Chief Scientist Jobs
Chief Scientist jobs are open across biotech, pharmaceuticals, defense, tech, and national laboratories, from senior researcher to principal and C-suite scientific lead, with specializations in AI and machine learning, computational biology, and materials science. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find Chief Scientist JobsOverview
Open roles11
Top stateCalifornia
Top employerL3Harris
Top cityCarlsbad, CA
Work type50% On-site
Top industryBiotechnology
Showing 5 of 11+ Chief Scientist jobs
Chief Scientist, AI/ML
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Added 1w ago
Quantum Sky
Chief Scientist, AI/ML
Reston, Virginia
Added 1w ago
Senior Scientist, Project and Chief Engineering
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Added 2w ago
L3Harris
Senior Scientist, Project and Chief Engineering
Salt Lake City, Utah
Added 2w ago
Chief Data Scientist
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Added 3w ago
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
Chief Data Scientist
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 3w ago
Chief Scientist, RF/Microwave Engineering
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Added 3w ago
TTM Technologies
Chief Scientist, RF/Microwave Engineering
Syracuse, New York
Added 3w ago
Scientist, Chief Engineer - GPS/APNT
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Added 1mo ago
L3Harris
Scientist, Chief Engineer - GPS/APNT
Yorba Linda, California
Added 1mo ago
Added 1w ago
Chief Scientist, AI/ML
Quantum Sky·Reston, Virginia
Job functions:
$225k - $275k/yr
Doctoral degree in statistics
1,001-5,000 employees
Job Description
Description:
Project 137 is Quantum Sky's applied-research and IP engine. It is a small, cleared, elite team that builds the differentiated technology our business units take to DoW, IC, and Federal Civilian missions. It runs four pillars: Quantum, Cyber, Decision Advantage (AI applications), and Digital Platforms & Infrastructure. This role sits across all four.
The mission is to make Quantum Sky's AI better than anything a program office can buy off the shelf. Frontier models are a commodity. The advantage lives in what we build around them: models tuned on scarce and classified mission data, computer vision that finds the target, agents a program executive can trust and accredit, and the harness and hardware that run it all on-prem and at the edge. You set that bar, you lead the people who hold it, and you are the name customers and recruits recognize.
Three things you will own:
What success looks like:
The world the mission operates in is going post-quantum, contested, and machine-speed. Quantum Sky engineers the advantage across cyber, networks, software, and quantum because the mission demands dominance, not parity. We don't follow the map. We draw it.
At Quantum Sky, we believe that success starts with our people. We foster a collaborative, innovative, and mission-driven environment where every team member plays a critical role in shaping the future of technology. Are you ready to join #TeamQuantumSky?
Quantum Sky Engineering LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, [sexual orientation, gender identity,] national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any characteristic protected by applicable law.
Quantum Sky is hiring a Chief Scientist, AI/ML. You set the AI/ML technical bar for Project 137, and every team builds on your models, methods, and infrastructure. Reports to the Chief AI Officer. Onsite at the Project 137 lab preferred; remote with regular travel considered.
Project 137 is Quantum Sky's applied-research and IP engine. It is a small, cleared, elite team that builds the differentiated technology our business units take to DoW, IC, and Federal Civilian missions. It runs four pillars: Quantum, Cyber, Decision Advantage (AI applications), and Digital Platforms & Infrastructure. This role sits across all four.
The mission is to make Quantum Sky's AI better than anything a program office can buy off the shelf. Frontier models are a commodity. The advantage lives in what we build around them: models tuned on scarce and classified mission data, computer vision that finds the target, agents a program executive can trust and accredit, and the harness and hardware that run it all on-prem and at the edge. You set that bar, you lead the people who hold it, and you are the name customers and recruits recognize.
Three things you will own:
- The model layer. Project 137's shared AI/ML stack: model selection and routing across frontier and open-weight models, fine-tuning on mission data, retrieval, and inference at IL5/IL6 and the tactical edge. Every pillar consumes it.
