Data Scientist

SAIC; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking a Data Scientist to provide SETA support for the NRO Ground Enterprise Directorate (GED) in Chantilly, VA. The role focuses on acquiring systems across the end-to-end life cycle, including AI/ML-driven software services. An active TS/SCI with poly is required.

You will collect data to enable explainability of AI/ML systems, support ML analytics programs, and assist government managers in planning future cloud-based architectures with development contractors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in STEM with five+ years of experience; Master’s with three+ years; PhD with 0 years.
• Active Top Secret Clearance with Polygraph.
• 5 years of SharePoint development, site customization, and workflow automation.
• Proficiency with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, React, and REST APIs.
• Familiarity with Power Automate, Power BI, and PowerShell scripting for automation and data management tasks.
• Experience with Git-based version control; exposure to DevSecOps tooling.
• Strong engineering background with software architectures and machine learning knowledge.
• Experience with ontologies, training dataset generation, model evaluation/validation, and responsible AI practices.
• Knowledge of Agile software development (Scrum, SAFe) and cloud architectures; monitoring progress with agile metrics.
• Tableau Certified Data Analyst or equivalent is a plus.
• Excellent initiative, problem-solving, and teamwork; strong written and oral communication.

Responsibilities

• Provide data collection and analysis to enable transparency and explainability of AI/ML systems.
• Provide technical and engineering support to Government to manage ML analytics programs; develop and scale AI/ML models.
• Provide software architecture and other technical expertise to support planning of future systems and architectures, and oversight of development contractors.
• Apply systems analysis and design methodology to identify technical debt, architectural runway, and efficiency trade-offs in cloud-based software design.
• Develop briefings and documentation illustrating features, capabilities and mission use cases for computer vision tool portfolio; develop technical roadmaps and acquisition strategies.
• Facilitate technical and programmatic interchanges; identify and resolve issues; provide engineering and technical advice to achieve innovative capabilities for automated ML analytics.
• Work side-by-side with GED SETA staff to lead the customer in acquiring modern processing applications.

Job description

Job ID 2615913

Location Chantilly, VA, US

Date Posted 2026-08-20

Category Engineering and Sciences

Subcategory Modeling/Sim Engr

Schedule Full-Time

Shift Day Job

Travel No

Minimum Clearance Required TS.SCI_wPoly

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain None

Potential for Remote Work ORA_ON_SITE

Description

SAIC is seeking a Data Scientist to provide Systems Engineer Technical Advisor (SETA) services supporting the NRO’s Ground Enterprise Directorate (GED) in Chantilly, VA, responsible for the acquisition of systems over the complete end-to-end life cycle.

Note All candidates must have an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph to be considered for this role.

As the Data Scientist, you will provide specialized technical and engineering expertise supporting the acquisition of software services reliant on artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). SAIC’s client is tasked with leading the integration of mission focused tools to foster increased efficiency, automation and information sharing. You will also assist and advise Government managers responsible for the complete end-to-end life cycle of the customer's Ground Enterprise.

• Key duties of this position include (but are not limited to)
• Provide data collection and analysis to enable transparency and explainability of AI/ML systems.
• Provide technical and engineering support to the Government customer to manage machine learning analytics programs; apply knowledge and experience to develop and scale AI/ML models in multiple phenomenologies.
• Provide software architecture and other technical expertise to support the planning of future systems and architectures, and oversight of development contractors.
• Apply systems analysis and design methodology assessments to identify technical debt, architectural runway and efficiency trade-offs against current and proposed/desired cloud-based software system design.
• Develop briefings and documentation material to illustrate features, capabilities and mission use cases for the computer vision tool portfolio, including developing technical roadmaps and the acquisition strategies/documentation to implement them.
• Facilitate technical and programmatic interchanges; identify and resolve issues; and provide engineering and technical advice to the customer to achieve innovative capabilities for automated machine learning analytics.
• You will work side‑side with the other GED SETA staff comprised of world class System Engineers, Acquisition Engineers and Domain Experts to lead the customer in acquiring modern processing applications.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree, or higher, in STEM related field of study such as Computer Programming, Information Systems, or similar with five (5) years or more experience; Masters and three (3) years or more experience; PhD and 0 years related experience. Relevant experience to be substituted in lieu of degree.
• Active Top Secret Clearance with Polygraph.
• 5 years of experience in SharePoint development, site customization, and workflow automation.
• Demonstrated proficiency with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, React, and REST APIs.
• Familiarity with Power Automate, Power BI, and PowerShell scripting for automation and data management tasks.
• Experience with Git based version control; exposure to DevSecOps aligned digital engineering toolchains
• Strong engineering background with knowledge of software architectures and machine learning approaches.
• Experience with ontologies, training dataset generation, model evaluation and validation, and responsible AI practices.
• Domain knowledge in Agile software development practices (Scrum, SAFe) and cloud computing architectures with experience monitoring software development progress via agile metrics, identifying risks, discrepancies, and performance issues.
• Relevant certifications may include Tableau Certified Data Analyst, or equivalent are a PLUS.
• Demonstrated high level of initiative, creative problem-solving, and critical thinking.
• Demonstrated capability and success working in team environments.
• Strong oral and written communications ability on significant technical matters often requiring coordination within a high-tempo environment.
• Good working knowledge of MS Office applications.

Target salary range $120,001 - $160,000. The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors.