Data Scientist / Systems Analyst

The Bioanalytics Systems & Technologies Group focuses on driving analytic and Al/ML solutions that leverage vast and rapidly expanding biological datasets to address national security needs. The Group's efforts include developing software architectures and systems, bioinformatics tools, and AI algorithms to further the nation's efforts in biomedical, health, chemical and biological defense, biosecurity, public and global health and warfighter performance. Our group is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Data Scientist and/or Systems Analyst to contribute technical leadership across a range of programs. This role is well-suited to someone who can work hands-on across the AI/ML lifecycle - from generative modeling and data strategy through rigorous evaluation - while helping shape methods and tools that generalize across data modalities and mission applications. As Technical Staff, you will also be a principal investigator for projects, lead teams, define research plans, and provide technical oversight.

Group 25 Job Overview

The work of the group is highly collaborative and interdisciplinary. Accordingly, the backgrounds of the researchers and program teams are diverse. As Technical Staff, you will work with your team to understand and support success by prototyping capabilities and solutions and providing recommendations regarding technology capabilities, requirements, architectures, and pipelines to provide guidance and meet the needs of the U.S. government in developing advanced technologies and algorithms. You will bring a systems-analysis mindset to connect data, model development, and capability evaluation into coherent, reusable technical approaches. You will work with your team to understand and support mission success by:

• Analyzing user needs and operational constraints
• Providing recommendations regarding technology capabilities, requirements, architecture, and data/ML pipelines
• Designing, prototyping, and evaluating analytics and modeling solutions
• Designing and conducting technology verification and validation, including testing software and systems with users or subject-matter experts in realistic settings
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, including scientists, engineers, and analysts-to translate technical work into mission-relevant capabilities
• Communicating technical findings and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• This is an onsite position

Group 25 Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Engineering, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Data Science, Physics, Statistics, or a related scientific field. In lieu of a Ph.D., a master's degree with 7+ years of directly related experience may be considered. Additional experience beyond the Ph.D. is a plus.
• Strong analytical and systems-thinking skills, with the ability to design approaches that generalize across data types and use cases.
• Ability to frame the "big picture" motivations, operational constraints, and stakeholder needs around an issue, while knowing when and how to dig into the underlying technical details.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI/ML techniques to answer research questions or solve practical technical problems.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and to lead small to medium teams of diverse backgrounds and skillsets to execute a technical vision and deliver program success.
• Demonstrated skills in scientific writing and clear presentation of technical materials to varied audiences, including both technical experts and non-technical stakeholders (e.g., clinicians, sponsors, program managers).

G25 Additional Minimum Qualifications

• Developing solutions in cloud environments such as AWS, and working with data lakes/warehouses
• Data curation, annotation, integration, harmonization, and building scalable ML data pipelines
• Simulation environments, digital twins, or synthetic data generation for training and validating algorithms
• Systems analysis using modeling and simulation to understand key trade-offs in complex systems
• Designing or applying evaluation frameworks and metrics for AI model/system performance and trustworthiness
• Health or healthcare-related data/analytics, including electronic health record (EHR) data structures and clinical data standards
• Hands-on experience with generative modeling techniques and/or LLM-based tool development (e.g., RAG architectures, prompt engineering, model evaluation)

Job Overview

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Technical Staff provide critical multi-domain and new domain innovative research supporting the Laboratory's national security mission. They prototype state-of-the-art technology solutions and engage across the program lifecycle, leading projects or major/multiple technical workstreams in partnership with project, program and team/Group leaders. As a Technical Staff member, you will lead complex technical efforts requiring deep expertise, sound judgment, with the ability to successfully navigate technical complexity. Depending on the level, you will lead projects, major workstreams, complex programs, multi-program initiatives, or technical portfolios on extraordinary technology prototype efforts and creative new ideas and approaches that support critical mission needs. Depending on the level, you will translate broad Group strategy into clearly defined research or executional deliverables. Through integrating your deep technical expertise across disciplines, you consistently drive high-quality mission outcomes.