- The harness. The AI/MLOps and agent harness that takes a model or agent from experiment to cleared production: pipelines, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and governance, running on our own on-prem compute.
- Mission evals. The test-and-evaluation framework that proves a model or agent works on a real mission task, fails safely, and holds up under adversarial pressure. It is our answer to "how do you know it works?"
What you own and drive:
You lead a core team of 2–3 senior scientists and engineers. You also hold technical authority over the AI/ML engineers embedded in each pillar: you set the methods, the stack, and the hiring bar, and the pillars execute on them.
- The AI/ML vision. Define and socialize Project 137's AI/ML roadmap across all four pillars. Decide where we lead, where we follow, and where we stop spending.
- LLMs on mission data. Fine-tune, distill, and serve models on scarce, sensitive, and classified data. Own retrieval, model routing, and inference optimization from the cloud to disconnected and SWaP-constrained environments.
- Computer vision and ATR. Lead automatic target recognition and sensor exploitation: detection, classification, and tracking across EO/IR, SAR, RF, and emerging sensor modalities, and fusion into a decision-grade picture with our Decision Advantage team.
- Agentic AI and evals. Architect multi-agent systems that do real mission work, with the guardrails, auditability, and evaluation that make them accreditable. Build the mission eval harness every pillar uses before anything ships.
- AI/MLOps and the harness. Own the path from notebook to cleared production: training and eval pipelines, model registry, deployment, monitoring, drift detection, and rollback. Make it repeatable so pillars ship without reinventing it.
- On-prem compute. Shape and run the AI hardware in our lab: GPU clusters, scheduling, storage, and networking, plus air-gapped and classified deployment patterns. Decide what runs on-prem, what runs in government cloud, and what runs at the edge.
- IP that Quantum Sky keeps. Quantum Sky retains IP by default. You decide what we build, partner for, or buy, and you shape the wrappers we build around frontier and open-weight models.
- The technical face of AI/ML. Brief program-of-record owners and CIO/CTO/CDAO offices across DoW, IC, and FedCiv. Speak at conferences, publish, and represent Quantum Sky in the AI/ML community. Support technical diligence on AI/ML M&A targets.
- The bench. Recruit, develop, and keep AI/ML talent across Project 137. You are a reason strong people join.
What success looks like:
We measure this role on fielded capability, pillar velocity, and IP that Quantum Sky keeps.
Qualifications:
Required:
- The track record. 12+ years in AI/ML, including 5+ years leading AI/ML teams. You have fielded AI systems in production that people depend on, not only prototypes and papers.
- LLMs in production. Hands-on fine-tuning, retrieval, evaluation, and inference optimization of large language models on domain-specific data.
- Computer vision. Shipped computer vision or ATR systems: detection, classification, tracking, or sensor fusion on real-world imagery or signals.
- Agentic systems. Recent hands-on work building multi-agent systems, with the evaluation and guardrails that make them trustworthy. You know the difference between an agent demo and an agent you would put in front of a mission.
- AI/MLOps and harness development. Built the pipelines, eval harnesses, and model lifecycle tooling that take models and agents from experiment to production, including monitoring, drift detection, and rollback.
- On-prem hardware. Designed, stood up, or operated on-prem AI compute: GPU clusters, high-speed interconnect, workload scheduling, and storage, ideally in air-gapped or classified settings.
- Mission context. Delivered AI/ML to DoW, IC, or Federal Civilian customers, or in another regulated, high-consequence environment. Comfortable with accreditation, IL5/IL6, and Responsible AI requirements.
Desired:
- Research pedigree. PhD in computer science, electrical engineering, statistics, or a related field. Peer-reviewed publications at top venues, patents, or widely used open-source work.
- A recognized voice. Conference talks, public writing, or community leadership that people in AI/ML know you for.
- Active TS/SCI.
- Edge AI. Fielded models in disconnected, intermittent, or SWaP-constrained environments.
- Adversarial ML. Hands-on experience red-teaming models and agents, or defending them against attack.
- Quantum-curious. Interest in where quantum and quantum-inspired methods may help AI/ML, and the judgment to tell a real result from hype.
