As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/ IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/ IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/ IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/ IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
Qorvo is seeking a Principal Research Scientist to serve as a principal investigator and key individual contributor leading the development of next-generation wafer-level interconnects (BEOL), wafer ...
Qorvo is seeking a Principal Research Scientist to serve as a principal investigator and key individual contributor leading the development of next-generation wafer-level interconnects (BEOL), wafer ...
Principal Research Scientist
$131K - $237K/yr
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
Principal Research Scientist
$131K - $237K/yr
As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/IR, and LIDAR) applications. You ...
We operate as principal investigators over Internal Research and Development (IRAD), Process Service (PS), and Customer Research and Development (CRAD) projects and production support, with ...
We operate as principal investigators over Internal Research and Development (IRAD), Process Service (PS), and Customer Research and Development (CRAD) projects and production support, with ...
Qorvo is seeking a Principal Research Scientist to serve as a principal investigator and key individual contributor leading the development of next-generation wafer-level interconnects (BEOL), wafer ...
Qorvo is seeking a Principal Research Scientist to serve as a principal investigator and key individual contributor leading the development of next-generation wafer-level interconnects (BEOL), wafer ...
Principal Research Engineer
$157K - $189K/yr
The Principal Research Engineer executes a variety of highly specialized/technical, business development and leadership activities. This individual provides advanced expertise in the areas of ...
Principal Research Engineer
$157K - $189K/yr
The Principal Research Engineer executes a variety of highly specialized/technical, business development and leadership activities. This individual provides advanced expertise in the areas of ...
We operate as principal investigators over Internal Research and Development (IRAD), Process Service (PS), and Customer Research and Development (CRAD) projects and production support, with ...
We operate as principal investigators over Internal Research and Development (IRAD), Process Service (PS), and Customer Research and Development (CRAD) projects and production support, with ...
Principal Research Scientist
Bedford, NH · On-site
$176K - $282K/yr
Responsibilities Peraton Labs is seeking a self-motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist
Bedford, NH · On-site
$176K - $282K/yr
Responsibilities Peraton Labs is seeking a self-motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist
Boston, MA · On-site
$113K - $165K/yr
Northeastern University has established a Principal Research Scientist position dealing with cutting-edge research in the theoretical and applied aspects of resilient artificial intelligence (AI)
Principal Research Scientist
Boston, MA · On-site
$113K - $165K/yr
Northeastern University has established a Principal Research Scientist position dealing with cutting-edge research in the theoretical and applied aspects of resilient artificial intelligence (AI)
Principal Research & Development (R&D) Engineer Full-time Treace's mission is to be the leader in the surgical treatment of bunions by establishing the Lapiplasty ® System as the standard of care.
Principal Research & Development (R&D) Engineer Full-time Treace's mission is to be the leader in the surgical treatment of bunions by establishing the Lapiplasty ® System as the standard of care.
Principal Research Scientist
$113K - $165K/yr
Northeastern University has established a Principal Research Scientist position dealing with cutting-edge research in the theoretical and applied aspects of resilient artificial intelligence (AI)
Principal Research Scientist
$113K - $165K/yr
Northeastern University has established a Principal Research Scientist position dealing with cutting-edge research in the theoretical and applied aspects of resilient artificial intelligence (AI)
Principal Research Scientist
Boston, MA · On-site
$113K - $165K/yr
Northeastern University has established a Principal Research Scientist position dealing with cutting-edge research in the theoretical and applied aspects of resilient artificial intelligence (AI)
Principal Research Scientist
Boston, MA · On-site
$113K - $165K/yr
Northeastern University has established a Principal Research Scientist position dealing with cutting-edge research in the theoretical and applied aspects of resilient artificial intelligence (AI)
Principal Research Scientist
Bedford, NH · On-site
$176K - $282K/yr
Responsibilities Peraton Labs is seeking a self-motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist
Bedford, NH · On-site
$176K - $282K/yr
Responsibilities Peraton Labs is seeking a self-motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist
Bedford, NH · On-site
$176K - $282K/yr
Responsibilities Peraton Labs is seeking a self-motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist
Bedford, NH · On-site
$176K - $282K/yr
Responsibilities Peraton Labs is seeking a self-motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist - ScalingP-1227About Databricks AI At Databricks, we are obsessed with enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems, from security threat detection to ...
Principal Research Scientist - ScalingP-1227About Databricks AI At Databricks, we are obsessed with enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems, from security threat detection to ...
Peraton Labs in Basking Ridge, NJ is looking for a Principal Research Scientist to lead research in autonomous systems. The role requires a PhD in Computer Science or a related area with at least 7 ...
Peraton Labs in Basking Ridge, NJ is looking for a Principal Research Scientist to lead research in autonomous systems. The role requires a PhD in Computer Science or a related area with at least 7 ...
Principal Research Scientist
$176K - $282K/yr
About The Role Peraton Labs is seeking a self‑motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Principal Research Scientist
$176K - $282K/yr
About The Role Peraton Labs is seeking a self‑motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of cybersecurity across a variety of domains.
Databricks in San Francisco is looking for a Principal Research Scientist to lead research efforts in scaling large-scale machine learning models. This role focuses on defining and executing a ...
Databricks in San Francisco is looking for a Principal Research Scientist to lead research efforts in scaling large-scale machine learning models. This role focuses on defining and executing a ...
