Research and Development Engineer

Full Job Description

Altamira Technologies has a long and successful history providing innovative solutions throughout the U.S. National Security community. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Altamira serves the defense, intelligence and homeland security communities by focusing on creating innovative solutions leveraging common standards in architecture, data and security. Altamira believes that our people and the culture of our company differentiate us from other companies.

We focus on recruiting talented, self-motivated employees that strive to grow and improve their work. Join our team of experts as we engineer national security!

Altamira is seeking a Research and Development Engineer to support the National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC) in advancing its critical mission. In this role, you will research, develop, and prototype software capabilities focused on space-based object visualization and data exploitation. Your work will involve algorithm development and AI/ML experimentation while utilizing disciplined engineering practices to transform research objectives into practical, scalable capabilities. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of developing software to solve complex technical problems, evaluating potential solutions, and effectively communicating results. Experience in R&D, algorithm development, or applied AI/ML is highly preferred.

Responsibilities:

• Research and Prototyping: Research concepts, evaluate algorithms, and develop software prototypes to explore technical approaches and demonstrate potential capabilities.
• AI/ML Development: Train, evaluate, and tune AI/ML models to improve data exploitation, object characterization, and visualization capabilities.
• Workflow Development: Identify operational workflows, define technical requirements, and break down research objectives into achievable tasks and deliverables.
• Technical Documentation and Communication: Document approaches, experiments, results, and recommendations while providing regular progress updates and communicating risks or blockers.
• Agile Execution: Participate in Scrum ceremonies, estimate and scope work, track progress, and deliver incremental results aligned with sprint objectives.
• Collaboration and Mentorship: Collaborate across technical disciplines, contribute to code reviews, share knowledge, and mentor junior engineers in software development and research practices.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical field from an accredited college or university.
• Proficiency using programming languages such as Python, Rust, Go, and/or C/C++, with working knowledge of algorithms, data structures, software design, and automated testing.
• Familiarity with machine learning fundamentals, including model training, validation, and performance evaluation.
• Ability to independently investigate technical problems, evaluate alternative approaches, and develop prototypes to test hypotheses.
• Ability to scope and estimate work, document findings, communicate progress and blockers, and collaborate effectively within an Agile Scrum team.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to share technical knowledge and support the development of junior engineers.
• At least 2 years of professional experience performing research and development, data science, or software engineering.
• Able to obtain a TS/SCI Clearance