Senior Principal Scientist

Senior Principal Scientist Apply: Boston, MA: Full time: Posted Today: End Date: October 12, 2026 (6 days left to apply): REQ-0000137632Job DescriptionThe Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has an outstanding opportunity for a Senior Principal Scientist to join the Environmental and Information Systems Department. This is a full-time Massachusetts-based position.About this OpportunityReporting to the Senior Principal Oceanographer, the Senior Principal Scientist will support research that is focused on advancing the fundamental understanding and practical application of underwater acoustic signal transmission, propagation, detection, and exploitation in the ocean environment. These efforts investigate the complex interactions between acoustic wavefields and the dynamic ocean, including the effects of temperature structure, salinity, pressure, internal waves, mesoscale variability, seabed composition, bathymetry, and ambient noise on acoustic performance. The major emphasis of these research activities is the development, evaluation, and application of advanced array-based sensing and signal processing techniques. The projects of interest encompass the design, modeling, calibration, and operational assessment of fixed, towed, bottom-mounted, distributed, and autonomous acoustic arrays used for passive and active sensing. Technical areas include beamforming, adaptive spatial filtering, matched-field processing, source localization, direction-of-arrival estimation, synthetic aperture techniques, coherent and incoherent processing, array performance optimization, and distributed sensor network architectures. Particular attention is given to improving target detection, classification, tracking, and localization in acoustically challenging shallow-water and deep-ocean environments while mitigating the effects of reverberation, multipath propagation, clutter, and environmental uncertainty. These projects require developing new analytical methods and numerical models, designing and executing laboratory and field experiments, integrating observational data with theoretical and computational approaches, and evaluating the operational effectiveness of emerging acoustic sensing technologies. Projects frequently involve the integration of acoustic observations with oceanographic measurements, autonomous platforms, and environmental prediction systems to improve the accuracy and reliability of sonar performance assessments under realistic operational conditions.Key Responsibilities:The incumbent will be independently responsible for study design and planning, execution of research activities and analysis, fundraising, and dissemination of results and data to the scientific community. Projects use mathematical models, computer simulations, and direct observations to understand how turbulent ocean processes across all scales contribute to the dynamics of the ocean and climate. Research Planning (15% FTE):• Conceives and develops technical strategy and plans research to answer complex scientific questions, including the development of new technologies.• Develops collaborative and synergistic research relationships and coordinates research plans with peer scientists within APL, elsewhere at the UW, and at other institutions in the US and abroad.• Assesses the feasibility of proposed methods and tests. Research Activities (40% FTE):• Oversees research preparation and execution, including equipment procurement, fieldwork coordination, and on-site participation as chief scientist or as part of a collaborative science team.• Monitors quality and content in field data and makes real-time decisions on the adaptation of research activities in response to changing conditions and findings.• Conducts and/or manages data screening, calibration, analysis, and synthesis in the context of past results and scientific literature on theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigations to arrive at scientific conclusions.• Shares results with the scientific community and the naval research enterprise through meetings, conferences, reports, and articles in the peer-reviewed literature. Fundraising (20% FTE):• Pursues research funding opportunities through typical channels (e.g., ONR, NSF) and any additional emergent relationships with additional sponsors.• Writes and submits single- and multi-investigator proposals, including articulation of the scientific question and methods used to explore its answer, and development of a detailed, comprehensive research project plan and budget.• Cultivates and maintains a strong rapport with sponsors and collaborators, domestic and international scientific partners, and representatives from the operational Navy. Personnel Management/Education/Mentoring (15% FTE):• Supervises field engineers, junior engineers, and lab staff.• Serves as advisor and mentor to graduate students and postdocs. Project Management (10% FTE):• Management of grant spending (purchases, salaries, overhead).• Prepares reports to sponsors throughout the project as well as at the close of each project.Required QualificationsTo be considered for this opportunity, your application must demonstrate you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.Minimum QualificationsDoctoral degree in Oceanography or related field and 20 years of experience. Additionally, the candidate must have:• A DoD Secret Clearance or higher.• US Citizenship. A federal security clearance is required to hold this position. The person hired into this position must be a U.S. citizen and successfully obtain and continue to maintain a Department of Defense (DOD) Personnel Security Clearance. The process for obtaining a DOD Security Clearance can be viewed using the following links: Processing Applicants (dcsa.mil) or General Investigations and Clearance Processes (dcsa.mil)Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration. Applicants who do not meet these qualifications WILL NOT be forwarded to the Hiring Department.Preferred Qualifications• Prior experience and success as a Principal Investigator on federally funded research projects.• Established a history of successful fundraising, project execution, and publication.• Experience evaluating and interpreting in-situ observations.• Recognized as a national or international authority in ocean acoustics.Desired Qualifications:• Applies extensive and advanced principles, theories, and concepts, and contributes to the development of solutions to complex problems that require innovation and ingenuity.• May create new science and/or technologies and extend them into new applications.About APL:The Applied Physics Laboratory is a research unit at the University of Washington. Our research expertise is in ocean physics and engineering, ocean and medical acoustics and imaging, polar science, remote sensing, and signal processing. We conduct research and development that is sponsored by a variety of federal and state agencies and take great pride in our long-standing status as a US Navy-designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). Our work takes place not only on the University of Washington campus and medical centers, but in field locations around the world – at sea, in the air, and on polar ice caps. We apply rigorous scientific inquiry and engineering excellence in pursuit of solutions to important problems for the good of our region, nation, and world. We are focused on building and sustaining a laboratory where all students, staff, and collaborators can realize success. We believe every member of our team enriches our research enterprise by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover, design, and deliver solutions. We invite you to explore our laboratory, to find answers to Common Questions about the University’s application process, and to See Yourself at APL.Compensation, Benefits and Position DetailsPay Range Minimum:$216,000.00 annualPay Range Maximum:$250,008.00 annualOther Compensation:-Benefits:For information about benefits for this position, visit https://www.washington.edu/jobs/benefits-for-uw-staff/Shift:First Shift (United States of America)Temporary or Regular?This is a regular positionFTE (Full-Time Equivalent):100.00%Union/Bargaining Unit:Not Applicable