Application Instructions
- CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student): please log in to Workday to complete the internal application process. Do not apply here.
- CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not previously employed at the university) seeking employment with Penn State: please log in to Workday to complete the student application process. Do not apply here.
- Non‑current employee or student: click “Apply” and complete the external application process.
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.
Position Specifics
We are searching for a motivated and talented Computer Science and Software Engineer to join our Applied Communications team of the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. This software engineering position focuses on algorithm implementation and integration to support a variety of research processes and applications.
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
You Will
- Contribute to the development of cutting‑edge research
- Design solutions for various system‑level needs such as applications, libraries, interfaces, and device drivers
- Apply established procedures to solve current national security problems
- Leverage your technical strengths to new and adjacent areas of interest
- Test algorithms on a variety of platforms such as in water, on land, in the air, and in space
- Design and develop software to support signal processing for communications
Additional Responsibilities for Higher‑Level Positions
- Lead software engineering projects
- Mentor employees in technical, project, and business development skills
Required Skills / Experience
- Ability to express yourself and ideas successfully to others
- Strong diagnostic skills and the ability to research, troubleshoot, and logically determine solutions while paying attention to detail
- Demonstrated ability to work through a difficult problem, using proper steps to define and formulate ideas to reach a solution
- Proficiency with high‑performance algorithm design
- Object‑oriented principles in C++ and C
- Software system architecture and infrastructure skills
- Proficiency working in a Linux environment
- Software development best practices using tools such as Git, GitLab, Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bamboo, Artifactory, BitBucket, SonarQube)
- Proficiency with containerization and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes
- Strong computer science fundamentals in hardware integration, algorithms, data structures, networking, memory management, distributed systems, security, app modularization, and databases
- Experience working alongside a varied group of people
- Understanding of mobile app and front‑end UI/UX development
Preferred Skills / Experience
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field
- Knowledge and exposure to signal processing and algorithm development
- Background in cellular and/or wireless communications
- Familiarity with FPGA programming
- Experience with database design, SQL, NoSQL, and/or big‑data databases
- Collaboration and learning enjoyment with a team of researchers
- Inquisitive mind and passion to develop the best software and hardware solutions in an action‑oriented, self‑motivated, delivery‑focused manner
- Familiarity with MATLAB, Python, Java
- Understanding of continuous integration / continuous deployment
- Ability to understand business requirements and translate them into technical requirements
- Ability to manage parallel projects and priorities
- Design experience developing ATAK or WinTAK plug‑ins
- Knowledge of cyber compliance policies and implementation requirements
- Offline storage, threading, and performance tuning
Your working location will be fully on‑site, located in State College, PA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process. This position requires periodic travel to remote locations in support of testing as part of a small team of researchers, engineers, and technologists.
Minimum Education, Work Experience & Required Certifications
- Research and Development Engineer – Advanced Professional: Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering or Science, 5+ years of relevant experience. No certifications required.
- Research and Development Engineer – Intermediate Professional: Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering or Science, 2+ years of relevant experience. No certifications required.
- Research and Development Engineer – Professional: Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering or Science. No prior relevant work experience required. No certifications required.
Background Checks / Clearances
Employment with the University requires successful completion of background checks in accordance with University policies. All positions at ARL require a governmen