Senior AI Scientist — Lead Data & AI for Critical Systems

Aptima; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Aptima is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead data-driven problem solving using modern AI/ML techniques for DoW customers. You will translate mission needs into system requirements and architectures, coordinate AI engineers and researchers, and own end-to-end data modeling.

You will shape proposals, customer engagements, and technical excellence across programs. The role emphasizes hands-on data modeling, stakeholder interaction, and operationalizable capabilities, with opportunities to

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in data science, computer science, applied mathematics, physics, or related STEM field.
• Demonstrated expertise in the AI/ML applications and experiments, spanning stakeholder engagement, requirements scoping, and development of technical solutions.
• Strong quantitative modeling and statistical analysis background, including experimental design, supervised and unsupervised learning, and multimodal analysis.
• Hands‑on experience with AI agent development and evaluation, including agentic workflow design, tool integration, and output benchmarking using frameworks such as LangChain and LangGraph.
• Proficiency in Python for data analysis, modeling, simulation, visualization, and development of reproducible analytic workflows; experienced with tools such as pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib/Plotly, and Jupyter‑based environments.
• Proficiency in SQL for data querying, transformation, and pipeline development across relational and cloud‑based data platforms.
• Experience developing custom metrics, indices, and analytic pipelines to operationalize complex behavioral, organizational, or team constructs using real‑world, imperfect data.
• Experience designing and executing human‑subject experiments and analyzing performance data.
• Experience leading technical tasks or serving as technical lead or PI on government‑funded programs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including proposal and customer‑facing technical work.
• Proven ability to translate quantitative results into clear, actionable insights for technical teams, behavioral scientists, and non‑technical stakeholders, serving as a bridge between disciplines.
• Ability to manage and coordinate multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance; familiarity with DoW research environments preferred.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of ML/AI models, interaction workflows, and recommendation system’s designed for skill selection or staff profiles.
• Understand the science that can inform requirements addressing trust, explainability, complexity, and characteristics of modern ML solutions.
• Serve as technical lead or task lead on AI and human–AI system development efforts, coordinating work across AI engineers and researchers.
• Translate mission needs and human performance objectives into system requirements, technical architectures, and evaluation plans. Review and guide system implementations to ensure usability, explainability, and operational suitability.
• Design and execute experiments and statistical studies to evaluate traditional AI/ML, as well as generative AI and agentic systems.
• Design, develop, and oversee analytic pipelines and performance metrics to operationalize complex behavioral and organizational constructs using real-world data.
• Translate quantitative results into clear, actionable insights for technical teams, behavioral scientists, and government stakeholders, bridging theory, data, and system implementation.
• Lead technical contributions to proposals, system designs, and customer deliverables. Present technical work internally and at relevant external forums to include conferences, customer briefings, and other venues.
• Mentor junior staff and promote best practices in human-centered AI system development. Contribute to internal initiatives for AI system development and evaluation.

Skills

Python

SQL

AI/ML

LangChain

LangGraph

Data analysis

Experimental design

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Team leadership

Statistical modeling

Experimentation

Education

MS/PhD in data science / CS / math / physics

Tools

LangChain

LangGraph

Python

Pandas

NumPy

Matplotlib/Plotly

Jupyter

Job description

Aptima is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead data-driven problem solving using modern AI/ML techniques for DoW customers. You will translate mission needs into system requirements and architectures, coordinate AI engineers and researchers, and own end-to-end data modeling.

You will shape proposals, customer engagements, and technical excellence across programs. The role emphasizes hands-on data modeling, stakeholder interaction, and operationalizable capabilities, with opportunities to