Principal Research information
See salary details
$36.5K - $49.7K
1% of jobs
$49.7K - $63K
4% of jobs
$63K - $76.2K
8% of jobs
$85.1K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$76.2K - $89.4K
17% of jobs
$89.4K - $102.6K
19% of jobs
The median wage is $103K / yr.
$102.6K - $115.9K
18% of jobs
$122.7K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$115.9K - $129.1K
15% of jobs
$129.1K - $142.3K
7% of jobs
$142.3K - $155.5K
5% of jobs
$155.5K - $168.8K
3% of jobs
$168.8K - $182K
2% of jobs
$36.5K
$109.4K
$182K
How much do principal research jobs pay per year?
What is the difference between Principal Research vs Research Scientist?
| Aspect | Principal Research | Research Scientist |
|---|---|---|
| Required Credentials | Advanced degrees (PhD), extensive experience | Master's or PhD, relevant research experience |
| Work Environment | Leadership roles, strategic planning, overseeing projects | Hands-on research, experimentation, data analysis |
| Employer & Industry Usage | Research institutions, corporate R&D, academia | Universities, corporate labs, government agencies |
Principal Research roles typically involve leading research initiatives, managing teams, and setting strategic directions. Research Scientists focus on conducting experiments, analyzing data, and contributing to research projects. While both roles require advanced degrees and research expertise, Principal Researchers often have more leadership responsibilities and a broader scope of work.
What types of projects and collaborations can I expect as a Principal Researcher, and how do these shape my day-to-day work?
What are Principal Researchers?
What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Principal Researcher, and why are they important?

Leidos rating
8.4
Based on 149 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz
56th of 449 rated business services
Job description
As a result of program growth, the Electronic Warfare Division is looking for a Principal Research Scientist to support remote sensing programs in Beavercreek, OH. As a Principal Research Scientist you will apply your skills to a wide variety of problems and datasets, primarily focused on remote sensing (SAR/RF, acoustic, EO/ IR, and LIDAR) applications.
You will work with a multi-disciplined design team (Electrical Engineers, Physicists, Computer Scientists, etc.) to design, develop, simulate, and integrate components into sensor systems and data fusion solutions based on given project requirements. Current projects include, but are not limited to, detection, tracking, data fusion, and classification. This is an exciting opportunity to use your experience to help the Combat Identification (CID) team perform advanced research and development for target recognition solutions using principally synthetic data AI/ML training techniques for multiple sensor modalities. We are looking for a qualified candidate to bring technical excellence, leadership, entrepreneurship, and creativity to our programs. You will lead technical project areas and have the opportunity to pursue growth in new technology areas or with new customers.
This position requires about three quarters of the job duties to be performed onsite due to the sensitive nature of this work and the desire for in-person collaboration. However, we offer flexible in-office hours and the ability to perform some job duties remotely.
Primary Responsibilities:
Provide technical leadership for tasks and multiple technical area programs.
Work with teams to research, design, and develop sensor exploitation systems including signal processing, automatic target recognition (ATR), and target signature modeling.
Develop ATR algorithms using Python, MATLAB, C++, and other languages for real world applications. Leverage state-of-the-art AI/ML tools and methods to improve performance of ATR systems.
Rapidly and iteratively implement new algorithms to address new challenges.
Collaborate with our customers to address challenging mission requirements by researching and developing new capabilities as well as making improvements to existing systems.
Develop performance models and algorithms for new and/or existing target recognition solutions.
Perform high-level software development functions using Python, PyTorch, C++, MATLAB, Java or similar languages including design, development, troubleshooting, and debugging software programs.
Collaborate with other experts within the program and in the user community to design, develop, and debug existing software, and to design and develop enhancements that incorporate new capabilities into various components of the existing systems.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree with 12-15 years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 10-13 years of prior relevant experience. May possess a Doctorate in technical domain.
Ability to effectively communicate technical solutions to coworkers, teammates, and customers.
Familiarity with common machine and deep learning packages such as Scikit-Learn, PyTorch, etc.
Experience developing computer vision applications
Strong programming ability in Python and/or C/C++ for Linux and windows environments
Significant experience with Python and MATLAB
Familiarity with Linux and Windows operating systems
Strong background in machine learning, artificial intelligence, or data science
Experience presenting technical/scientific literature and presentations to customer stakeholders, conferences and/or community workgroup meetings.
Experience contributing to business development activities including proposal writing and capture management support.
Possess an active SECRET clearance or higher, with an ability to obtain a TS/SCI clearance
US citizenship required
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with Automatic Target Recognition algorithm development
Experience working with monostatic or bi-static Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and/or Synthetic Aperture Lidar (SAL) data and sensor systems
Experience with multi-sensor data fusion
Background with multi-static radar research and development
Familiarity with GitLab and/or Jira - issue tracking and agile project management, or similar tools
Experience using AFSIM and successful completion of AFSIM training
Experience performing model verification and validation
Previous experience developing sensor exploitation algorithms such as Combat Identification (CID), tracking, detection, fusion, or pattern of life algorithms and/or models
Strong understanding of statistics
NKE
ElectronicWarfare
If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting:January 29, 2026For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
About Leidos
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At Leidos, we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers' success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainable practices. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community.
Industry
It services
Company size
10,000+ Employees
Headquarters location
Reston, VA, US