Associate Data Scientist

Carnegie Mellon University; False Pass (AK); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University’s SEI seeks a data science professional to apply advanced statistics, analytics, and machine learning to support cybersecurity challenges for government and industry clients. You will collaborate with elite researchers and faculty to plan, prototype, and deliver solutions, while co-authoring proposals and presenting findings at conferences.

Role requires expertise in predictive modeling, statistical techniques, and programming in Python/R with experience deploying

Qualifications

• BS in data science, machine learning, computer science, statistics, or related highly-quantitative discipline with three (3) years of experience or equivalent; or MS with one (1) year of experience; or PhD.
• Willingness to travel modestly to support SEI mission.
• Background check and ability to obtain a U.S. Department of War security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Apply advanced statistics, data analytics, and ML to cybersecurity challenges.
• Collaborate with customers to identify problems, plan prototype solutions, and build final products.

Skills

Predictive modeling

Statistical analysis

Python programming

R programming

ML frameworks

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

MS degree

PhD

Quantitative discipline

Tools

R

MATLAB

Spark

BigQuery

PyTorch

SageMaker

Job description

What We Do:

Data Scientists at the SEI use advanced statistics, data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to help our government and industry clients research and solve cybersecurity challenges. In this role, you will work with our customers to identify areas where advanced statistical techniques can help tackle problems, plan and develop prototype solutions, and build out final products. You'll get a chance to work with elite cybersecurity professionals and university faculty to build new technologies that will influence national cybersecurity strategy for decades to come. You will co-author research proposals, execute studies, and present findings to DoW sponsors and at academic conferences.

Our team works on a wide range of projects. Our current work includes research in generative AI and large language models, computer vision, multimodal AI, agentic AI, and assurance of AI systems. Additionally, we craft metrics and experimental designs for large-scale cybersecurity research programs, develop human-in-the-loop machine learning solutions, and build classifiers to identify security vulnerabilities. If you are a data science or statistics expert with an interest in cybersecurity, we want to hear from you!

Requirements:

• BS in data science, machine learning, computer science, statistics, or related highly-quantitative discipline with three (3) years of experience or equivalent combination of training or experience; or MS in data science, machine learning, computer science, statistics, or related highly-quantitative discipline with one (1) year of experience; or PhD in data science, machine learning, computer science, statistics, or related highly-quantitative discipline.
• Willingness to complete modest travel to various locations to support the SEI's overall mission.
• You will be subject to a background check and must be able obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of War security clearance.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Experience in predictive modeling, data science, and/or AI & machine learning
• Deep understanding of statistical modeling techniques and advanced data analytics
• Proficient with at least one mathematical/statistical programming package (e.g., R, python numpy/scipy/pandas/polars, MATLAB, etc.)
• Innovative and inquisitive with ability to imagine novel analytical solutions to problems Thrives in a multi-disciplinary environment
• Strong communication skills
• Expertise in one or more of the following:
• Recommendation systems
• Time-series forecasting (Prophet, NeuralProphet, Chronos, Lag-Llama, etc.)
• NLP / LLMs (fine-tuning, RAG, evaluation, prompt engineering)
• Causal inference / uplift modeling / synthetic controls
• Modern ML frameworks: LightGBM/XGBoost, CatBoost, PyTorch,JAX, TensorFlow)
• LLMs / agentic workflows (LangChain/LlamaIndex/Haystack)
• Experience deploying models (FastAPI, Triton, KServe, SageMaker, Vertex AI, or similar)
• Experience working with big data (Spark, Trino, Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks)

Desired Experience:

• Experience in cybersecurity and privacy is a plus is a plus
• Experience in U.S. Government work and/or with FFRDCs, UARCs an National Labs is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to learn new concepts and grow into new areas of work

Location

Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA

Job Function

Software/Applications Development/Engineering

Position Type

Staff - Regular

Full time/Part time

Full time

Pay Basis

Salary

More Information:

• Statement of Assurance (https://www.cmu.edu/policies/administrative-and-governance/statement-of-assurance.html)
• Effective August 24, the URL for the SEI Careers site will change to https://cmu.wd115.myworkdayjobs.com/SEI .
• Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran.

Always focused on the future, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) advances software as a strategic advantage for national security. We lead research and direct transition of software engineering, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence technologies at the intersection of academia, industry, and government. We serve the nation as a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and are based at Carnegie Mellon University, a global research university annually rated among the best for its programs in computer science and engineering.

Our people apply special knowledge and skills and are part of an elite research university. We perform research and apply our expertise every day to foresee problems and exploit opportunities in software engineering, AI engineering, a