Research Scientist / Computer Systems Researcher - Mid to Experienced Level (Maryland)

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Research Scientist / Computer Systems Researcher - Mid to Experienced Level (Maryland)

Department of Defense

National Security Agency/Central Security Service

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• Summary
• This job is open to
• Duties
• Requirements
• How you will be evaluated
• Required documents
• How to apply

Summary

NSA is in search of Computer Science professionals to solve complex problems, test innovative approaches and research new solutions to storing, manipulating, and presenting information. We are looking for you to apply your computer science expertise to projects that seek to create new standards for the transformation of information. If you want to develop technologies and tools and be a part of cutting edge innovations; join our team of experts!

Learn more about this agency

Summary

NSA is in search of Computer Science professionals to solve complex problems, test innovative approaches and research new solutions to storing, manipulating, and presenting information. We are looking for you to apply your computer science expertise to projects that seek to create new standards for the transformation of information. If you want to develop technologies and tools and be a part of cutting edge innovations; join our team of experts!

Learn more about this agency

Overview

Help

Accepting applications

Posted today · Apply by 08/17/26

Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 17, 2026

Location

few vacancies in the following location:

Fort Meade, MD

No matching locations found.

Work site options

Telework eligible No Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy. Salary $105,262 - $192,764 per year Pay scale & grade

GG 11 - 14

Promotion potential None

Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule Full-time Travel Required Not required

Appointment type Permanent

Occupations and job series

• 1550 Computer Science

Supervisory status No Federal service type This job is in the Excepted Service Represented by a union No

Drug test Yes Security clearance Top Secret Position sensitivity and risk Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

• National security

Financial disclosure required No

Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number 1260810 Control number 878177000

This job is open to

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The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Federal employees - Excepted service

Current federal employees whose agencies have their own hiring rules, pay scales and evaluation criteria.

Veterans

Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference

Military spouses

Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.

Individuals with disabilities

Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.

Videos

Duties

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NSA Research Scientists are actively expanding the boundaries of what can be accomplished with artificial intelligence, machine learning, human-machine teaming, software reverse engineering, data science, novel architectures, cyber security, high performance computing, and computational linguistics. Our experts generalize mission problems, advance the scientific state-of-the-art to solve problems, and work with other NSA organizations to get solutions in front of mission users and decision-makers.

Our researchers also have the opportunity to collaborate regularly with the scientific community, academia, industry, and other government laboratories; publish papers on unclassified aspects of our work in scientific journals and at conferences; transfer NSA technology to the marketplace through open source software releases and public-private partnerships; serve as faculty members at local universities; and participate in university and K-12 STEM outreach activities across the country.

The ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate sound judgement, strong technical skills and the ability to work effectively in a dynamic team environment, as well as independently. Excellent oral and written communication skills, and a proven track record of analyzing and solving technical problems with innovative solutions are also preferred. The candidate should have demonstrated success in conducting Computer Science research to include turning research ideas into running prototype-grade systems.

As a Research Scientist, other responsibilities may include:

• Conducting scientific experiments, documenting results, and communicating with colleagues, customers, and decision makers
• Training, testing, and deploying machine learning models
• Applying software engineering principles to design and/or develop software applications
• Designing and optimizing algorithms, data structures, modeling, and analytics to solve real-world scientific problems
• Using principles, techniques, procedures, and tools to architect and facilitate the development of hardware solutions
• Developing methods and applications for tools to exploit and analyze computer systems and network vulnerabilities
• Modeling, simulating, prototyping, and/or benchmarking high performance computing systems.
• Developing and implementing approaches to increase the productivity and/or efficiency of high performance computers
• Investigating and validating the security properties claimed by confidential computing mechanisms and architectures
• Advancing the understanding and capabilities for flexible, layered integrity measurement and attestation architectures and mechanisms
• Research, design, and prototype novel approaches to operating system, hypervisor, or firmware security
• Applying machine learning models to perform enhanced monitoring and anomaly detection on embedded systems network communications to include IoT devices using Bluetooth and other wireless IoT protocols

Please upload a copy of your transcripts from all schools attended, prior to applying for this position. Unofficial transcripts are fine at this stage. Providing a copy of your transcripts is essential since the minimum qualifications for this position require a degree that demonstrates a concentration of Computer Science (CS) courses in foundational CS areas.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a security background investigation and polygraph.

Qualifications

The qualifications listed are the minimum acceptable to be considered for the position.

