Computational Data Scientist

ARA Brand; Alexandria (VA); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) seeks a Computational Data Scientist to join a multi-disciplinary team developing agentic AI models, visualizations, and data analytics for DoD applications. The role emphasizes interactive notebooks, dashboards, ML models, and intelligent tools in a hybrid work setting.

You will work on data curation, visualization, ML/AI, and computer vision across defense-focused projects, with security clearances and ongoing learning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a related field with relevant experience.
• Experience with Jupyter suite and data science projects.
• Ability to obtain DoD secret clearance.
• Willingness to learn new tools and techniques.

Responsibilities

• Collect, curate, impute, and normalize structured and unstructured data.
• Develop interactive visualizations and dashboards in Marimo and Jupyter.
• Build ML models with SciKit-Learn, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.
• Create adult learning tools in Jupyter Book and visualize data.
• Develop computer vision approaches for images and video.
• Analyze outputs from physics codes and deploy tools for operations.
• Support testing, demonstrations, and classified/unclassified environments.

Skills

Data science

Data visualization

Machine learning

Jupyter suite

Python

Clearance readiness

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in data science/computational science/computer science/maths/artificial intelligence/engineering

2–4 years experience OR Master’s degree with 0–2 years

Tools

Plotly

Bokeh

HoloViz

SciKit-Learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

OpenCV

Jupyter

Job description

The Mission, Concepts and Capabilities (MCC) division of Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is seeking a Computational Data Scientist to join a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and scientists developing agentic AI models and visualization tools focused on data analytics for the Department of Defense. The ideal candidate has a passion for data science, data visualization, machine learning and artificial intelligence, analytics, and enjoys writing computer code. Representative tasks may include using Jupyter and Marimo Notebooks to create interactive training materials for weapons effects applications, building interactive visualizations and dashboards for sensor analytics, creating modern, adult learning tools for presentation and deployment within Jupyter Books, developing agentic AI tools with large language reasoning models for automating complex scientific analysis and advanced search and discovery tasks. This position will place you in a team of engineers and scientists developing a suite of software tools used by the defense community, to include interactive training materials, weapons effects modeling and simulation applications, and artificial intelligence solutions to aid research and development projects.

Hybrid work is permissible depending on the evolving project requirements.

What You’ll Do:

• Collect, curate, impute, and normalize structured and unstructured data
• Develop interactive visualizations and dashboards within Marimo and Jupyter notebooks to facilitate knowledge discovery and analysis using libraries such as Plotly, Bokeh, and HoloViz
• Develop machine learning algorithms and models using libraries such as SciKit-Learn, TensorFlow, and PyTorch
• Develop adult learning tools and applications within Jupyter Book
• Develop computer vision approaches to analyze images and video
• Conduct data analysis of outputs from engineering and first principles physics codes
• Deploy machine learning and analytics tools for operational use
• Support testing, evaluation, and demonstrations of software and analytics tools in unclassified and classified environments
• Take on new challenges and learn new skills to enhance algorithm and software performance in previously unanticipated ways

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in data science, computational science, computer science, mathematics, artificial intelligence, engineering, or related field with 2-4 years of experience OR Master’s degree in the same fields with 0-2 years of experience
• Experience with Jupyter suite (e.g., Jupyter Lab, Jupyter Notebooks, Jupyter Book)
• Hands-on experience completing projects (academic or otherwise) in data science, data visualization, machine learning, and/or data analytics
• Eagerness to learn new tools and techniques
• US citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense secret security clearance

Desired Qualifications:

• Previous internship or support to the Department of Defense
• Active security clearance
• Experience developing applications for ATAK or Android with Kotlin
• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in data science, computational science, artificial intelligence, computer science, mathematics, engineering, or related field
• Experience with a variety of industry standard tools for data visualization and machine learning such as OpenCV, SciKit, R, TensorFlow, etc.
• Familiarity with interactive visualizations using tools such as MatplotLib, Plotly, HoloViz, Julia, D3, and Bokeh
• Programming experience in other memory safe by default languages such as Rust and Java

Compensation & Benefits: Pay Ranges: From $75,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year based on years of experience, degree and any special skills and knowledge that you may bring to the position. We mostly reserve the upper half of our compensation bands for internal growth. During all call with one of our recruiters or hiring managers, they can further clarify the salary range and total compensation. ARA offers competitive benefits that address our employees’ needs now and in the future. Learn more about each of our benefits at https://www.ara.com/benefits/

COMPANY INFORMATION:

Applied Research Associates, Inc. is an employee-owned international research and engineering company recognised for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. The company, founded in Albuquerque, NM, in 1979, currently employs over 2,000 professionals and continues to grow. ARA offices throughout the United States and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. The corporation also provides sophisticated technical products for environmental site characterization, pavement analysis, and robotics.

At ARA, employees are our greatest assets. The corporation realizes that employee ownership fosters greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels. ARA gives employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take more active roles as owners. The culture is challenging and innovation and experimentation are the norm. Employees are eligible for contributions which not only add to the company’s success, but also their own through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. For additional information and an opportunity to join this unique workplace.

Innovative

: Consistently introduces new ideas and demonstrates original thinking

Enthusiastic

: Shows intense and eager enjoyment and interest

Detail Oriented

: Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well

Dedicated

: Devoted to a task or purpose with loyalty or integrity

Motivations

Self-Starter

: Inspired to perform without outside help

Growth Opportunities

: Inspired to perform well by the chance to take on more responsibility

Ability to Make an Impact

: Inspired to perform well by the ability to contribute to the success of a project or the organization

Education

Required

Bachelors or better in Data Science or related field.

Preferred

Masters or better in Data Science or related field.

Experience

Less than 4 years:

Less than 4 years:Experience in programming and data skilsl

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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