Neural AI
R&D Defense Technologist
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Which company are you aiming at?
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RTX
Lockheed Martin
Northrop Grumman
Anduril
General Dynamics
BAE Systems
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The job description
Tech stack. rapid prototyping, technology readiness advancement, lab experimentation, MATLAB, Python, systems modeling, technical publishing, patent drafting
About the role
You will join a defense technology company's research organization, where new capabilities are born before they become programs and where honest data beats comfortable assumptions. The R&D team prototypes bold ideas quickly, kills the ones that do not work with decisive experiments, and matures the winners toward production and transition. Your job is to move technology from promising concept to demonstrated capability, advancing readiness levels with working hardware and measurements that a skeptical reviewer would accept.
What you will achieve
- Advance a technology from TRL 3 to TRL 5 within 18 months, with demonstrated performance in a relevant environment.
- Build working prototypes in weeks, not quarters, using rapid fabrication, commercial components, and creative test setups.
- Publish internal technical reports and at least one external paper or patent filing per year that establishes the company's position.
- Kill at least one beloved concept per year with decisive experimental data, saving the organization from a doomed investment.
- Hand off a matured technology to a product team with documentation, test data, and training complete enough that they succeed without you.
What you will bring
Must-haves
- You bring 4 to 7 years of research or advanced development experience, with prototypes or publications to show for it.
- You move fluidly between theory, simulation, and hands-on lab work, and you trust data over opinion.
- You have advanced a technology through readiness levels and understand what each level actually demands.
- You prototype fast with the tools at hand: 3D printing, benchtop electronics, commercial sensors, and quick-turn fabrication.
- You write clearly enough to publish, and you present research so both specialists and executives grasp the point.
- You handle the ambiguity of research: undefined requirements, failed experiments, and pivots without losing momentum.
- You have designed experiments that isolate the key technical risk of a concept, producing clear go or no-go evidence.
Nice-to-haves
- You hold a master's or doctorate in a relevant technical field.
- You have transitioned research into a fielded product or operational capability.
- You bring experience with government research funding processes.
- You are eligible for a U.S. security clearance.
- You bring experience with technology transition, including handoff documentation and training for receiving teams.