Assistant Research Scientist (PREP0003670)

Assistant Research Scientist (PREP0003670)

Requisition #: A-171267-26

Status: Part Time

Type: Faculty

School: Whiting School of Engineering

Department/Program: Commercial and Government Programs Office

Salary: $20-$30 per hour

Location City: Gaithersburg

Location State: MD

Location Zip Code: 20899

Closing Date:
Open until filled

To apply:

General Description

Prep Proposal

Developing an Evaluation Framework for Digital Watermarking Technologies

Project Description

This project focuses on contributing to the development of a study on digital watermarking technologies.

The student(s) will explore how watermarking techniques are used for protecting digital content and the challenges involved in evaluating their robustness, imperceptibility, and effectiveness.

The project aims to build foundational understanding and draft an initial evaluation strategy, supporting broader work at NIST in digital content integrity.

Key Responsibilities

?     Conduct a literature survey on state-of-the-art watermarking techniques (image, video, audio, and document-based).

?     Familiarize with existing watermarking tools and open-source implementations.

?     Understand NIST's role and ongoing efforts in digital content protection and cryptographic standards.

?     Propose evaluation metrics, transformation pipelines (stress-testing such as compression, cropping, rotation, noise, etc.), and potential testbeds for watermark robustness testing.

?     Draft a preliminary evaluation plan or roadmap that could guide future benchmarking activities.

Deliverables

?     Annotated bibliography of key watermarking research.

?     Summary report of explored tools and their features.

?     Draft evaluation framework document (with proposed metrics and methodology).

?     Prototype implementation or scripts for transformation and detection scenarios.

Qualifications

?     Background in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

?     Education level: graduate student or higher.

?     Strong interest in digital media security, cryptography, or multimedia processing.

?     Experience with Python, MATLAB, or image/audio processing tools is preferred.

?     Familiarity with scientific reading and technical writing.

Application Instructions

Please upload the following with your application:

-         CV/Resume

*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info.

Your resume will not be considered if the following information is included on your CV/resume.

-         Self portraits

-         Phone number

-         Home address/Country

-         Citizenship status

-         Languages spoken

-         Sex/Gender

Privacy Act Statement

Authority:  15 § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose:  The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the  which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.  

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics.

This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses:  NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements.

Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices:  NIST-1: NIST Associates. 

Disclosure:  Furnishing this information is voluntary.

When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

By applying to a CHIPS-funded PREP opportunity, you also acknowledge that participation in the project requires signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to beginning any work.

Salary Range

The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting.

Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range.

The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.

Total Rewards

Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement.

More information can be found here: .

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students.

To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic.

The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

Pre-Employment Information

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Background Checks

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check including education verification.

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Diversity and Inclusion

The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the .

Vaccine Requirements

Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida.

We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the .

Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons.

Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry.

This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM).

SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit and all other JHU applicants should visit .

The following additional provisions may apply, depending upon campus.

Your recruiter will advise accordingly. The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination.

This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing.

Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers.

Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.