As a successful candidate, you will connect deep and diverse technical expertise with broader Laboratory objectives, perform independent research, develop creative approaches, and translate broad strategy into executable plans. You will work across or guide multidisciplinary teams through ambiguous trade-offs; helping develop and execute programs, creating briefings and reports, and often interfacing with sponsors. You effectively support sponsor, mission-partner, and Laboratory leadership's needs through daily or weekly technical briefings, program documentation, proposals, and may conduct advanced capability road mapping and development. You will also guide and mentor Associate Technical Staff, Assistant Technical Staff, and other technical support personnel.

Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead projects, complex programs, major technical workstreams, multi-program initiatives, or technical portfolios involving multidisciplinary development, analysis, prototyping, integration, testing, evaluation, and technology transition.
• Apply deep technical expertise and systems-level judgment to highly complex and ambiguous problems, evaluating alternatives, trade-offs, risks, stakeholder needs, and mission implications.
• Translate broad or unclear objectives into actionable technical plans and influence program direction, architectures, systems, priorities, and roadmaps across teams, Groups, or mission areas.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, sponsors, mission partners, and internal leaders to align priorities, resolve dependencies, and guide decisions and deliverables.
• Assess and improve technical tools, processes, methods, documentation, execution practices, and organizational capability.
• Serve as a technical resource and mentor by reviewing work, framing trade-offs and risks, and developing staff and emerging leaders.
• Contribute substantially to papers, reports, presentations, proposals, grants, roadmaps, and other materials that advance mission outcomes and technical direction.

Minimum Qualifications

Candidates will be considered for the appropriate level based on their education, experience, demonstrated technical expertise and breadth, leadership responsibilities, and the scale and complexity of programs or technical efforts they have led.

Level 5 - Technical Staff

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline or other relevant technical field and typically 6+ years of relevant experience; or Master's degree and typically 4+ years of relevant experience; or PhD and typically 0+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Diverse technical expertise with demonstrated ability to adapt that expertise to unfamiliar or emerging disciplines, systems, mission areas, or methods.
• Established education, skills, and experience demonstrating the ability to apply significant technical judgment to broad challenges requiring integration across related systems or methods.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects or major workstreams and deliver complex technical outcomes.
• Experience evaluating trade-offs, recommending paths forward, and adapting technical approaches to evolving project needs.
• Demonstrated mentorship, collaboration, and ability to communicate recommendations, risks, and technical findings to varied audiences.
• Experience contributing to technical reports, papers, presentations, proposals, or other formal technical deliverables.

Level 6 - Technical Staff

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline or other relevant technical field and typically 8+ years of relevant experience; or Master's degree and typically 6+ years of relevant experience; or PhD and typically 2+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Deep and diverse technical expertise with demonstrated ability to integrate knowledge across domains and establish direction in evolving systems or mission areas.
• Established education, skills, and experience demonstrating the ability to incorporate technical judgment, program context, and stakeholder input to solve broad technical challenges.
• Proven experience leading complex programs, significant program elements, or multi-team technical efforts.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate alternatives, manage technical ambiguity, and influence decisions across teams or stakeholder groups.
• Strong record of mentorship, collaboration, technical communication, and contribution to team or Group capability development.
• Experience contributing to proposals, publications, technical reports, presentations, or other materials that shape program direction or technical initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

Technical Staff 5 Hiring Range: $140,000 - $187,000

Technical Staff 6 Hiring Range: $155,000 - $207,000

Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including-but not limited to-the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate's experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.

At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, our exceptional career opportunities include many outstanding benefits to help you stay healthy, feel supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work-life balance. Benefits offered to employees include:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT-funded pension
• Matching 401K
• Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• A range of work-life balance options
• ... and much more!

Please visit our Benefits page for more information. As an employee of MIT, you can also take advantage of other voluntary benefits, discounts and perks.

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.

Requisition ID: 43696