Research Associate or Research Scientist, Cyber Security

Research Associate or Research Scientist, Cyber Security

Job no: 538528
Work type: Research Faculty
Senior management: Vice President for Research
Department: VTNSI
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Categories: Research / Scientific, Data Analytics / Security

Job Description

The Intelligent Systems Division (ISD), one of the three research divisions of VTNSI, is seeking a Research Associate or Research Scientist in Cyber Security to conduct research in cyber security and artificial intelligence. This is a research and development position based in Arlington, Virginia. ISD brings together researchers from computer science, systems engineering, statistics, mathematics, operations research and other related fields to develop interdisciplinary solutions to cutting-edge technological challenges. Successful candidates for this position will have relevant experience in cyber security and ideally artificial intelligence.

Specific responsibilities include the following:
1. Contributes to research conducted in ISD focused on cyber security, cyber operations, cyber analytics, and the intersection of those areas with other ISD research interests - including but not limited to data science, artificial intelligence, and systems engineering
2. Contributes to technical documents/presentations and peer-reviewed academic papers
3. At the Research Associate I and II levels, executes responsibilities that may include background research, coding protection mechanisms or attacks, data collection, analysis, documentation, and supporting project logistics
4. At the Research Scientist I and II levels, contributes to research design and execution, supervise and/or mentor technical staff in key technical areas, and participate in proposal development; opportunity to serve as either Co-PI or PI on small to moderate programs.

Required Qualifications
• US citizenship
• Active and ability to maintain a security clearance
• Education in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, or related discipline
o For Research Associate I, Master's degree, Bachelor's with relevant certifications
o For Research Associate II, Master's degree, Bachelor's with 3 years post-degree experience
o Research Scientist I, Master's degree, Bachelor's with five years of post-degree experience
o Research Scientist II, Master's degree with three years experience, Bachelor's with five years post-degree experience, or doctoral degree.
• Experience with cyber security and cyber operations (including software, AI/ML, or autonomy)
• Demonstrated knowledge of networking fundamentals, network logs and telemetry, common cyber-attack types including malware, security concepts including access control and cryptography.
• Experience with artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages such as Python, C++, C, etc.
• 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
• Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience in cyber test, including network and penetration testing, malware analysis, or red teaming
• Experience in testing AI-enabled systems (including benchmarking, prompting, narratives, AI use in human workflows) and agentic AI (including assessing behavior and security, autonomous use of AI)
• Experience serving as PI/Co-PI on funding programs (preference for Research Scientist I and II)
• Experience with software development, cryptography, or software reverse engineering
• Experience with common machine learning software packages such as Tensor Flow, PyTorch, Hugging Face, etc.
• 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

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Restricted

Salary Information

• Research Associate I starting at $100,000; commensurate with experience
• Research Associate II starting at $125,000; commensurate with experience
• Research Scientist I starting at $150,000; commensurate with experience
• Research Scientist II starting at $175,000; commensurate with experience

Hours per week

40

Review Date

November 30, 2026

Additional Information

Due to the nature of our work, the successful candidates must be US citizens with an active security clearance.

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Advertised: November 12, 2026
Applications close:

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