Test and Evaluation (T&E) Research Professional

Job Description Summary Organization's Summary Statement: The Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence & Security (ARLIS) at the University of Maryland is a University-Affiliated Research Center (UARC) dedicated to advancing research, innovation, and technology transition to improve decision making for U.S. national security. ARLIS combines deep scientific expertise with operational insight to address challenges in intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence / machine learning, quantum science, and human-machine teaming. Researchers, scientists, engineers, and analysts at ARLIS collaborate with government agencies, industry partners, and academic institutions to deliver actionable insights and transformative solutions through research and development. Employees at ARLIS work on projects of critical importance, contribute directly to the nation’s security, and are supported by a culture that values integrity, collaboration, and professional growth. The Test and Evaluation (T&E) Research Professional serves ARLIS by conducting T&E of emerging, intelligent technologies, especially those with implications for national and economic security. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: • Ability to conduct research to assess, including verify and validate, novel technologies through the design, execution, analysis, and documentation of appropriately rigorous T&E methods and activities. • Ability to engage stakeholders (e.g., USG personnel, technology developers, end-users) to extract respective preferences. • Skill in the development and execution of both formative and summative evaluations at one or more technology levels (e.g., component, capability, system levels). • Skill in working within collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams and communicating complex topics through technical deliverables and briefings for U.S. Government stakeholders. Must be able to obtain a U.S. security clearance. If selected, you must meet the requirements for access to classified information and will be subject to a government security clearance investigation that includes criminal and credit history checks, as well as verification of U.S. citizenship, birth, education, employment, and military history. Final offer is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to successfully obtain the necessary interim Secret security clearance, as determined by the U.S. Government, prior to commencing employment Research Specialist Qualifications: Entry Level: ● Bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of demonstrated experience in supporting / contributing to T&E-related efforts through volunteer, extracurricular, or work activities. Mid Level: ● Master’s degree plus 3+ years of experience in a technical role or project management position for defense or intelligence T&E programs with experience in technical requirements discovery, performance metric articulation, T&E design, technology verification and validation, performance assessment analysis, executing on technical programs with scheduled deliverables, and communicating and interfacing with government customers; or Bachelor’s degree plus 5+ years of relevant experience in a role of equivalent responsibility. Senior Level: ● Master’s degree plus 7+ years of experience in a technical role or project management position for defense or intelligence T&E programs with experience in technical requirements discovery, performance metric articulation, T&E design, technology verification and validation, performance assessment analysis, executing on multiple technical programs with scheduled deliverables, and communicating and interfacing with government customers; or Bachelor’s degree plus 10+ years of relevant experience in a role of equivalent responsibility. Research Engineer Qualifications: ● PhD plus 5 years or more of relevant T&E research (design, execution, analysis) experience, depending on level, including success leading research projects and interacting with government sponsors, customers, and stakeholders. ● Demonstrated potential for excellence in the execution, administration, and/or management of research or academic programs. ● Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a matrixed organization with a collaborative and team-centric culture. ● Strong oral and written communication skills. ● Excellent analytical and deep-dive skills. Preferences: ● Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or a related field ● Experience designing test plans to assess (both verification and validation) emerging technologies at multiple levels (i.e., component, capability, system) including identifying appropriate measures and metrics, developing appropriate use cases/test scenarios, and developing a data collection strategy ● Experience executing T&E exercises and analyzing T&E data to draw meaningful, actionable conclusions ● Experience documenting T&E efforts including lessons learned, to provide necessary insight to project sponsors and collaborators to enable informed decision-making ● Experience documenting the current-state-of-the-art including best practices and pain points ● Experience building out over-arching formative T&E plans that would enable multiple test events to support the maturation of an emerging technology ● Experience developing and deploying measurement tools (e.g., physical sensors, software instrumentation) to gather T&E-purposed performance measures and metrics ● Experience preparing technical deliverables and briefings for government stakeholders. ● Experience contributing to research proposals and technical work plans, including scoping technical approaches, defining methods, estimating effort, and identifying risks. ● Comfort working independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, evolving environment ● Strong organizational skills and attention to detail ● Active or eligible for a security clearance Physical Demands