Clearance:
- Active Secret or TS/SCI preferred; strong candidates may be sponsored.
Compensation:
- Compensation is unique to each candidate and relative to the skills and experience they bring to the position. The salary range for this position is typically between $225,000-$275,000. This does not guarantee a specific salary as compensation is based upon multiple factors such as education, experience, certifications, and other requirements, and may fall outside of the above-stated range.
Benefits:
- Highlights of our benefits include Health/Dental/Vision, 401(k) match, Paid Time Off, STD/LTD/Life Insurance, Referral Bonuses, professional development reimbursement, and parental leave.
The world the mission operates in is going post-quantum, contested, and machine-speed. Quantum Sky engineers the advantage across cyber, networks, software, and quantum because the mission demands dominance, not parity. We don't follow the map. We draw it.
At Quantum Sky, we believe that success starts with our people. We foster a collaborative, innovative, and mission-driven environment where every team member plays a critical role in shaping the future of technology. Are you ready to join #TeamQuantumSky?
Quantum Sky Engineering LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, [sexual orientation, gender identity,] national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any characteristic protected by applicable law.
Quantum Sky
Chief Scientist, AI/ML
Reston, Virginia
Added 1w ago1,001-5,000 employees
Job functions:
$225k - $275k/yr
Doctoral degree in statistics
Job Description
Description:
Project 137 is Quantum Sky's applied-research and IP engine. It is a small, cleared, elite team that builds the differentiated technology our business units take to DoW, IC, and Federal Civilian missions. It runs four pillars: Quantum, Cyber, Decision Advantage (AI applications), and Digital Platforms & Infrastructure. This role sits across all four.
The mission is to make Quantum Sky's AI better than anything a program office can buy off the shelf. Frontier models are a commodity. The advantage lives in what we build around them: models tuned on scarce and classified mission data, computer vision that finds the target, agents a program executive can trust and accredit, and the harness and hardware that run it all on-prem and at the edge. You set that bar, you lead the people who hold it, and you are the name customers and recruits recognize.
Three things you will own:
What success looks like:
The world the mission operates in is going post-quantum, contested, and machine-speed. Quantum Sky engineers the advantage across cyber, networks, software, and quantum because the mission demands dominance, not parity. We don't follow the map. We draw it.
At Quantum Sky, we believe that success starts with our people. We foster a collaborative, innovative, and mission-driven environment where every team member plays a critical role in shaping the future of technology. Are you ready to join #TeamQuantumSky?
Quantum Sky Engineering LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, [sexual orientation, gender identity,] national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any characteristic protected by applicable law.
Quantum Sky is hiring a Chief Scientist, AI/ML. You set the AI/ML technical bar for Project 137, and every team builds on your models, methods, and infrastructure. Reports to the Chief AI Officer. Onsite at the Project 137 lab preferred; remote with regular travel considered.
Project 137 is Quantum Sky's applied-research and IP engine. It is a small, cleared, elite team that builds the differentiated technology our business units take to DoW, IC, and Federal Civilian missions. It runs four pillars: Quantum, Cyber, Decision Advantage (AI applications), and Digital Platforms & Infrastructure. This role sits across all four.
The mission is to make Quantum Sky's AI better than anything a program office can buy off the shelf. Frontier models are a commodity. The advantage lives in what we build around them: models tuned on scarce and classified mission data, computer vision that finds the target, agents a program executive can trust and accredit, and the harness and hardware that run it all on-prem and at the edge. You set that bar, you lead the people who hold it, and you are the name customers and recruits recognize.
Three things you will own:
- The model layer. Project 137's shared AI/ML stack: model selection and routing across frontier and open-weight models, fine-tuning on mission data, retrieval, and inference at IL5/IL6 and the tactical edge. Every pillar consumes it.
- The harness. The AI/MLOps and agent harness that takes a model or agent from experiment to cleared production: pipelines, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and governance, running on our own on-prem compute.
- Mission evals. The test-and-evaluation framework that proves a model or agent works on a real mission task, fails safely, and holds up under adversarial pressure. It is our answer to "how do you know it works?"
