Physicist/Systems Analyst

MIT Lincoln Laboratory•Lexington, MA

1d•$140,000 - $207,000

About The Position

The Cyber-Physical Systems Group develops advanced Cyber-Electromagnetic Warfare capabilities and supports their acquisition, integration, and operational transition across the Department of War and Intelligence Community. The Group conducts research and development spanning cyber operations, electronic warfare, radio-frequency systems, and artificial intelligence to address national-security mission needs. The Physicist/Systems Analyst, Technical Staff, will contribute to multidisciplinary teams developing, assessing, and transitioning advanced Cyber-Electromagnetic Warfare capabilities. The role applies technical expertise in areas such as RF systems, cyber operations, artificial intelligence, machine learning, modeling and simulation, or related fields to complex electromagnetic and cyber environments. The position supports the transition of technical concepts from research and development into fieldable capabilities. Work may include integration with government and industry systems, evaluation of operational utility and technical risk, acquisition and transition planning, algorithm and software development, analysis of experimental, simulated, or operational data, and design and execution of system evaluations in representative environments. The candidate communicates technical results through reports, briefings, and discussions with technical teams, program managers, acquisition organizations, and operational stakeholders. The candidate is expected to learn new technical areas rapidly, contribute to multidisciplinary teams, and apply rigorous technical methods to national-security problems. With experience, the candidate may lead technical tasks, develop research directions, engage directly with sponsors and users, and lead major analyses and transition activities. At Technical Staff levels 5 or 6, the employee provides expert multi-domain or new-domain research and supports the Laboratory’s national-security mission. The role may lead projects, complex programs, major workstreams, multi-program initiatives, or technical portfolios; guide multidisciplinary teams through technical complexity and ambiguity; translate broad strategy into executable plans; interface with sponsors; and mentor other technical staff. The appropriate level is based on education, experience, technical expertise, leadership responsibilities, and the scale and complexity of efforts led. The listed hiring ranges are $140,000–$187,000 for Technical Staff 5 and $155,000–$207,000 for Technical Staff 6; final compensation depends on factors including responsibilities, qualifications, internal equity, and legal requirements. The ranges reflect base salary only.

Requirements

Doctorate in physics, applied physics, electrical engineering, engineering physics, applied mathematics, data science, systems engineering, or a related technical field; alternatively, a master’s degree in one of these fields with at least five years of relevant technical experience.
Strong foundation in one or more relevant physics disciplines, such as electromagnetics, waves and propagation, statistical physics, or computational physics.
Ability to rapidly learn new technical areas and apply fundamental physical principles to challenging cyber-electromagnetic and national-security mission problems.
Experience developing quantitative models, conducting scientific analysis, or designing experiments to investigate complex physical systems.
Proficiency in programming languages and scientific-computing tools for modeling, simulation, data analysis, or prototype development, such as Python, MATLAB, C, C++, Julia, or similar languages.
Ability to communicate technical concepts, analysis results, and recommendations clearly and concisely to audiences with varied technical backgrounds.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary technical team.
Ability to obtain and maintain the security clearance required for the position; the selected candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret-level DoD clearance.
U.S. citizenship is required.
For Technical Staff 5, a bachelor’s degree in a STEM or other relevant technical field and typically 6+ years of relevant experience, a master’s degree and typically 4+ years, a PhD and typically 0+ years, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
For Technical Staff 5, diverse technical expertise and demonstrated adaptability to unfamiliar or emerging disciplines, systems, mission areas, or methods; ability to apply significant technical judgment across related systems or methods; ability to lead projects or major workstreams and deliver complex technical outcomes; experience evaluating trade-offs and adapting approaches; mentorship, collaboration, and communication skills; and experience contributing to formal technical deliverables.
For Technical Staff 6, a bachelor’s degree in a STEM or other relevant technical field and typically 8+ years of relevant experience, a master’s degree and typically 6+ years, a PhD and typically 2+ years, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
For Technical Staff 6, deep and diverse technical expertise and ability to integrate knowledge across domains; ability to incorporate technical judgment, program context, and stakeholder input to solve broad challenges; proven experience leading complex programs, significant program elements, or multi-team technical efforts; ability to evaluate alternatives, manage ambiguity, and influence decisions; a strong record of mentorship, collaboration, technical communication, and capability development; and experience contributing to materials that shape program direction or technical initiatives.
Selected candidate must undergo a pre-employment background investigation.

Nice To Haves

Experience in cyber operations, cyber mission engineering, cyber defense, vulnerability research, protocol analysis, or embedded systems.
Experience in electronic warfare, electromagnetic-spectrum operations, RF sensing, signals intelligence, software-defined radio, wireless communications, or spectrum monitoring.
Experience in RF signal processing, such as modulation recognition, signal detection, classification, direction finding, geolocation, fingerprinting, emitter identification, waveform analysis, or communications characterization.
Experience in RF machine learning, including deep learning for RF data, representation learning, anomaly detection, classification, sensor fusion, or learning from limited, noisy, or nonstationary data.
Experience in artificial intelligence and machine learning, including deep learning, probabilistic methods, reinforcement learning, generative models, autonomous systems, or AI-enabled decision support.
Experience modeling, simulating, or analyzing cyber, RF, communications, sensing, or cyber-electromagnetic operational environments.
Experience in systems engineering, technology maturation, acquisition support, capability transition, or operationalization of advanced technical capabilities.
Experience preparing technical reports, publications, sponsor briefings, or presentations for government, acquisition, and operational audiences.

Responsibilities

Develop, assess, and transition advanced Cyber-Electromagnetic Warfare capabilities with multidisciplinary teams.
Help transition technical concepts from research and development into fieldable capabilities.
Support integration with government and industry systems and evaluate operational utility and technical risk.
Contribute to acquisition, integration, and operational transition planning.
Develop algorithms and software; analyze experimental, simulated, or operationally collected data; design and execute evaluations; and assess system performance in representative environments.
Communicate technical results, analysis, and recommendations through reports, briefings, and discussions with technical teams, program managers, acquisition organizations, operational stakeholders, sponsors, and mission partners.
As appropriate to level and experience, lead projects, complex programs, major technical workstreams, multi-program initiatives, or technical portfolios involving development, analysis, prototyping, integration, testing, evaluation, and technology transition.
Apply technical expertise and systems-level judgment to complex or ambiguous problems, evaluating alternatives, trade-offs, risks, stakeholder needs, and mission implications.
Translate broad objectives into actionable technical plans and influence program direction, architectures, systems, priorities, and roadmaps.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, sponsors, mission partners, and internal leaders to align priorities, resolve dependencies, and guide decisions and deliverables.
Assess and improve technical tools, processes, methods, documentation, execution practices, and organizational capability.
Mentor and guide Associate Technical Staff, Assistant Technical Staff, and other technical support personnel; review work and help develop staff and emerging leaders.
Contribute to papers, reports, presentations, proposals, grants, roadmaps, and other formal materials that advance mission outcomes and technical direction.
Conduct independent research, develop creative approaches, and help develop and execute programs and capability roadmaps.