Senior Data Scientist

Steampunk; Bloomington (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Steampunk is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced analytical models and ML solutions that drive mission impact. You will guide modeling strategy, mentor junior staff, and partner with engineering, product, and mission stakeholders to translate insights into actions.

You will lead end-to-end model development, apply advanced ML techniques, and ensure robust diagnostics, explainability, and responsible AI practices across cloud environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field with 6+ years (Master) or 8+ years (Bachelor) of experience.
• 8+ years designing, building, and deploying ML/analytics solutions.
• Strong Python and data-science library proficiency (Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn).
• Experience leading data science workstreams and mentoring practitioners.
• Experience with SQL and handling structured to unstructured data at scale.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and modern ML environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end development of predictive and analytical models including framing, feature engineering, training, and evaluation.
• Architect and apply advanced ML techniques (ensembles, DL, NLP, time-series, anomaly detection).
• Conduct model diagnostics, error analysis, and explainability studies.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers and MLOps to deploy models and monitor performance.
• Translate model outputs into actionable insights for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Mentor junior data scientists and guide best practices in coding and project execution.
• Stay current on ML techniques and cloud-native analytics to shape strategy.

Skills

Python

SQL

Pandas

Cloud platforms

Lead teams

Mentor juniors

Statistics

Deep learning

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master’s degree in related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

XGBoost

Databricks

SageMaker

Azure ML Studio

Job description

Overview

We are seeking aSenior Data Scientistto lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced analytical models and machine learning solutions that drive mission and business impact. This role requires deepexpertisein statistical modeling, feature engineering, ML experimentation, and applied problem solving. The Senior Data Scientist will lead project workstreams, guide modeling strategy, mentor junior team members, and partner with engineering, product, and mission stakeholders to translate analytical insights into actionable outcomes.

Contributions

• Lead end-to-end development of predictive and analytical models, including problem framing, hypothesis development, data exploration, feature engineering, model training, and model evaluation.
• Architect and implement advanced ML techniques such as ensemble models, deep learning, natural language processing, time-series models, or anomaly detection asappropriate formission needs.
• Conduct rigorous model diagnostics, error analysis, and explainability studies to ensure reliability, fairness, and transparency.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers andMLOps/LLMOpsteams to operationalize models, including pipeline automation, monitoring, drift detection, and retraining strategies.
• Translate complex model outputs into clear insights, stories, and recommendations for technical and non-technical audiences, including executives and mission stakeholders.
• Partner with cross-functional teams—including product, UX, and domain SMEs—to define requirements, refine model behavior, and incorporate human-centered design principles into analytical workflows.
• Lead experimentation cycles, evaluating new modeling approaches, algorithms, and data sources to continuously improve solution performance.
• Ensure high-quality, reproducible work through documentation, code reviews, version control, experiment tracking, and adherence to engineering best practices.
• Mentor associate and mid-level Data Scientists, providing guidance on modeling techniques, coding practices, and project execution.
• Stay current on modern machine learning techniques, cloud-native analytics tools, and emerging trends in data science to shape strategy and elevate team capabilities.
• You will contribute to the growth of our AI & Data Exploitation Practice!

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field and 8+ years of experience; OR
  • Master’s degree Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field and 6+ years of experience.
• 5+ years of experience designing, building, and deploying machine learning or advanced analytics solutions.
• Strongproficiencyin Python and data science libraries (Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn) with hands-on experience in deep learning or advanced ML frameworks (e.g.,PyTorch, TensorFlow,XGBoost).
• Proven ability to lead data science workstreams and mentor junior practitioners.
• Experience using SQL and working with structured, semi-structured, or unstructured datasets at scale.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and modern ML development environments (Databricks, SageMaker, Azure ML Studio).
• Strong grounding in statistics, probability, experimental design, and model validation methodologies.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to explain highly technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Experience collaborating with product teams, engineers, and mission stakeholders to define and deliver data-driven solutions.
• Understanding ofresponsible AI principles, including fairness, explainability, bias mitigation, and reproducibility.
• Preferred certifications: AWS ML Specialty, Azure Data Scientist Associate, Google Professional Data Engineer, Databricks Machine Learning Professional.

About steampunk

Steampunk relies on several factors to determine salary, including but not limited to geographic location, contractual requirements, education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $120,000 to $180,000. The estimate displayed represents a typical annual salary range for this position. Annual salary is just one aspect of Steampunk’s total compensation package for employees. Learn more about additional Steampunk benefits here.

Identity Statement

As part of the application process, you are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud.

Steampunk is aChange Agentin the Federal contracting industry, bringing new thinking to clients in the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health and DoD sectors. Through ourHuman-Centered delivery methodology, we are fundamentally changing the expectations our Federal clients have for true shared accountability in solving their toughest mission challenges.If you want to learn more about our story, visithttp://www.steampunk.com.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.Steampunk participates in the E-Verify program.