Senior Data Scientist
About The Position
Aptima is a technological leader in the national security industry, focused on engineering scalable solutions that fuse technological innovation with human potential to transform how individuals and teams train, develop, and perform in mission-critical environments. The Senior Data Scientist will lead data-driven problem-solving, applying modern AI/ML techniques in dynamic systems for Department of War (DoW) customers. This role involves translating requirements, selecting models, designing AI systems, and leading multidisciplinary teams. The position emphasizes end-to-end data modeling, stakeholder interaction, and translating mission needs into operational capabilities, while also contributing to proposals, customer engagements, and internal technical excellence.
Requirements
- MS or PhD in data science, computer science, applied mathematics, physics, or related STEM field.
- Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML applications and experiments, spanning stakeholder engagement, requirements scoping, and development of technical solutions.
- Strong quantitative modeling and statistical analysis background, including experimental design, supervised and unsupervised learning, and multimodal analysis.
- Hands-on experience with AI agent development and evaluation, including agentic workflow design, tool integration, and output benchmarking using frameworks such as LangChain and LangGraph.
- Proficiency in Python for data analysis, modeling, simulation, visualization, and development of reproducible analytic workflows; experienced with tools such as pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib/Plotly, and Jupyter-based environments.
- Proficiency in SQL for data querying, transformation, and pipeline development across relational and cloud-based data platforms.
- Experience developing custom metrics, indices, and analytic pipelines to operationalize complex behavioral, organizational, or team constructs using real-world, imperfect data.
- Experience designing and executing human-subject experiments and analyzing performance data.
- Experience leading technical tasks or serving as technical lead or PI on government-funded programs.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including proposal and customer-facing technical work.
- Proven ability to translate quantitative results into clear, actionable insights for technical teams, behavioral scientists, and non-technical stakeholders, serving as a bridge between disciplines.
- Ability to manage and coordinate multidisciplinary technical teams.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance; familiarity with DoW research environments preferred.
- Willingness to travel as needed.
Responsibilities
- Lead the design of ML/AI models, interaction workflows, and recommendation systems for skill selection or staff profiles.
- Understand the science informing requirements for trust, explainability, complexity, and characteristics of modern ML solutions.
- Serve as technical lead or task lead on AI and human–AI system development efforts, coordinating work across AI engineers and researchers.
- Translate mission needs and human performance objectives into system requirements, technical architectures, and evaluation plans.
- Review and guide system implementations to ensure usability, explainability, and operational suitability.
- Design and execute experiments and statistical studies to evaluate traditional AI/ML, as well as generative AI and agentic systems.
- Design, develop, and oversee analytic pipelines and performance metrics to operationalize complex behavioral and organizational constructs using real-world data.
- Translate quantitative results into clear, actionable insights for technical teams, behavioral scientists, and government stakeholders, bridging theory, data, and system implementation.
- Lead technical contributions to proposals, system designs, and customer deliverables.
- Present technical work internally and at relevant external forums (conferences, customer briefings, etc.).
- Mentor junior staff and promote best practices in human-centered AI system development.
- Contribute to internal initiatives for AI system development and evaluation.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
