Polymer Science Phd Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

Why choose between doing meaningful work and having a fulfilling life? At MITRE, you can have both. That's because MITRE people are committed to tackling our nation's toughest challenges-and we're committed to the long-term well-being of our employees. MITRE is different from most technology companies. We are a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day-working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world. Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE - and make a difference with us. Department Summary: MITRE's Energy, Environmental, Material and Chemical Sciences serves as a vanguard for MITRE to meet the future needs of our customers, requiring technical excellence while encouraging creativity and fostering interests in current and emerging technologies across its diverse employees. Your future colleagues are a collegial team of chemists, energy and environmental engineers, material scientists, systems engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, physicists, and civil engineers who work across MITRE's diverse sponsors and partners. Roles & Responsibilities: * The candidate will work in the public interest to provide novel materials solutions to our sponsors' most critical problems.
* The candidate will be an independent contributor in laboratory experimentation efforts related to new materials fabrication, characterization, and analysis.
* The candidate will have a firm grasp of materials science and engineering, with an emphasis on polymer/elastomer composites.
* The candidate will be familiar with emerging materials concepts and be able to formulate experiments focused on validating the applicability of said concepts to a variety of different application/mission spaces.
* The candidate will interface with sponsors to discuss their most critical technical problems.
* The candidate will be able to propose new materials-based ideas within MITRE's internal research and development program.
* As needed and desired, the candidate will also contribute to other technical tasks requiring physical science and engineering expertise, including, but not limited to, next-generation materials for microelectronics.
* Some domestic travel will be necessary. Basic Qualifications: * Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 3 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with relevant experience who can immediately contribute at this job step; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
* Experience with advanced materials systems, including polymers/elastomers, composites, ceramics, metals, electrochemical materials, or related material platforms.
* Understanding of structure-processing-property relationships and the ability to apply materials science principles to the design, characterization, or optimization of functional materials or electrochemical systems.
* Experience designing, executing, and analyzing laboratory experiments, including materials synthesis, processing, characterization, and/or performance evaluation.
* Familiarity with data analysis, computational methods, modeling, simulation, or AI-enabled approaches applied to materials or energy-related research problems.
* Strong technical writing and oral communication skills.
* Demonstrated ability to think critically, work independently and collaboratively, and contribute to interdisciplinary research environments.
* The ability to obtain a Department of Defense SECRET clearance
* Per the U.S. Government's eligibility requirements, you must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.
* This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site Preferred Qualifications: * MS or PhD with research experience in materials science, electrochemistry, computational materials, or AI-enabled materials research.
* Experience in the synthesis, processing, characterization, and analysis of advanced materials systems, including polymers/elastomers, composites, electrochemical materials, ceramics, metals, or multifunctional materials.
* Experience applying AI/ML, statistical modeling, simulation, or data-driven methods to materials discovery, materials characterization, degradation analysis, or performance prediction.
* Experience in some of the following areas:
* Integrating experimental materials data with computational or AI-based approaches, including model development, validation, and interpretation.
* Electrochemical systems or energy storage technologies, including batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, or related systems.
* Relating material properties and microstructure to system-level performance, reliability, durability, or safety.
* Familiarity with multi-scale modeling or analysis spanning material behavior, device performance, and system integration.
* Development and evaluation of early-stage or emerging technologies through iterative experimentation and data-informed design.
* Working with large experimental or materials datasets, including data management, feature extraction, visualization, or predictive analytics.
* Knowledge of materials degradation, failure mechanisms, environmental effects, or safety hazards associated with advanced materials or electrochemical systems.
* Collaborating across interdisciplinary teams involving materials science, electrochemistry, AI/data science, and systems engineering.
* Active or current DoD security clearance (Secret or higher). This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):
None This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):
Secret Salary compensation range and midpoint:
$121,200 - $151,500 - $181,800 Annual Work Location Type:
Onsite Commitment to Non-Discrimination All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law. MITRE intends to maintain a website that is fully accessible to all individuals. If you are unable to search or apply for jobs and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of MITRE's employment process, please email for general support and for intern positions. This service is for individuals requiring reasonable accommodation requests. Please note that vendor solicitations will not receive a reply. Benefits information may be found here . Copyright © 1997-2026, The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved. MITRE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. Material on this site may be copied and distributed with permission only.