Computational Linguist

About the role

The Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence & Security (ARLIS) at the University of Maryland seeks a Computational Linguist to support government‑sponsored projects in autonomy, cyber operations, OSINT, and natural language processing. The role involves research, prototyping, and field deployment within a collaborative, security‑focused environment.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct R&D comparable to an Assistant Research Scientist on NLP and AI/ML projects.
• Develop, prototype, and integrate language models and pipelines (RAG, NER, sentiment analysis, semantic search).
• Lead applied research efforts and publish scholarly outputs (papers, code, datasets).
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and government partners, ensuring compliance with security clearance requirements.

Required profile

• Doctoral degree in computational linguistics, linguistics, computer science, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of research experience with a strong record of publications and technical reports.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US Secret (or higher) security clearance.
• Experience leading applied research projects and working both independently and in fast‑paced teams.

Required skills

• Advanced Python programming (scripting, data science, automation).
• Proficiency with NLP/AI/ML tools: Pandas, NumPy, BeautifulSoup, scikit‑learn, spaCy, transformers, PyTorch.
• Experience with large language models, RAG pipelines, NER, sentiment analysis, and semantic search.
• Microsoft Office suite and system‑troubleshooting abilities.