Decision Scientist

Are you a "systems thinker" with advanced systems engineering experience that wants to have impact on nationally important defense programs?

Do you love resolving ambiguity, sparking creativity, and managing complexity associated with new system development?

Do you love working with a diverse group of dedicated technical specialists in a collaborative teaming environment?

If so, we're looking for someone like you to join our team at APL.

We are seeking a Decision Scientist for the Strategic Deterrence Mission Area's Systems Engineering Group in the Force Projection Sector. We provide vital systems engineering and system development expertise to nationally important strategic deterrence capabilities for the Navy and Air Force. As a decision scientist on our team you will help shape system architecture and detailed design of strategic systems. We are passionate about making critical contributions to these critically important programs, and you will be a key part of our success. With your help, we will remain at the forefront of systems engineering for the Force Projection Sector.

As a Decision Scientist

• Your primary responsibility will be to assess emerging missions and technologies to find a system solution that best balances military benefit with affordability and timeliness.
• You will regularly interact with military mission analysts, technical subject matter experts, performance analysts, cost analysts, and senior leaders to ensure the decision is properly addressing mission needs, grounded with technical models, and holistically framed.
• You will design, develop, and deploy statistical methods to elicit preference models from mission level scenarios.
• You will structure and coordinate the execution of technical models to assess alternatives across a broad set of measures.
• You will use decision analysis best practices to thoughtfully aggregate and synthesize the data from the disparate technical models to uncover patterns, trends, groups, or outliers as related to the full set of objectives and help sponsors realize the full potential of data driven decision making.
• You will use information visualization best practices to develop trade-space visualizations and interactive dashboards to help senior leaders build deep intuition regarding design decisions and their impact across cost, schedule, and performance objectives in the presence of uncertainty.

You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...

• Possess a Master’s degree in computer science, statistics, applied math, engineering, physics, or a related discipline.
• Have experience performing systems engineering in the design and development complex systems - interacting with senior leaders, market analysts, cost analysts, and technologists.
• Have experience in early concept development, requirements analysis, design, test and evaluation, or risk assessment.
• Have an understanding of decision making best practices for complex, engineered systems.
• Have experience creating informative data visualizations
• Have especially strong verbal and written communication skills, as well as strong critical thinking skills.
• Have shown the ability to interact effectively with and lead diverse, multidisciplinary teams, including industry and government sponsors.
• Are willing and able to travel periodically, including short duration visits to sponsor offices at the Washington Navy Yard and to supporting contractor sites, as well as occasional travel to other military bases across the country.
• Are able to obtain Interim Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain Top Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

You 'll go above and beyond our minimum requirements if you...

• Possess a PhD in Engineering Management, Systems Engineering, or Data Science
• Have an in-depth understanding of decision making best practices for complex, engineered systems in the defense domain
• Have 10 years of experience in the defense industry, interacting with senior leaders, mission analysts, cost analysts, and technologists
• Have a team-player mindset with strong interpersonal and influencing skills
• Possess strong written and oral communication skills with a track record of high quality publications and public speaking engagements - effective in a large audience or small group setting
• Have excellent problem solving skills even when problems are messy and unstructured
• Have the proven capability to resolve ambiguity, spark creativity, and manage complexity
• Have experience creating graphical user interfaces and dashboards
• Have experience managing large data sets
• Have experience in drawing impactful conclusions about the cost, schedule, and performance of systems from large data sets

Why work at APL?

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world-class expertise to our nation's most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates.

At APL, we celebrate our differences and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance. APL's campus is located in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Learn more about our career opportunities at http://www.jhuapl.edu/careers.

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APL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. APL is committed to promoting an innovative environment that embraces diversity, encourages creativity, and supports inclusion of new ideas. In doing so, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact Accommodations@jhuapl.edu. Only by ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard are we empowered to be bold, do great things, and make the world a better place.