Job opportunities

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Careers at APL-UW span across research and engineering, field and technical roles, software, principal investigators, business operations and administration, postdocs, internships, and more.

Every member of the Applied Physics Laboratory, from brand-new team members to long-timers celebrating decades of work at the lab, is critical to the development of cutting-edge, impactful research. And our everyday work is all the more interesting because of it! Apply now for a role where your skills make a difference.

Be Boundless!

Be Boundless at the University of Washington as a UW employee! You can build a fulfilling and impactful career while enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest with an all-encompassing compensation and benefits package and limitless professional growth opportunities.

See Yourself at APL!

Take advantage of those opportunities and more at the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. As an APL-UW employee, you not only get to enjoy the opportunities and benefits of UW, but also be a member of a team of world-renowned researchers, scientists, and engineers dedicated to bettering our campuses, state, country, and world by solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies.

Questions? Visit our Common Questions page to learn more.

Featured job

Contractor Special Security Officer | REQ-0000137038

See Yourself at APL as a member of the Security Department! We are seeking a Contractor Special Security Officer to provide strategic leadership and executive oversight of the Applied Physics Laboratory’s compartmented security program. In this role, you will serve as the University’s principal advisor for compartmented security, and build collaborative partnerships to balance regulatory compliance, operational priorities, organizational risk, resource constraints, and mission objectives.

If you are an external applicant, click the job title above to learn more or apply. If you are a current UW employee, log in to Workday and use the Jobs Hub app.

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  • Posted: September 18, 2026
  • Closing: Open Until Filled

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Software Engineer | REQ-0000138000

Bring your software development expertise to an entirely new world of possibility! The Software Engineer will be an integral member of the Ocean Engineering department, working with Principal Investigators across the Applied Physics Laboratory to design, build, and deploy embedded software systems supporting oceanographic, acoustic, marine renewal energy, autonomous vehicle, and marine robotics research. Research project sponsors include the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, Department of Defense, and collaborations with departments across the University of Washington and with universities across the United States.

Click on the job title to learn more and apply!

Research • Software/Programming