Degree must be in Computer Science (CS) or Computer Engineering (CE). Other STEM fields (e.g., Engineering, Mathematics, or Information Systems (IS)) may be considered relevant if the programs contain, at minimum, a concentration of courses in the following foundational CS areas: algorithms; computer architecture (not network architecture); programming methodologies and languages; data structures; logic and computation; and advanced mathematics (for example, calculus, discrete mathematics).

Relevant experience must be in one or more of the following: computer systems research, simulation/model development and prototyping, software design, programming, computational science, algorithm analysis and design, reverse engineering, designing/developing computer or information systems, including engineering hardware or software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, visualization, human-computer interaction, data science, or high performance computing.

FULL PERFORMANCE

Entry is with a Bachelors degree plus 3 years of relevant experience or a Masters degree plus 1 year of relevant experience or a Doctoral degree and no experience. An Associates degree plus 5 years of relevant experience may be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position.

SENIOR

Entry is with a Bachelors degree plus 6 years of relevant experience or a Masters degree plus 4 years of relevant experience or a Doctoral degree plus 2 years of relevant experience. An Associates degree plus 8 years of relevant experience may be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule

Pay: Salary offers are based on candidates education level and years of experience relevant to the position and also take into account information provided by the hiring manager/organization regarding the work level for the position.

Salary Range: $105,262 - $192,764 (Full Performance, Senior)

Salary range varies by location, work level, and relevant experience to the position.

Training will be provided based on the selectees needs and experience.

Benefits: NSA offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Work Schedule: This is a full-time position, Monday - Friday, with basic 8hr/day work requirement between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (flexible).

DCIPS Trial Period:

If selected for this position, you will be required to serve a two-year DCIPS trial period, unless you are a veterans preference-eligible employee, in which case you are required to serve a one-year trial period. This trial period runs concurrently with your commitment to the position, if applicable. Before finalizing your appointment at the conclusion of your trial period, NSA will determine whether your continued employment advances the public interest. This decision will be based on factors such as your performance and conduct; the Agencys needs and interests; whether your continued employment would advance the Agencys organizational goals; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

If you do not receive certification for continued employment, you should receive written notice prior to the end of your trial period that your employment will be terminated and the effective date of such termination.

Expand Hide additional information

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Candidates with experience in cybersecurity, computer network defense, vulnerabilities and countermeasures, software development and debugging, network protocols, and those with expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) are strongly encouraged to apply.

Relevant experience in content processing, content triage, and human centered AI involving multimodal data, to include: speech, image, video or text. Seeking applicants with experience in: machine learning model research, multilingual and multimodal modeling, automatic speech recognition (ASR), large language models (LLM), agentic AI, knowledge management, ontologies, AI security, explainable AI, human AI teaming, visualization, data science, human subject research and Sensemaking analytics. Current research focus areas include: Human Language Technology (HLT), Computer Vision (CV), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), and Human Machine Teaming HMT).

Candidates with knowledge, skills and experience in high performance computing are also strongly encouraged to apply; in particular, processor and system architectures and networks, memory, tasking (accelerators, parallelism, resource management, heterogeneous computing), productivity (systems modeling & simulation, evaluation, prototyping and benchmarking), scalable algorithms, programming languages (Python, C++, Rust) and libraries, and hardware-software co-design.

Candidates with knowledge and experience in future telecommunication networks (5G/6G), IoT security, device management, machine learning technologies, Linux or Windows programming and debugging, software design and development, virtualization/containers, Cloud, Trusted Computing, and other specialized computer platforms are strongly encouraged to apply.

Desired Skills:

Applicants should have excellent problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills, and possess a range of knowledge and experience in at least two of the following areas:

• Programming (low level, high level, parallel)
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Foundation models (FMs) (Large Language Models (LLMs), as well as models for other modalities)
• Simulation/model development and prototyping
• Software engineering
• Hardware engineering
• Architectures and Distributed Computing
• Algorithm analysis and design
• Reverse engineering
• Operating systems and/or device driver development (desktop/server/RTOS)
• Cybersecurity/Computer Network Defense
• Trustworthy systems
• Computer and network security
• Telecommunication systems

Benefits

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required documents

Required Documents

Help

VETERANS AND TRANSITIONING SERVICE MEMBERS

Thank you for your service! The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions at NSA are in the Excepted Service under Title 10, United States Codes (U.S.C.), Section 1601 appointment authority.

