2026 PhD Graduate - Systems Engineer/Analyst - Multi-Mission Planning Development

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

71d

About The Position

Are you passionate about applying your PhD to tackle the difficult challenges facing our warfighters such as Achieving Robust Homeland Defense, Accelerating Warfighting Capabilities in INDOPACOM, Operationalizing Space Forces and Operationalizing Artificial Intelligence? Are you interested in applying your PhD to help our warfighters create dominant decisive advantages by revolutionizing the art of designing defenses in direct support of overcoming those challenges? Would you like to make critical contributions to the development, prototyping and transition of military mission planning tools and solutions to U.S. warfighters in the Armed Services? In A5C, we develop and deliver highly capable mission planning tools into the hands of the warfighter so they can configure/optimize fielded military systems for maximum performance across multiple simultaneous air and missile defense missions, multiple services, and multiple command echelon planning levels. If you are graduating with a PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or Mathematics AND want to work in an excellent team-oriented environment, then we’d love to have you join our team! We are seeking an enthusiastic team player willing to take on challenging assignments and willing to learn about the complexity of placing and configuring military systems. As a member of our team... Your primary responsibility will be to lead and conduct critical engineering activities that will drive the development of multi-mission and multi-service planning capabilities. You will learn about critical modeling and simulation tools that predict performance of U.S. military systems and you will ascertain their level of fidelity. You will apply those tools to lead and conduct detailed engineering studies that ascertain capabilities/limitations of current systems, support future designs, lay out a strategic plan to achieve true multi-mission multi-service planning capabilities, and provide timely feedback to warfighters in the field facing real world operational challenges. You will work in a highly motivated team environment. You will learn about enemy capabilities and limitations as fundamentally provided by the pertinent intelligence community. You will learn and determine the capabilities and limitations of our U.S. military systems so that mission planning tools can optimize their use.

Requirements

Possess a PhD in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Astronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or related discipline.
Demonstrate strong organizational abilities in the pursuit of your PhD.
Desire to be part of team with a wide-ranging assembly of scientists and engineers to tackle new engineering challenges.
Extensive experience in the use of Matlab, Python, or equivalent for designing and analyzing systems.
Have academic experience working on and leading team projects.
Demonstrate excellent written, oral, and interpersonal skills when interfacing with other students and professors.
Are willing to meet and interact with military warfighters to discover what those warfighters actually want at their fingertips when deployed in the field all over the globe.
Are able to obtain an Interim Secret security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a 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.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrate that your dissertation has direct applicability to the design and evolution of military mission planning systems.
Extensive experience developing in C/C++ or Typescript/Javascript.
Have experience as a summer intern and/or full time employee in which your academic coursework was applied to successfully fulfill that internship/employment.
Possess a working knowledge of some U.S. military systems for the U. S. Navy, Army, Air Force, or Space Force.
Already possess at least a Final Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

Lead and conduct critical engineering activities that will drive the development of multi-mission and multi-service planning capabilities.
Learn about critical modeling and simulation tools that predict performance of U.S. military systems and you will ascertain their level of fidelity.
Apply those tools to lead and conduct detailed engineering studies that ascertain capabilities/limitations of current systems, support future designs, lay out a strategic plan to achieve true multi-mission multi-service planning capabilities, and provide timely feedback to warfighters in the field facing real world operational challenges.
Learn about enemy capabilities and limitations as fundamentally provided by the pertinent intelligence community.
Learn and determine the capabilities and limitations of our U.S. military systems so that mission planning tools can optimize their use.