Postdoctoral Research Associate Jobs in Reston, VA

The Virginia Tech National Security Institute (VTNSI) is a national leader in advancing security and resilience through innovative and applied research, empowering the next generation of experts, and building strategic alliances to address evolving national security challenges. We bring together exceptional interdisciplinary faculty, unique research infrastructure, and deep partnerships with industry and government sponsors to execute impactful research and development. VTNSI seeks a Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, or Research Professor in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Test & Evaluation (T&E) to play a central leadership role in a collaborative government–academia–industry research environment focused on accelerating the development, assessment, and transition of AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities for national security. This position blends responsibilities traditionally associated with technical integrators, chief engineers, and portfolio managers, requiring both deep technical expertise in AI and T&E and demonstrated leadership in managing interdisciplinary research teams, coordinating stakeholders, and shaping research direction in rapidly evolving mission contexts. The successful candidate will lead and coordinate research activities supporting rapid development, prototyping, test & evaluation, and transition of AI/ML capabilities. Academic research responsibilities will focus on advancing methods, tools, practices, and evaluation approaches that enable rapid, rigorous, and operationally relevant performance assessment of AI, while working closely with government and industry collaborators responsible for development, prototyping, and deployment. The position operates within a dynamic research ecosystem involving multiple universities, government and industry collaborators, and academic students operating in collaborative on-site and distributed environments. Multiple project teams may operate concurrently, often within short execution timelines (< 6 months), requiring strong coordination, prioritization, and technical leadership to ensure research efforts remain aligned with mission needs and enterprise-level priorities. As a member of VTNSI’s research faculty, the individual will contribute to strengthening institutional capabilities in AI Test & Evaluation, AI Assurance, digital engineering, and mission engineering, while supporting growth of a sustainable research portfolio aligned to sponsor priorities.

Responsibilities include the following:

1. Technical Leadership and Research Integration: Lead the development and integration of AI Test & Evaluation research activities by translating mission needs and operational constraints into actionable evaluation strategies, technical approaches, and research plans; coordinating multidisciplinary teams; and addressing performance, uncertainty, trustworthiness, and system considerations in mission-relevant environments.


2. Program Leadership and Portfolio Development: Manage an interdisciplinary research portfolio supporting rapid development, prototyping, T&E, and transition of AI-enabled capabilities by establishing research priorities across multiple concurrent projects; aligning technical efforts with sponsor needs and institutional objectives; guiding proposal development; and contributing to sustainable growth of research programs aligned to national security priorities.


3. Collaborative Research Environment Leadership: Coordinate collaborative research activities across government, academia, and industry partners by facilitating integration of technical efforts among rotating faculty experts, interdisciplinary researchers, and external collaborators; establishing effective teaming structures and workflows; and ensuring shared understanding of research objectives, evaluation approaches, and mission priorities across concurrent projects.


4. Sponsor Engagement and Mission Alignment: Support sponsor engagement and research alignment activities by interacting with government partners to clarify mission needs and evaluation priorities; providing technical insight to inform research direction and execution approaches; and communicating research findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders to strengthen alignment between research outputs and mission outcomes.


5. Experiential Learning and Workforce Development: Contribute to workforce development through mentorship of students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career technical staff engaged in experiential learning activities; integrating students into interdisciplinary project teams; and supporting development of practical technical and professional skills aligned with rapid AI T&E and national security mission needs.

• Doctoral degree in engineering, computer science, mathematics, statistics, operations research, or related technical discipline.


• Demonstrated experience in AI, ML, or data-driven systems.


• Demonstrated experience in test & evaluation, experimentation, validation, verification, or performance assessment of complex systems.


• Experience leading or coordinating interdisciplinary technical teams.


• Experience contributing to externally sponsored research programs.


• Demonstrated ability to translate technical concepts into mission-relevant research approaches.


• Strong communication skills.


• US citizenship and active secret clearance.

• Experience evaluating AI-enabled systems in operational or mission-relevant environments.


• Experience serving as PI or co-PI on externally sponsored research programs.


• Experience working across government, academia, and industry research environments.


• Experience in mission engineering, digital engineering, modeling and simulation, or systems engineering.


• Experience supporting rapid prototyping or iterative capability development environments.


• Experience mentoring interdisciplinary research teams.


• Experience developing research proposals and establishing sponsor partnerships.


• Active TS/SCI clearance.

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Restricted

Starting at $150,000; commensurate with experience

40 hours per week

9/23/26

Must be a US citizen with an active secret clearance. Ability to obtain and maintain a clearance.

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

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands‑on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem‑solvers. A comprehensive land‑grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.

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If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Lynn Byrd at byrd@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.