Based on the foundation of the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology, Virginia Tech launched the Virginia Tech National Security Institute in September 2021. With a presence in Blacksburg and the Washington, D.C., metro area, the institute aspires to be the nation's preeminent academic organization at the nexus of interdisciplinary research, technology, policy, and talent development, the national security institute will advance national security in pursuit of a secure America.

The Institute serves dual missions of performing cutting edge research for externally sponsored DoD/IC-relevant research and in cultivating the next generation of national security leaders by developing and executing curricular, extracurricular, and research opportunities to engage students. One of the fastest growing thematic research institutes at VT, sponsors and collaborators benefit from both highly experienced student talent and senior technical leadership that address some of our nation’s greatest security challenges. Transition of high impact technology deliverables is affected directly by researchers, through industry partnerships and/or numerous individual startups. Restricted research is conducted at state of art facilities in Arlington and a 45,000 sq foot building in beautiful Blacksburg, and these positions could be located in either.

Motivated Research Engineer applicants are sought to begin their careers in a junior research position, supporting rapid growth in our Spectrum Dominance Division (SDD), which leads ideation and research execution for:
• Secure digital communication
• Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
• Digital Signal Processing
• Radio Frequency Machine Learning (RFML)
• Electromagnetic materials
• 5G / 6G communications
• Electronic Warfare / Radar
• Quantum algorithm development

Successful candidates will have an earned Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related engineering discipline. VTNSI pays industry competitive salary and benefits within a university setting. The successful applicant will work as part of team-based research efforts, support the development of research proposals, developing skills to assist in the presentation of research results to sponsors and academic communities, support documentation for intellectual properties developed on research efforts, and support external engagement with customers during program execution. Research engineers must regularly exercise professional discretion and judgment and take professional initiative in carrying out their primary roles and assignments.