Senior Technical Lead Biometrics & Research

Noblis•Reston, VA

13d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Technical Lead provides senior-level technical leadership for the Department of State (DOS), Consular Systems and Technology (CST) in support of the IMAGES Contract. This hybrid role oversees research and guidance under this contract for complex biometric, identity management (IdM), and image processing efforts; provides vendor-agnostic technical guidance; and advises government stakeholders across acquisitions, performance testing, standards development, and audit operations, and work closely with the client and other stakeholders in an agile framework to define tasks and achieve deadlines. The Technical Lead serves as the primary technical authority for IMAGES PWS execution and ensures high-quality, compliant, and mission-aligned delivery across all technical workstreams. The Technical Lead, as key personnel under the IMAGES contract, must obtain PMP and Certified ScrumMaster (CSM).

Requirements

Active Secret security clearance.
US Citizenship is required.
Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of experience OR Master’s degree with 6+ years of experience
The selected candidate must have experience in systems engineering, biometrics, identity management, image processing, or related technical domains.
The selected candidate must have experience in leading small technical teams or serving in senior technical leadership roles.
Demonstrated expertise in facial recognition technologies, biometric performance evaluation, and match score thresholding methodologies.
Strong background in quantitative analysis, statistics, and decision theory applied to complex technical systems.
Proven experience designing and applying biometric performance metrics, audits, and evaluation frameworks.
Hands-on experience with image processing and image quality assessment in support of facial recognition systems.
Experience working with relational databases (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle) and large-scale biometric or applicant datasets.
Proficiency with analytical, visualization, and reporting tools such as Python libraries, R, Excel, Visio, and Project.
Demonstrated experience supporting federal government programs, preferably DOS, DHS, or DOD.
Readiness to obtain PMP or Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

Nice To Haves

Programming and analytical experience using Python, Java or similar languages.
Knowledge of identity management, biometrics, cybersecurity, or interoperability frameworks.
Familiarity with government technical acquisitions, including requirements development, vendor evaluations, and system performance validation
Experience supporting standards or governance bodies such as ISO/IEC SC37, INCITS, or NIST working groups.
Ability to provide objective, vendor-agnostic technical assessments and recommendations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience briefing senior government leadership.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage facial recognition (FR) research efforts in support of DOS Passport and Visa operations.
Direct FR match score threshold and face image quality research, including experimental design, metric selection, validation of results, and development of operational recommendations.
Review, validate, and approve technical guidance related to FR decision thresholds, ensuring alignment with operational risk, accuracy targets, and FR match adjudication workflows.
Define, oversee, and apply biometric performance metrics, audits, and evaluation frameworks to assess accuracy, bias, and system effectiveness.
Conduct or lead independent technical reviews and audits of biometric algorithms, system outputs, and vendor-provided performance claims.
Analyze biometric system performance using statistical and quantitative methods, including evaluation of ROC curves, error tradeoffs, and performance under varying image quality conditions and demographics.
Lead laboratory-based research and evaluations of image processing and facial recognition performance, including assessment of degraded imagery and operational constraints.
Lead image processing research techniques for detecting face images inappropriately modified.
Advise on improving photo quality and consistency for laser engravings, ink prints, and encodings on passport and visa travel documents.
Provide vendor-agnostic technical recommendations to DOS CA/CST based on empirical research and validated performance results.
Advise DOS stakeholders on biometric system design, performance risks, and operational impacts.
Support government technical acquisitions, including market research, requirements development, RFI/RFP support, source selection technical evaluations.
Lead technical drafts, review, and delivery of technical analyses, reports, and briefings for senior government stakeholders.
Lead and mentor small multidisciplinary teams of biometric engineers, analysts, and subject matter experts.
Ensure technical rigor, consistency, and audit across all research outputs and recommendations.
Support the Program Manager with administrative, logistical, and reporting functions tied to task order deliverables and interagency coordination.
Maintain and update reference materials, templates, and document repositories to ensure accuracy and version control.
Contribute to quality assurance and process improvement activities to streamline coordination and information flow.