Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

2026 Graduate - Software Engineer; Data Scientist; Ontologist - Threat Analytic Systems

Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, engineering, or a related field.
  • Strong problem-solving, analytical, and organizational skills.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Experience in a team environment.
  • Ability to obtain security clearances, requiring U.S. citizenship.

Responsibilities

  • Design, implement, test, and deploy algorithms and AI systems.
  • Interact with sponsors and analysts to gather requirements.
  • Survey literature and propose new research for solutions.
  • Document and present research and development activities.

Benefits

  • Generous education assistance program.
  • Robust retirement contributions.
  • Healthy work/life balance.
  • Vibrant and welcoming work culture.
  • Commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Full Job Description
Description

Are you excited about applying your education toward building creative solutions for our nation's greatest challenges?

Are you searching for a collaborative environment that prioritizes impact, innovation, and personal development?

If so, the Threat Analytic Systems Group is looking for someone like you to join our APL team!

We are a team of software engineers, data scientists, and knowledge representation experts who partner with experts across a wide range of domains including countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD), special operations, intelligence analysis, biothreat security, online disinformation, and disease surveillance. Our goal is to research and build innovative AI-enabled systems that can identify and prioritize relevant data in a timely and scalable manner and accelerate our sponsors' ability to observe and act on threat activities.

We need talented engineers, scientists, and ontologists with creativity, curiosity, and a strong drive for learning to succeed!

As a member of our team you will...
  • Design, implement, test, and deploy algorithms, machine learning models, and AI-enabled systems in a dynamic, fast-paced, and team-oriented environment.
  • Interact with sponsors, analysts, and other end users to understand their mission goals, gather requirements, and innovate new ways to improve efficiency.
  • Survey academic literature, propose new research, engineer solutions, and utilize DevOps/MLOps strategies to overcome deployment challenges.
  • Document and present work on current research and development activities

Qualifications

You meet our minimum qualifications if you have...
  • A Bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, engineering, or related technical field.
  • Have strong problem solving, analytical, and organizational skills, in addition to excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Have experience working successfully within a team environment
  • Are able to obtain an Interim Secret Clearance by your start date and ultimately obtain 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.

Software Engineers:
  • Experience in computer science fundamentals and Java, Python, JavaScript, and web development

Data Scientists:
  • Experience in Python
  • Familiarity with machine learning and scientific libraries (e.g., PyTorch, Tensorflow, Scikit-Learn, Pandas, Numpy)
  • Interest in working with engineers to integrate models and algorithms into analytic pipelines

Ontologists:
  • A foundation in formal logic


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

A Master's degree in computer science, mathematics, engineering or related technical field.

Software Engineers:
  • Familiarity with Agile software development practices, full life cycle software development, or feature development
  • Familiarity with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) best practices
  • Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes)
  • Experience with machine learning libraries and techniques
  • Experience with mobile development and Kotlin

Data Scientists:
  • Experience creating experiments, developing approaches, and testing hypotheses for data-driven challenges
  • Familiarity with Python best practices
  • Familiarity with foundational machine learning approaches
  • Experience with information extraction and natural language processing techniques

Ontologists:
  • Experience building RDF/OWL ontologies


Minimum Rate

$85,000 Annually

Maximum Rate

$165,000 Annually

About Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is a research and development organization that provides solutions to national security and scientific challenges. The laboratory was founded in 1942 and is located in Laurel, Maryland. APL is a division of the Johns Hopkins University and is a not-for-profit organization. The laboratory has expertise in a variety of areas, including space exploration, national security, and healthcare.
Learn more about Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
Size
7,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1942

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