Artificial Intelligence SME

Tunnell Government Services; Washington; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Tunnell Government Services seeks an Artificial Intelligence SME to support BARDA in Washington, DC, applying AI/ML to vaccine and therapeutic development, diagnostics, and health security. You will advise leadership and technical teams on AI integration across BARDA programs, ensuring scientific rigor and policy compliance.

The role requires advanced degrees and extensive experience in AI within healthcare/biomedical contexts, with a strong emphasis on data governance and production deployment.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree required and relevant field experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML applications to healthcare/biomedical research.
• Experience communicating complex AI concepts to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Advise BARDA leadership on AI trends, opportunities, and risks for vaccines/therapeutics.
• Evaluate AI-enabled technologies, tools, and proposals within BARDA divisions.
• Assess AI approaches in diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines including review of algorithms.
• Guide design, implementation, and validation of AI applications for scientific rigor and compliance with federal policies.
• Contribute to policies, standards, and ethical frameworks governing AI use within BARDA.
• Perform expert analysis of AI tools and data needs for biotech R&D.

Skills

AI governance

Algorithm development

Data modeling

Medical/biomedical data

Stakeholder communication

Education

Ph.D. or M.S. in Computer Science/Data Science/Engineering/Bioinformatics or related field

Tools

Cloud platforms

Job description

Artificial Intelligence SME

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) in artificial intelligence with a focus on healthcare and biomedical research is needed to provide contracted support to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, DC. The mission of BARDA is to develop and procure medical countermeasures (MCM) that address the public health and medical consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) accidents, incidents and attacks, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases. Specifically, BARDA supports the advanced development and procurement of drugs, vaccines and other products that are considered priorities for national health security. For more information on BARDA please visit http://www.phe.gov/about/BARDA/Pages/default.aspx.

Specifically, this individual will provide strategic, technical, and scientific expertise on the application of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and advanced data analytics to BARDA’s mission of developing and procuring medical countermeasures (MCMs) for public health emergencies. The AI SME will advise leadership, program managers, and technical teams on the integration of AI technologies across BARDA’s programs, ensuring the agency remains at the forefront of innovation in biodefense, pandemic preparedness, and health security.

Major Duties & Responsibilities:

• Advise BARDA leadership on emerging trends, opportunities, and risks in AI and related technologies for vaccines and/or therapeutics development.
• Provide subject matter expertise to BARDA divisions in evaluating AI-enabled technologies, tools, and proposals.
• Assess AI approaches used in diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines including review of algorithms and algorithm performance
• Guide the design, implementation, and validation of AI applications to ensure scientific rigor, transparency, and compliance with federal policies.
• Contribute to the formulation of policies, standards, and ethical frameworks governing AI use within BARDA.
• Perform expert analysis and provide recommendations for applications of machine learning/artificial intelligence tools and capabilities to field of biotech research and development (e.g. digital health, drug discovery and design, clinical validation).
• Evaluating diverse data sets for use with AI products/tools, such as EHR, claims, laboratory/clinical data, physiological data, genomic data, viral variant data, and/or social determinants of health data.
• Advising on improvements to data collection and curation, developing standards, and developing data use and sharing agreements to enable AI applications
• Advising R&D partnerships developing artificial intelligence products/tools to improve model function, design clinical validation studies, and implement production deployment and maintenance processes.

Requirements:

• Advanced degree (Ph.D. or M.S) in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field
• 15+ years of experience in vaccines and/or therapeutics development
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience applying AI/ML in healthcare, biomedical research, or health security contexts
• Demonstrated expertise in algorithm development, data modeling, and AI governance
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex AI concepts to diverse stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience serving as technical expert and leader in machine learning/artificial intelligence, data analytics, and algorithm development using medical and/or biological data.
• Demonstrated understanding of software development principles and cloud-based platforms and services relevant to AI development.
• Expertise in understanding artificial intelligence model function, clinical validation, production deployment, and ongoing maintenance

Must be a US Citizen or Full Green Card holder.

Tunnell strives to hire and retain the most qualified talent. We believe that having employees with different backgrounds and capabilities contributes to the success of our business. To attract qualified applicants, Tunnell posts to a wide variety of job sites. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Please be advised that certain client contracts may outline specific requirements for onsite work. Tunnell employees and/or contractors are expected to comply with all client requirements, including any safety and health protocols.