Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer
- University of Washington
- Seattle, Washington
- Full Time
As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state, and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills, and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities, and unique resources in an environment noted for academic excellence, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.
The Department:
The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking a Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer to join the Acoustics Department. This position will develop and evaluate techniques to infer properties of the ocean seafloor and water column from acoustic data. This involves theoretical development incorporating both the physics of the ocean environment and sound propagation, design and testing of hardware and software to support implementation, and the evaluation of the inversion techniques through at-sea experiments.
See Yourself at APL as a member of the Acoustics Department! We are seeking to hire a full-time Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer to join the team. This position has a salary range of $216,000 to $228,000 per year ($18,000 to $19,000 monthly), along with great employment benefits and competitive total compensation incentives.
The Position:
The incumbent will be independently responsible for model development, study design and planning, execution of the research activities and analysis, fundraising, and dissemination of results and data to the scientific community and the public.
Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer Responsibilities:
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 coordinated research plans with peer scientists within APL, elsewhere at the UW, and at other institutions in the US and abroad.
Conducts and/or manages data quality control, 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 through conference presentations and articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Oversees fieldwork preparation and execution, including instrument development and calibration, equipment and supplies purchasing and shipping, coordination with research vessel personnel, and on-site participation as a Chief Scientist or part of a collaborative science team.
Monitors engineering and science data quality and content in the field and makes real-time decisions on adaptation of research activities in response to changing conditions and findings.
Writes and submits single- and multi-investigator proposals, including the articulation of the scientific question and methods used to explore its answer, and development of detailed, comprehensive research project plans and budgets.
Pursues research funding opportunities through typical channels and any additional emergent relationships with additional sponsors.
Cultivates and maintains a strong rapport with sponsors and collaborators, domestic and international scientific partners, and representatives from the operational Navy.
General Requirements:
PhD in Oceanography, Engineering, or Physics with 10 years of experience, including:
Prior experience and success as a Principal Investigator.
Established history of successful fundraising, project execution, and publications.
High-level understanding of multiple engineering disciplines (system, electrical, mechanical, software, machine learning).
Computational analysis requires fluency in coding.
Must have experience as a Chief Scientist in at-sea experiments.
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)
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 Universitys application process, and to See Yourself at APL .
About the University of Washingtons Application Process:
The application process may include the completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select Apply to this position. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your My Jobs page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities, and unique resources in an environment noted for academic excellence, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.
The Department:
The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is seeking a Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer to join the Acoustics Department. This position will develop and evaluate techniques to infer properties of the ocean seafloor and water column from acoustic data. This involves theoretical development incorporating both the physics of the ocean environment and sound propagation, design and testing of hardware and software to support implementation, and the evaluation of the inversion techniques through at-sea experiments.
See Yourself at APL as a member of the Acoustics Department! We are seeking to hire a full-time Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer to join the team. This position has a salary range of $216,000 to $228,000 per year ($18,000 to $19,000 monthly), along with great employment benefits and competitive total compensation incentives.
The Position:
The incumbent will be independently responsible for model development, study design and planning, execution of the research activities and analysis, fundraising, and dissemination of results and data to the scientific community and the public.
Senior Principal Research Scientist/Engineer Responsibilities:
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 coordinated research plans with peer scientists within APL, elsewhere at the UW, and at other institutions in the US and abroad.
Conducts and/or manages data quality control, 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 through conference presentations and articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Oversees fieldwork preparation and execution, including instrument development and calibration, equipment and supplies purchasing and shipping, coordination with research vessel personnel, and on-site participation as a Chief Scientist or part of a collaborative science team.
Monitors engineering and science data quality and content in the field and makes real-time decisions on adaptation of research activities in response to changing conditions and findings.
Writes and submits single- and multi-investigator proposals, including the articulation of the scientific question and methods used to explore its answer, and development of detailed, comprehensive research project plans and budgets.
Pursues research funding opportunities through typical channels and any additional emergent relationships with additional sponsors.
Cultivates and maintains a strong rapport with sponsors and collaborators, domestic and international scientific partners, and representatives from the operational Navy.
General Requirements:
PhD in Oceanography, Engineering, or Physics with 10 years of experience, including:
Prior experience and success as a Principal Investigator.
Established history of successful fundraising, project execution, and publications.
High-level understanding of multiple engineering disciplines (system, electrical, mechanical, software, machine learning).
Computational analysis requires fluency in coding.
Must have experience as a Chief Scientist in at-sea experiments.
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)
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 Universitys application process, and to See Yourself at APL .
About the University of Washingtons Application Process:
The application process may include the completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select Apply to this position. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your My Jobs page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
Job ID: 486867371
Originally Posted on: 7/25/2025
Want to find more Chemistry opportunities?
Check out the 16,482 verified Chemistry jobs on iHireChemists
Similar Jobs
Sign Up for Job Alerts
