality and aligned with national priorities. While our IRAD process is competitive, this role provides opportunities to carve out resources for your own initiatives where they advance APL’s strategic goals.

Beyond managing research, you’ll represent APL in the AI community by publishing, presenting, and collaborating with peers across academia, industry, and government. Your role as a connector and collaborator will help ensure that APL’s contributions to AI research remain innovative, mission-relevant, and widely recognized.

In this role, your influence will come not only from advancing your own research but from amplifying the success of the group — mentoring colleagues, elevating their work, and ensuring that our collective research is rigorous, trustworthy, and consequential. You will be a steward of the group’s success, balancing your own technical contributions with the responsibility of advancing the research of others. You will also guide proposals to government sponsors, safeguard the technical rigor of our work, and help translate research into real-world applications at national scale. At its heart, this position is about bridging cutting-edge AI with mission-critical problems — advancing the state of the art while directly contributing to our nation’s security and resilience.

Qualifications

You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...

Have a PhD in a field related to AI.
Have 10+ years of experience in AI research and development.
Are proficient in Python programming with experience using PyTorch and/or Jax, including Hugging Face libraries (transformers, diffusers, datasets, tokenizers, etc.).
Have a strong record of peer-reviewed publications in reputable journals and/or conferences.
Have experience writing and winning proposals for research funding.
Have successfully led a research agenda for a team.
Are able to obtain an Interim Top Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a Top Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

You'll go above and beyond our minimum requirements if you...

Are skilled at mentoring and developing early-career researchers
Communicate research clearly to both expert and non-expert audiences
Are effective at communicating research findings to non-expert audiences
Enjoy mentoring promising early-career researchers
Have formal experience in project management or technical supervision
Have worked in government labs, research agencies, or frontier AI companies
Already hold a Top Secret/SCI clearance.

About Us

Why Work at APL?

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world-class expertise to our nation’s most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates.

At APL, we celebrate our differences of perspectives and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance. APL’s campus is located in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Learn more about our career opportunities at http://www.jhuapl.edu/careers.

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 Accommodations@jhuapl.edu.

The referenced pay range is based on JHU APL’s good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level with consideration for internal parity. For salaried employees scheduled to work less than 40 hours per week, annual salary will be prorated based on the number of hours worked. APL may offer bonuses or other forms of compensation per internal policy and/or contractual designation. Additional compensation may be provided in the form of a sign-on bonus, relocation benefits, locality allowance or discretionary payments for exceptional performance. APL provides eligible staff with a comprehensive benefits package including retirement plans, paid time off, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, education assistance, and training and development. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Minimum Rate

$105,000 Annually

Maximum Rate

$290,000 Annually