What you own and drive:
You lead a core team of 2–3 senior scientists and engineers. You also hold technical authority over the AI/ML engineers embedded in each pillar: you set the methods, the stack, and the hiring bar, and the pillars execute on them.
- The AI/ML vision. Define and socialize Project 137's AI/ML roadmap across all four pillars. Decide where we lead, where we follow, and where we stop spending.
- LLMs on mission data. Fine-tune, distill, and serve models on scarce, sensitive, and classified data. Own retrieval, model routing, and inference optimization from the cloud to disconnected and SWaP-constrained environments.
- Computer vision and ATR. Lead automatic target recognition and sensor exploitation: detection, classification, and tracking across EO/IR, SAR, RF, and emerging sensor modalities, and fusion into a decision-grade picture with our Decision Advantage team.
- Agentic AI and evals. Architect multi-agent systems that do real mission work, with the guardrails, auditability, and evaluation that make them accreditable. Build the mission eval harness every pillar uses before anything ships.
- AI/MLOps and the harness. Own the path from notebook to cleared production: training and eval pipelines, model registry, deployment, monitoring, drift detection, and rollback. Make it repeatable so pillars ship without reinventing it.
- On-prem compute. Shape and run the AI hardware in our lab: GPU clusters, scheduling, storage, and networking, plus air-gapped and classified deployment patterns. Decide what runs on-prem, what runs in government cloud, and what runs at the edge.
- IP that Quantum Sky keeps. Quantum Sky retains IP by default. You decide what we build, partner for, or buy, and you shape the wrappers we build around frontier and open-weight models.
- The technical face of AI/ML. Brief program-of-record owners and CIO/CTO/CDAO offices across DoW, IC, and FedCiv. Speak at conferences, publish, and represent Quantum Sky in the AI/ML community. Support technical diligence on AI/ML M&A targets.
- The bench. Recruit, develop, and keep AI/ML talent across Project 137. You are a reason strong people join.
What success looks like:
We measure this role on fielded capability, pillar velocity, and IP that Quantum Sky keeps.
Qualifications:
Required:
- The track record. 12+ years in AI/ML, including 5+ years leading AI/ML teams. You have fielded AI systems in production that people depend on, not only prototypes and papers.
- LLMs in production. Hands-on fine-tuning, retrieval, evaluation, and inference optimization of large language models on domain-specific data.
- Computer vision. Shipped computer vision or ATR systems: detection, classification, tracking, or sensor fusion on real-world imagery or signals.
- Agentic systems. Recent hands-on work building multi-agent systems, with the evaluation and guardrails that make them trustworthy. You know the difference between an agent demo and an agent you would put in front of a mission.
- AI/MLOps and harness development. Built the pipelines, eval harnesses, and model lifecycle tooling that take models and agents from experiment to production, including monitoring, drift detection, and rollback.
- On-prem hardware. Designed, stood up, or operated on-prem AI compute: GPU clusters, high-speed interconnect, workload scheduling, and storage, ideally in air-gapped or classified settings.
- Mission context. Delivered AI/ML to DoW, IC, or Federal Civilian customers, or in another regulated, high-consequence environment. Comfortable with accreditation, IL5/IL6, and Responsible AI requirements.
Desired:
- Research pedigree. PhD in computer science, electrical engineering, statistics, or a related field. Peer-reviewed publications at top venues, patents, or widely used open-source work.
- A recognized voice. Conference talks, public writing, or community leadership that people in AI/ML know you for.
- Active TS/SCI.
- Edge AI. Fielded models in disconnected, intermittent, or SWaP-constrained environments.
- Adversarial ML. Hands-on experience red-teaming models and agents, or defending them against attack.
- Quantum-curious. Interest in where quantum and quantum-inspired methods may help AI/ML, and the judgment to tell a real result from hype.
Clearance:
- Active Secret or TS/SCI preferred; strong candidates may be sponsored.
