Research Professorial Faculty , AI Test and Evaluation

Research Professorial Faculty Open Rank, AI Test and Evaluation

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:

• Technical Leadership and Research Integration
• Program Leadership and Portfolio Development
• Collaborative Research Environment Leadership
• Sponsor Engagement and Mission Alignment
• Experiential Learning and Workforce Development

Required Qualifications

• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.

Overtime Status

Exempt:
Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Restricted

Salary…