Research Faculty Open Rank, Intelligence Community Portfolio

About the role

The Virginia Tech National Security Institute (VTNSI) is seeking to hire multiple research faculty, with a particular emphasis on mid-career engineers and scientists and senior subject matter experts who bring strong technical depth combined with program development and sponsor engagement experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of classified research programs
• Translate mission needs and operational constraints into actionable research plans, architectures, and workflows
• Cookordination multidisciplinary teams and ensure alignment across sensing, analytics, modeling, and mission integration activities
• Address interoperability, performance, uncertainty, and system-of-systems challenges in mission-relevant environments
• Serve as a senior technical contributor in priority IC mission areas
• Provide deep technical expertise in one or more areas such as ISR, geospatial intelligence, electronic warfare, RF systems, cryptography, and related cross-domain capabilities
• Guide research direction, inform technical approaches, and help establish coherence across classified research efforts aligned with areas of expertise
• Support sponsor engagement and portfolio development
• Engage intelligence community sponsors to clarify mission needs, contribute technical insights during sponsor interactions, and support proposal development and strategic planning
• Strengthen VTNSI’s research ecosystem and institutional mission
• Ensure research outputs are technically rigorous and mission-relevant
• Mentor research staff, postdoctoral associates, and students engaged in classified research as appropriate
• Collaborate across VTNSI divisions, academic departments, and external partners to strengthen technical integration and overall impact

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in engineering, computer science, physical sciences, mathematics, or a closely related discipline
• Master’s degree with experience will be considered for Research Scientist track only
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing and complex research programs in classified environments
• Strong technical background in ISR, GEOINT, EW, or related mission areas
• Experience contributing to externally sponsored research programs, including proposal development, technical authorship, or execution of funded research
• Experience working directly with intelligence community sponsors in technical or execution-focused roles
• U.S. citizenship and active TS/SCI clearance, with the ability to maintain clearance