Machine Learning Program Lead

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain a multi-year ML research and growth roadmap aligned with sponsor priorities (DoD, AFRL, DARPA, etc.).
• Identify emerging ML opportunities and shape them into competitive program concepts.
• Develop and manage a portfolio of ML-focused research programs.
• Contribute to institutional planning related to AI/ML capability development.
• Lead and author technical volumes for white papers, BAAs, SBIR/STTR submissions, and other competitive proposals.
• Demonstrate ownership of proposal strategy, technical approach, and win themes.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities aligned with emerging sponsor demand signals.
• Build and maintain sponsor relationships to position MTRI for future work.
• Develop teaming strategies and external partnerships to support transition beyond TRL 4.
• Serve as Principal Investigator on multiple funded programs.
• Provide overarching technical direction across ML efforts.
• Ensure technical execution aligns with scope, budget, schedule, and performance metrics.
• Establish rigorous experimental design, validation, and evaluation standards.
• Serve as a technical authority in AI/ML within the Institute.
• Mentor junior technical staff and guide cross-disciplinary integration across sensing, analytics, and systems teams.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or closely related technical field.
• 12–18 years of experience in applied research and development environments.
• Demonstrated experience serving as Principal Investigator on multiple funded research programs.
• Experience managing technical execution across multiple concurrent programs.
• Experience advancing technologies across TRLs, particularly from TRL 2–3 through TRL 5–6.
• Experience mentoring or supervising technical staff.