Senior Applied AI/ML Engineer (TS/SCI)

Vantor Holdings, Inc.; Springfield (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 206,000; Full time

Job summary

Vantor is seeking a Senior Applied AI/ML Engineer to join an agile team supporting Special Operations missions. You will build end-to-end data and ML capabilities, develop scalable pipelines, and deploy models and services into production for analyst-facing tools.

The role requires strong data engineering and applied data science expertise, plus the ability to drive solutions from data ingest to API delivery, with on-site work in Northern Virginia.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/Data Science/Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, data science, ML engineering, or software engineering.
• Strong Python, PySpark, and SQL programming skills.
• Experience building production data pipelines for large or complex datasets.
• Experience deploying analytics, ML, or data-intensive applications.
• Knowledge of data modeling, ETL/ELT, data quality, and analytic data stores.
• Ability to translate mission or customer problems into data/software solutions.
• Excellent collaboration with customers, analysts, and engineers.
• Willingness to work at a customer site in Northern VA.

Responsibilities

• Develop scalable data pipelines and analytics capabilities.
• Build and deploy ML models and services into production.
• Deliver analyst-facing applications and tools.
• Expose capabilities via APIs and end-to-end data solutions.

Skills

Python

PySpark

SQL

Data pipelines

Analytics/ML

Data modeling

ETL/ELT

Teamwork

Customer site readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / related field

Tools

FastAPI

Django

React

TypeScript

AWS

Azure

Docker

Kubernetes

GitLab

CI/CD

Ansible

Job description

Vantor is forging the new frontier of spatial intelligence, helping decision makers and operators navigate what’s happening now and shape what’s coming next. Vantor is a place for problem solvers, changemakers, and go-getters—where people are working together to help our customers see the world differently, and in doing so, be seen differently. Come be part of a mission, not just a job, where you can: Shape your own future, build the next big thing, and change the world.

To be eligible for this position, you must be a U.S. Citizen. This position requires an active U.S. Government security clearance, applicants who do not currently hold the required clearance will not be eligible for consideration. Employment for cleared roles is contingent upon verification of clearance status.

Export Control/ITAR: Certain roles may be subject to U.S. export control laws, requiring U.S. person status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Senior Applied AI/ML Engineer

Vantor is seeking a Senior Applied AI/ML Engineer to work in an agile and fast-paced customer environment supporting users whose mission is to solve unique and challenging problems for Special Operations. The selected candidate will be part of a small, multi-disciplinary team responsible for building end-to-end data and machine learning capabilities. This includes developing scalable data pipelines, applying advanced analytics and machine learning, deploying models and services into production, and delivering analyst-facing applications and tools.

The ideal candidate combines strong data engineering fundamentals with applied data science and software development experience. This role requires someone who can work across the full lifecycle of a solution—from ingesting and transforming large datasets to developing models, exposing capabilities through APIs, and delivering reliable tools directly to mission users.

Minimum Requirements

• Must have a current/active TS/SCI and a CI polygraph.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 8 years of related experience in data engineering, data science, machine learning engineering, software engineering, or a combination thereof.
• Strong programming experience with Python, PySpark, and SQL.
• Experience designing, developing, and optimizing production data pipelines that process large-scale or complex datasets.
• Experience developing and deploying analytics, machine learning, or data-intensive applications and services.
• Experience with data modeling, ETL/ELT, data quality, transformation logic, and analytical or search-oriented data stores.
• Ability to translate ambiguous mission or customer problems into practical data, analytics, and software solutions.
• Must be a highly motivated, self-driven team player who can collaborate effectively with customers, analysts, software engineers, and technical leadership.
• Must be willing to work at a customer site in Northern VA.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with distributed data engineering using Apache Spark/PySpark, HDFS, Delta Lake, Elasticsearch, or similar technologies across large-scale datasets.
• Experience deploying and operating machine learning models and inference services at scale across GPU/CPU clusters or containerized environments.
• Experience applying advanced analytics, including geospatial analysis, H3 indexing, graph analytics, computer vision, OCR, natural language processing, or large language models.
• Experience developing analyst-facing data and machine learning applications using FastAPI, Django, React, TypeScript, or similar technologies.
• Experience with cloud, DevOps, and orchestration tools such as AWS, Azure, OpenStack, Docker, Nomad, Kubernetes, GitLab, CI/CD, or Ansible.
• Experience building APIs or production services using technologies such as FastAPI, Django, Java, or equivalent frameworks.

Pay Transparency

Pay Transparency: To support pay transparency, Vantor includes salary ranges in all U.S. job postings. Starting pay for this role will fall within the listed range and will be based on factors such as experience, qualifications, skills, location, and market conditions. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role should not expect to receive compensation at the top of the range. The listed range reflects the expected pay for this position, and final offers will be determined based on each candidate’s experience, expertise, and alignment with the role.

• The base pay for this position within the Washington, DC metropolitan area is: $140,000.00 - $187,000.00 - $205,700.00 annually.

For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.

Benefits

Benefits: Vantor offers a competitive total rewards package that goes beyond the standard, including a robust 401(k) with company match, mental health resources, and unique perks like student loan repayment assistance, adoption reimbursement and pet insurance to support all aspects of your life. You can find more information on our benefits at: https://www.Vantor.com/careers

EEO Policy

EEO Policy: Vantor is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace. We believe in fostering an environment where all team members feel respected, valued, and encouraged to share their ideas. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.