AL/ML Research Scientist

Excelity • Herndon, VA

22h

About The Position

Excelity is seeking a AI/ML Research Scientist for a project responsible for
building the next generation Collection Management Systems for an exciting
Government customer with a very critical mission. The candidate will work with
the engineering team and customer to ensure successful development of high
profile, complex, technical deliverables that are core to the continued success
of our award-winning projects.

Unlike a traditional production-focused data science role, this position will
emphasize research, prototyping, experimentation, and transitioning innovative
AI capabilities into operational mission systems.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an area relevant to the position with minimum 12 years experience; 10 years with MS/MA; 8 years with Ph.D; or 4+ additional years of experience in lieu of a degree.
• Advanced degree (MS or Ph.D. preferred) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, or related technical field
• Deep proficiency in Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, HuggingFace, etc.)
• Experience developing and evaluating advanced ML models, including deep learning approaches
• Strong background in statistical modeling, optimization techniques, and experimental design
• Experience with large-scale data processing and feature engineering
• Experience with cloud-based development environments (AWS preferred)
• Experience with containerization and ML model deployment workflows
• Ability to translate research findings into mission-relevant applications
• TS/SCI with CI Poly

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting DIA, IC, or DoD mission environments
• Experience with search relevance modeling and Elasticsearch/OpenSearch
• Experience with graph analytics, semantic technologies, or ontology-driven systems
• Experience implementing RAG architectures or LLM-based decision support systems
• Familiarity with Zero Trust, RMF, or NIST 800-53 compliance considerations
• Experience working in cross-domain or multi-level secure environments
• Experience with OCR and document exploitation pipelines
• Experience in Agile/SAFe environments

Responsibilities

• Conduct applied research in AI/ML methods relevant to intelligence collection management and search optimization
• Develop experimental prototypes for prioritization modeling, ranking algorithms, and decision-support systems
• Research and implement NLP techniques for structured and unstructured intelligence data (PDFs, reports, OCR-extracted text)
• Explore transformer-based architectures, embedding models, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) approaches
• Design model evaluation frameworks for operational intelligence use cases
• Conduct experimentation in model explainability, bias mitigation, and trustworthiness
• Develop advanced feature engineering and representation learning strategies
• Support development of knowledge graphs, graph-based reasoning, or semantic modeling approaches
• Collaborate with Data Engineering and Software teams to transition prototypes into production-ready systems
• Publish internal technical whitepapers and research briefs to inform leadership decisions
• Support AI governance, data readiness, and feature registry development initiatives

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Flexible work schedule
• 100% Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance plans with Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Long and Short-term disability coverage
• Generous paid vacation and holiday time
• Safe Harbor 401(k) Retirement Plan with 6% Employer matching contributions
• Reimbursement for professional and training development
• Company-paid memberships to professional organizations

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level