Data Scientist - Subject Matter Expert

Noblis; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 276,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, life, disability, financial, &

Paid leave

Professional development

Tuition assistance

Work-life programs

Award programs

Eligibility for benefits for 20+ hours

Job summary

Noblis is seeking a Data Scientist to serve as a subject matter expert for a government contracting program focused on advanced sensing, autonomous systems, and AI/ML. This onsite role in Reston, VA centers on validating model performance and advising on integration.

Responsibilities include developing AI/ML validation frameworks, leading data curation, and researching adversarial robustness to strengthen models against threats, with direct impact on deployment in operational environments.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in a technical field.
• 10+ years in data science or ML, with defense/IC program experience.
• US Citizenship with Active Top Secret / SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design AI/ML validation and testing frameworks to evaluate model performance and robustness.
• Lead data curation and feature engineering pipelines for high-quality datasets.
• Conduct adversarial attack research and develop countermeasures for robustness.
• Support autonomous systems integration and AI architecture guidance.
• Develop analysis tools to support intelligence workflows and sensor data exploitation.
• Perform uncertainty analysis on AI outputs and communicate risk to stakeholders.

Skills

AI/ML validation

Adversarial robustness

Uncertainty quantification

Python/R programming

Education

Master’s degree or PhD in Data Science, CS, EE, or applied math

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

scikit-learn

Job description

Noblis is seeking a Data Scientist to serve as a subject matter expert in support of a government contracting program focused on advanced sensing, autonomous systems, and AI/ML. This onsite role in Reston, VA 20191 centers on validating machine learning performance, hardening models against adversarial threats, and advising on autonomous systems integration.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and execute AI/ML validation and testing frameworks to evaluate model performance, robustness, and operational reliability across cross-domain remote sensing applications.
• Lead data curation and feature engineering pipelines, converting raw multi-source sensor data into high-quality, mission-ready datasets aligned to machine learning workflows.
• Conduct adversarial attack research and optimization to identify system vulnerabilities and support development of countermeasures that strengthen models against adversarial exploitation.
• Use advanced AI/ML techniques to support enhanced characterization of sensor systems, improving detection, classification, and identification capabilities across operational domains.
• Develop and contribute to analysis tools and software that support intelligence workflows, sensor data exploitation, and decision-support applications.
• Perform uncertainty analysis on AI/ML model outputs, quantifying confidence levels and communicating risk to both technical and non-technical government stakeholders.
• Provide SME-level guidance on autonomous systems integration, including advice on AI architecture, algorithm selection, and system-level performance evaluation.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Data Science, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in data science or machine learning, including demonstrated expertise supporting U.S. government or defense/intelligence community programs.
• Hands‑on experience with AI/ML validation, testing, and adversarial robustness methodologies in operational or near‑operational environments.
• Strong proficiency in Python, R, or equivalent languages, with experience using TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit‑learn.
• Demonstrated experience with remote sensing data types such as EO/IR, SAR, and multi/hyperspectral, along with associated exploitation techniques.
• Practical knowledge of uncertainty quantification methods and statistical analysis applied to sensor or intelligence data.
• US Citizen with an Active Top Secret / SCI security clearance.

Technologies

• Python
• R
• TensorFlow
• PyTorch
• scikit‑learn

Benefits

• Health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits
• Paid leave
• Professional development
• Tuition assistance
• Work-life programs
• Award programs recognizing employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of service standards
• Full‑time and part‑time employees working at least 20 hours per week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in benefit programs

Desired Qualifications

• Preferred experience with rapid capability development and acquisition, relevant military operations, or technology transition from R&D to fielding.

Role Details

• Location: Reston, VA 20191 (onsite)
• Experience: 10+ years
• Salary Range: USD 176,800 - 276,250 per year (USD $176,800.00 - USD $276,250.00 /Yr.)
• Employment Type: Full‑time (with benefit eligibility for certain part‑time schedules working at least 20 hours per week)