Compensation:
- Compensation is unique to each candidate and relative to the skills and experience they bring to the position. The salary range for this position is typically between $225,000-$275,000. This does not guarantee a specific salary as compensation is based upon multiple factors such as education, experience, certifications, and other requirements, and may fall outside of the above-stated range.
Benefits:
- Highlights of our benefits include Health/Dental/Vision, 401(k) match, Paid Time Off, STD/LTD/Life Insurance, Referral Bonuses, professional development reimbursement, and parental leave.
The world the mission operates in is going post-quantum, contested, and machine-speed. Quantum Sky engineers the advantage across cyber, networks, software, and quantum because the mission demands dominance, not parity. We don't follow the map. We draw it.
At Quantum Sky, we believe that success starts with our people. We foster a collaborative, innovative, and mission-driven environment where every team member plays a critical role in shaping the future of technology. Are you ready to join #TeamQuantumSky?
Quantum Sky Engineering LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, [sexual orientation, gender identity,] national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any characteristic protected by applicable law.
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Find Chief Scientist JobsChief Scientist Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
- Consulting & Professional Services
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in chief scientist jobs.
- PhD in a relevant scientific discipline such as biology, chemistry, physics, or computer science
- 10 or more years of research experience with a demonstrated record of independent scientific leadership
- Experience managing and mentoring cross-functional research teams
- History of securing and overseeing grants, contracts, or R&D program funding
- Published body of work in peer-reviewed journals and experience presenting at major conferences
- Proficiency with discipline-specific tools such as bioinformatics platforms, computational modeling software, or laboratory instrumentation systems
Tips for Your Chief Scientist Job Search
Align your CV to the mission
A national lab reads your CV differently from a Series B biotech. Tailor the opening summary and selected publications to match whether the organization prioritizes fundamental discovery, applied R&D, or commercialization.
Target organizations by research stage
Chief scientist roles at early-stage companies expect hands-on bench leadership, while those at large defense contractors or government agencies lean toward program oversight. Identify which stage suits your style before applying, and your interview answers will land harder.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists chief scientist openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Prepare a research narrative for interviews
Panels for chief scientist positions often include board members or non-technical executives. Practice explaining your research agenda in plain language, connecting scientific choices to business or mission outcomes without losing technical credibility with your scientific peers on the same panel.
Negotiate scope before you negotiate comp
Before accepting an offer, clarify publication rights, IP ownership, team-building authority, and budget control. These structural terms define whether you can actually execute the scientific vision the organization hired you to lead.
Chief Scientist Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most chief scientists?
L3Harris, SAIC, and IQVIA are hiring the most chief scientists right now, with openings concentrated in California, District of Columbia, and Arizona, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially active in biotech, defense, and AI research organizations.
How many chief scientist jobs are remote?
About 50% of chief scientist openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, though fully remote arrangements are more common in computational, AI, and data science research functions than in lab-based or hardware-focused roles where on-site presence is tied to equipment access.
How do you become a chief scientist?
Most chief scientists start with a doctorate in their field, then build a research portfolio through postdoctoral work, industry R&D roles, or government lab positions. Advancing into scientific leadership means taking on team and program responsibility early, publishing consistently, and developing the ability to translate scientific strategy into organizational priorities. Lateral moves across industry and academia can accelerate the path.
Can you get a chief scientist job without extensive experience?
Chief scientist roles almost always require deep domain expertise, but earlier-career researchers can target the title at startups or spin-outs where founding scientists carry the title from the beginning. Focusing on a narrow, high-demand specialization and building a visible publication or patent record helps close the experience gap faster than generalist research experience.
What does the chief scientist interview process look like?
The process typically runs three to five rounds and includes a research presentation to a mixed technical and leadership audience, one-on-one conversations with the CEO or board, and a panel with senior scientists or engineers. Some organizations add a whiteboard or technical deep-dive session. Expect questions about scientific vision, how you build and lead research teams, and how you've handled projects that did not produce expected results.
Where can I find and apply to chief scientist jobs?
You can find and apply to chief scientist jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find roles that match your background and apply directly to each listing.
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