Principal Scientist Manager

Introduction

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is seeking a Principal Scientist Manager to join the Health, Environment, Analytics, Risk, and Technology (HEART) Directorate. In this role, you would lead a multidisciplinary team in the development, programming, and validation of mathematical and predictive models aimed at practical solutions. The ideal candidate is a seasoned engineer or scientist, with a solid technical background in applied sciences, numerical methods, and data analysis, and someone who can explain complex mathematical models and outputs to a broad audience of decision makers and stakeholders. The candidate will work at the Algorithms, Modeling, and Assessments (AMA) Division offices located in Arlington, Virginia.

The successful candidate will serve as the Principal Investigator on an established project focused on the development of innovative computational models predicting the risk of combined injury and associated medical outcomes after exposure to nuclear detonation. These models are operationally focused on human performance within a software ecosystem in JupyterHub, supporting national security and readiness. The candidate will provide technical direction aligning with client requests to a multi-disciplinary team of experienced professionals, while maintaining a high level of scientific quality and credibility.

What you’ll do as a Principal Scientist Manager

• Lead multidisciplinary project teams to develop mathematical models of physiological response and health effects.
• Develop mathematical models and, as appropriate, work with programmers to develop scientific software for our customers.
• Work with your team to:
• Conceptualize and develop solutions to complex problems, developing pseudocode/software prototypes as appropriate.
• Mathematically integrate research concepts from subject matter experts (e.g. human physiology, biomechanics, radiation physics).
• Analyze and develop technical approaches to difficult problems relating exposure, dose, and response to operational outcomes such as performance.
• Develop documentation of methods and models for internal use, as well as for deliverables requested by our clients.
• Lead business development activities and proposal writing, developing technical approaches in response to proposal requirements, and communicating complex. concepts to a wide range of audiences.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 12-15 years of experience, Master’s degree with 10-13 years of experience, or PhD with 8+ years of experience.
• 4 years of experience in a management capacity.
• Broad science and technology knowledge base that includes statistical and finite element modeling, clustering and classification, signal processing, and Machine Learning.
• Strong desire to learn on the job, conduct research on available approaches, and apply your skill sets in new and different ways to complex problems.
• Aptitude and desire to take on a leadership role as a Principal Investigator on a multi-year contract to support modeling of combined injuries in nuclear environments.
• At least 4 years of demonstrated experience in customer communication and project leadership.
• Well-developed oral and written communication skills.
• Experience with Microsoft Office products, e.g., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Must be able to obtain a U.S. government security clearance, which includes U.S. citizenship.

Position Preferences

• PhD in health physics, biomedical engineering, applied mathematics, biological mathematics, or a related discipline.
• Working knowledge of injury biomechanics and injury pathophysiology.
• Experience in using software packages for data analytics (for example, MATLAB, Python, R Studio, C++).
• Some familiarity with stochastic modeling and uncertainty quantification.
• Experience with LaTex is considered a plus.
• Active DoD security clearance is desirable.

Company & Division Information

Applied Research Associates, Inc. is an employee-owned international research and engineering company recognized for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. The company, founded in Albuquerque, NM, in 1979, currently employs over 1,100 professionals and continues to grow. ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. The corporation also provides sophisticated technical products for environmental site characterization, pavement analysis, and