Data Scientist II - Machine Learning

Battelle • Columbus, OH

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Battelle is seeking a Data Scientist to support its Health Research and Analytics division, which serves government, academic, and private-industry clients in public health, healthcare, national defense, environmental, transportation, and energy. The role addresses complex data-analysis problems across applied research projects, developing technical solutions and implementing and improving data-analysis pipelines. The position collaborates with junior staff on discrete tasks under senior technical guidance and communicates findings to project leaders and clients. It also provides technical expertise for business development. The position is an onsite/hybrid opportunity in Columbus, Ohio, with occasional domestic travel to client sites and conferences. Battelle’s flexibility model is described as 60% in-office and 40% remote, subject to team and position needs.

The successful candidate will design, develop, test, and implement machine-learning and data-analysis methods, including statistical, machine-learning, and deep-learning approaches. They will review relevant literature, develop and validate analytical methods, and communicate results through reports, presentations, publications, and client interactions. The position also involves collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, contributing technical content to proposals, supporting technical planning and budgets, building professional relationships, and maintaining professional skills.

The position requires a qualifying degree in a relevant technical field and experience with machine-learning and predictive-modeling workflows, programming, large datasets, and collaborative software development. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and able to obtain and maintain government and client-required security clearances. The stated salary range is $86,400–$123,100 per year, with eligibility factors including education, experience, skills, certifications, location, and market conditions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Machine Learning, Applied Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, or Physics (data-analysis focus preferred) and 2 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree, or a PhD.
• Experience developing machine-learning, predictive-modeling, and AI workflows, including NLP and generative AI.
• Experience implementing, testing, and validating machine-learning or deep-learning models using modern analytical and programming tools.
• Demonstrated expertise manipulating and analyzing large datasets.
• Programming experience in Python and/or R.
• Strong algorithmic programming and data-visualization skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Experience with Git and collaborative software-development practices, including version control, code review, and documented development workflows.
• Strong analytical, multitasking, problem-solving, organizational, and planning skills.
• Attention to detail, adaptability, and demonstrated ability to meet competing deadlines.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain and maintain government security clearance and any clearances required by the client.

Nice To Haves

• PhD or Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience with high-performance computing or cloud computing.
• Experience optimizing and debugging code to implement state-of-the-art machine-learning and deep-learning algorithms.
• Experience developing and integrating AI, machine-learning, and natural-language-processing components into software systems.
• Experience modeling complex biological systems and processes with statistical, machine-learning, or computational methods, including analysis of genomic, proteomic, clinical, public-health, or other scientific datasets.
• Experience working with or optimizing databases such as SQL, PostgreSQL, or NoSQL.
• Experience with Docker, Conda, Apptainer/Singularity, or comparable technologies for reproducible analytical and machine-learning environments.
• Experience evaluating and comparing analytical or machine-learning methods using curated reference, benchmark, or validation datasets, including documenting performance, limitations, runtime, and computational resource requirements.
• Experience working with Battelle, a contract research organization, or through internships, research assistantships, or applied consulting projects demonstrating proficiency in data analysis and applied analytical methods.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and improve methods for complex statistical, machine-learning, and deep-learning problems with minimal supervision and within time and budget constraints.
• Present research results to clients and participate in scientific conferences, peer-review panels, and publications.
• Review literature to identify suitable methods for statistical, machine-learning, and deep-learning problems; implement methods and develop improvements.
• Communicate regularly with project leaders, client stakeholders, and interdisciplinary technical teams.
• Create technical reports and presentations that communicate results using tables, graphs, and software tools in a manner accessible to clients.
• Contribute technical material to proposals and assist with planning technical budgets and schedules.
• Build relationships with Battelle contacts and external clients across disciplines.
• Collaborate and communicate with co-located and geographically dispersed team members on a daily basis.
• Plan and carry out professional self-development activities.
• Travel domestically to client sites and conferences as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Flexible compressed work schedule, with most teams receiving every other Friday off without using vacation time.
• Hybrid work flexibility described as 60% in-office and 40% remote, subject to team and position needs.
• Paid time off.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage with wellness incentives and benefits, plus optional supplemental benefits.
• Coverage and support for partners, gender-affirming care, and family formation.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan; for most employees Battelle contributes 5% regardless of employee contributions and matches employee contributions.
• Tuition assistance for higher education.
• Opportunities to pursue ideas in scientific and technological discovery through select funding.
• Collaborative work with world-class experts and opportunities to develop professionally and contribute to communities.

What This Job Offers

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