Veterans Preference

In accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, "DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System Employment and Placement," NSA applies veterans preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5, U.S.C., to eligible candidates. If you are claiming veterans preference, you are required to provide acceptable documentation of your preference eligibility upon application.

Acceptable documentation includes:

• DD-214: "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions (Copy 4);

OR

• Certification of Service:

A written document on letterhead from the appropriate branch of the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed. The certification should include the military service dates, including the expected discharge or release date;

AND

• Standard Form 15 (SF-15)

Application for 10-point Veteran Preference (http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf15.pdf).

If you are claiming a service-connected disability of 30 percent or more, the documentation you provide must specifically demonstrate this level of disability;

AND

• VA Letter of Disability (for 10pt and Sole Survivorship rating)

You may obtain a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs reflecting your level of disability for preference eligibility by visiting a VA Regional Office, contacting a VA call center, or online (https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/).

Failure to provide sufficient documentation of veterans preference eligibility may preclude NSA from identifying you as a preference eligible candidate during the hiring selection process.

How to Apply

Help

Please visit our application site to apply:https://apply.intelligencecareers.gov/job-description/1260810

Agency contact information

NSA POC

Phone 1-844-424-4737 Email intelcareers@nsa.gov

Next steps

Please visit our application site to apply: https://apply.intelligencecareers.gov/job-description/1260810

Fair and transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy

Financial suitability New employee probationary period

Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy

Selective Service Signature and false statements

Social security number request

Required Documents

Help

VETERANS AND TRANSITIONING SERVICE MEMBERS

Thank you for your service! The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions at NSA are in the Excepted Service under Title 10, United States Codes (U.S.C.), Section 1601 appointment authority.

Veterans Preference

In accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, "DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System Employment and Placement," NSA applies veterans preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5, U.S.C., to eligible candidates. If you are claiming veterans preference, you are required to provide acceptable documentation of your preference eligibility upon application.

Acceptable documentation includes:

• DD-214: "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions (Copy 4);

OR

• Certification of Service:

A written document on letterhead from the appropriate branch of the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed. The certification should include the military service dates, including the expected discharge or release date;

AND

• Standard Form 15 (SF-15)

Application for 10-point Veteran Preference (http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf15.pdf).

If you are claiming a service-connected disability of 30 percent or more, the documentation you provide must specifically demonstrate this level of disability;

AND

• VA Letter of Disability (for 10pt and Sole Survivorship rating)

You may obtain a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs reflecting your level of disability for preference eligibility by visiting a VA Regional Office, contacting a VA call center, or online (https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/).

Failure to provide sufficient documentation of veterans preference eligibility may preclude NSA from identifying you as a preference eligible candidate during the hiring selection process.

How to Apply

Help

Please visit our application site to apply:https://apply.intelligencecareers.gov/job-description/1260810

Expand Hide how to apply

Agency contact information

NSA POC

Phone 1-844-424-4737 Email intelcareers@nsa.gov

Next steps

Please visit our application site to apply: https://apply.intelligencecareers.gov/job-description/1260810

Expand Hide next steps

Fair and transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy

Financial suitability New employee probationary period

Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy

Selective Service Signature and false statements

Social security number request

National Security Agency/Central Security Service

Agency contact information

NSA POC

Phone 1-844-424-4737 Email intelcareers@nsa.gov

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what its like to work at National Security Agency/Central Security Service, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.nsa.gov/careers/

Summary

NSA is in search of Computer Science professionals to solve complex problems, test innovative approaches and research new solutions to storing, manipulating, and presenting information. We are looking for you to apply your computer science expertise to projects that seek to create new standards for the transformation of information. If you want to develop technologies and tools and be a part of cutting edge innovations; join our team of experts!

Learn more about this agency

Overview

Help

Accepting applications

Posted today · Apply by 08/17/26

Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 17, 2026

Location

few vacancies in the following location:

Fort Meade, MD

No matching locations found.

Work site options

Telework eligible No Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy. Salary $105,262 - $192,764 per year Pay scale & grade

GG 11 - 14

Promotion potential None

Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule Full-time Travel Required Not required

Appointment type Permanent

Occupations and job series

• 1550 Computer Science

Supervisory status No Federal service type This job is in the Excepted Service Represented by a union No

Drug test Yes Security clearance Top Secret Position sensitivity and risk Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

• National security

Financial disclosure required No

Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number 1260810 Control number 878177000

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