Principal Research Scientist - Autonomous Systems

About Peraton

Peraton is a next‑generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. We operate at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace, and serve as a valued partner to essential government agencies and the armed forces.

Peraton Labs is seeking a self‑motivated Principal Research Scientist with a passion for developing solutions for problems in the field of autonomous systems across a variety of domains. You will lead or work with a team of research scientists to design, prototype, test, and demonstrate solutions to challenging research problems, define research programs, develop innovative concepts, and provide direction and vision for the team.

You will also interact with customers to understand their needs, pitch new ideas, present research results, and develop proposals that address customer needs.

• Lead or collaborate with research scientists to design, prototype, test, and demonstrate solutions to complex autonomous systems challenges.
• Define research programs and innovative approaches to solve customer problems.
• Articulate research directions to stakeholders and customers, and present findings.
• Drive customer engagement, including pitching ideas and presenting results.
• Develop and manage proposals for DoD/IC/government research opportunities.

• Minimum of 7 years of experience with a PhD in Computer Science or related area.
• Strong research background and development experience in AI, cybersecurity, and autonomous systems.
• Hands‑on experience with AI technologies, models, and tools such as transformers, deep neural networks, PyTorch or Tensor Flow.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Ability and desire to quickly acquire knowledge of new subject matter areas.
• Experience in business development and proposal writing for R&D opportunities with DoD/IC/other Government customers is a plus.
• Experience leading DARPA or similar projects as Principal Investigator is a plus.
• US citizenship with the ability to obtain/maintain a Secret or higher clearance.

Target Salary Range: $146,000 – $234,000. Salary is determined by factors including scope and responsibilities, experience, education, skills, and geographic location.

Benefits: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, health savings account, short/long term disability, EAP, parental leave, 401(k), paid time off, company paid holidays.

Equal Opportunity

Employer:

we provide equal opportunity to all applicants regardless of disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.