Human Factors Researcher

Job Purpose/Summary

We are seeking a Human Factors Researcher with expertise in human-machine interaction (HMI), data and information visualization, visual analytics, and AI/ML-based systems for national security and space applications. This role will be responsible for conceptualizing, designing, testing, and optimizing user interfaces and information architectures for mission-critical AI/ML-integrated decision support systems, ensuring system usability, trust, and operational effectiveness.

This role will lead the research and HMI design for complex decision support and supervisory systems being developed by Knowmadics. This will be accomplished by developing solutions that build on principles of human perception, cognition, and decision making, leading technical discussions with system end users and customers, studying and modeling diverse end user needs in complex systems and operating environments, and coordinating the work of other researchers, designers, and software engineers to implement and evaluate solution concepts on a schedule that aligns to R&D programmatic customer milestones.

The ideal candidate will be eager to collaborate with military end-users and government stakeholders—primarily in-person—to gather user requirements and integrate them with principles of situational awareness, cognitive workload management, and decision-making, to drive the development of an empirically grounded, user-centered system.

Duties and Responsibilities

§  Conduct human factors research to understand operator workflows, mental models, human-machine trust, and mission-critical decision-making in defense and space systems.

§  Define and refine human-machine interface (HMI) requirements, information architectures, and UX workflows for AI/ML decision-support tools used in operational environments.

§  Design and implement human-in-the-loop (HITL), explainable AI (XAI), and visualization approaches that enhance operator situational awareness and trust in AI/ML models.

§  Conduct literature reviews and synthesize findings to inform design and research directions.

§  Plan and lead end-user stakeholder feedback sessions to gather insights and refine designs.

§  Support onsite test and evaluation events at facility in Southern Maryland.

§  Collaborate with software engineers and program managers to ensure design concepts align with the system’s technical capabilities and are successfully integrated into the broader system architecture.

§  Quickly learn and understand various technical domains relevant to Defense R&D, including space domain awareness and electronic warfare.

§  Utilize project management tools (e.g., JIRA) to track progress, manage tasks, and collaborate effectively with team members.

§  Create comprehensive documentation for HMI designs, including design rationale, user feedback analysis, and iteration history.

§  Contribute to R&D technical proposals, technical reports, and research publications.

§  Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at industry conferences

Qualifications

§  4 years of experience working in human factors engineering, UX research, product design, applied research, or a closely related field.

§  Degree in Human Factors, Cognitive Systems Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Cognitive Science, Information Science, Engineering Psychology, or a related field.

§  Demonstrated ability to apply emerging research concepts and user research findings into actionable design and visualization insights that promote deep system level understanding.

§  Familiarity with decision support systems or complex data environments (e.g., defense, aerospace, healthcare).

§  Experience with emerging technologies such as machine learning for visualization or augmented reality interfaces.

§  Ability to present concepts and effectively communicate with military end users for feedback.

§  Ability to work with a cross-functional team of designers, data scientists, and software engineers, and understand technical limitations of decision support systems.

§  Excellent communication, presentation, and organizational skills.

§  Candidates for this role must hold an active, recent, or eligible TS/SCI Security Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

§  Practical experience conducting Work Domain Analyses and applying Ecological Interface Design (EID) methods.

§  Strong research background in data visualization, visual analytics, or human-machine interfaces.

• Experience working in research & development, research labs, or academic settings.

§  Experience with classified or military operational environments (e.g., DoD, DARPA, Air Force Research Lab, Space Force, defense contractors).

§  Experience working in the Space domain.

§  Experience designing and prototyping interactive data visualizations.

§  Proven track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at scientific conferences.

§  Familiarity with human subjects research methodologies, including designing and conducting user studies subject to IRB review.

§  Prior military service

Working conditions

§  This position is a fully remote position, but candidates must be based in the VA, MD, or DC area within reasonable driving distance to a facility in Southern Maryland.

§  Quarterly travel for up to two weeks at a time may be required to conduct user research and participate in system test event windows.

Physical requirements

§  Ability to work at a computer for extended periods.

§  Ability to travel as needed.

Direct reports

N/A