Senior Research Scientist - Advanced Systems

Peraton•College Park, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Peraton Labs is seeking a poly cleared Senior Research Scientist to support cleared research and development efforts for a Maryland-based IC customer. This role will focus on designing, developing, integrating, and enhancing advanced research prototype systems across mission-focused application, analytics, real-time processing, data, and software-enabled environments. The ideal candidate for this role is a senior hands-on software researcher or prototype engineer who can translate customer needs into working capabilities, develop complex software prototypes, integrate existing systems, and help guide technical execution across small research teams. Candidates should be comfortable working in fast-moving R&D environments where requirements evolve, technical approaches must be tested quickly, and prototypes must be built with enough rigor to demonstrate operational value. This position requires full-time on-site work at a customer site near College Park, MD.

Requirements

Minimum of 12+ years of experience with a Bachelors degree, 10+ years of experience with a Masters degree, or 8+ years of experience with a PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field. In lieu of a Bachelors, an additional 4 years of experience is required for a total of 16+ years relevant experience.
Strong application, software, or prototype development experience in R&D, mission, defense, intelligence, or similarly complex technical environments
Programming experience in one or more languages such as Python, C, C++, Java, Go, or similar languages
Experience designing and implementing algorithms, backend services, APIs, database interfaces, or complex data queries
Experience integrating software components, data sources, COTS/GOTS tools, open-source software, or prototype systems
Experience debugging, testing, troubleshooting, and improving software prototypes
Familiarity with modern software development practices, including GitHub/GitLab, Agile methods, Jenkins or other CI/CD tools, code review, and issue tracking
Ability to work independently and collaboratively with internal teams, subcontractors, and customer teams
Ability to communicate technical concepts, prototype status, design decisions, and research outcomes to technical and non-technical stakeholders
Ability to lead or mentor small technical teams
US Citizenship is a requirement for this position
This position requires an active/current TS/SCI w/ Polygraph

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting classified research and development programs or IC/DoD mission customers
Experience developing prototypes for analytics, data processing, real-time systems, decision-support tools, cyber systems, networked systems, or operational workflow applications
Experience with modern application architecture, including microservices, REST APIs, event-driven systems, distributed systems, or cloud-native applications
Experience with databases and data technologies such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, Redis, Kafka, SQL/NoSQL, or graph databases
Experience with containers, virtualization, or deployment environments such as Docker, Kubernetes, VMware, KVM, OpenStack, or cloud platforms
Experience with automated testing, quality control, software assurance, performance testing, or prototype validation
Experience with requirements analysis, system design, interface definition, and hardware/software tradeoff analysis
Experience integration COTS, GOTS, open-source, and custom-built software into mission or research environments
Experience with DevOps tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Ansible, Terraform/OpenTofu, or similar tools
Experience contributing to technical proposals, whitepapers, research briefings, architecture diagrams, or customer demonstrations
Strong technical leadership, adaptability, and ability to rapidly learn new technologies in support of emerging mission needs

Responsibilities

Design, develop, test, and enhance advanced software prototypes for mission-focused research programs
Analyze customer requirements and translate them into prototype architectures, performance standards, software designs, and technical implementation plans
Develop new software or modify existing software to improve functionality, performance, reliability, and usability
Build prototype applications involving analytics, real-time systems, data processing, workflow tools, mission applications, or business/operational management systems
Develop complex algorithms, database interfaces, APIs, data queries, and backend services to meet functional and performance requirements
Integrate existing software, COTS/GOTS tools, open-source components, and custom research prototypes into new or modified operating environments
Debug software, resolve defects, improve system performance, and support prototype demonstrations
Develop and execute test procedures to validate prototype components against design and mission requirements
Collaborate with system engineers, hardware engineers, researchers, subcontractors, and customer stakeholders to refine requirements and ensure operational specifications are met
Provide input on system design decisions, including hardware/software tradeoffs, software reuse, COTS/GOTS integration, scalability, maintainability, and deployment approach
Support software development workflows using tools such as GitHub/GitLab, Jenkins, CI/CD pipelines, Agile processes, issue tracking, and code review
Create and maintain technical documentation, development standards, test plans, interface documentation, and prototype user guides
Lead small technical teams, delegate tasks, monitor progress, and help ensure project objectives are met