Senior Research Engineer, AI

Aptima Inc.; Washington; On-site; USD 145,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Aptima Inc. is seeking a Senior Research Engineer to lead data-driven problem solving with modern AI/ML techniques for DoW customer programs.

You will translate requirements into operational AI systems, supervise a team of AI engineers and researchers, and contribute to proposals and customer engagements. The role emphasizes end-to-end data modeling ownership, stakeholder interaction, and delivering measurable insights while advancing best practices in human-centered AI systems across

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in data science, computer science, applied math, physics, or related STEM field.
• Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML applications, including stakeholder engagement and requirements scoping.
• Strong quantitative modeling and statistical analysis background.
• Hands-on experience with AI agent development and evaluation using LangChain and LangGraph.
• Proficiency in Python for data analysis and reproducible workflows (pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib/Plotly).
• Proficiency in SQL across relational and cloud platforms.
• Experience leading government-funded programs and multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance; willingness to travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of ML/AI models, interaction workflows, and recommendation systems.
• Coordinate work across AI engineers and researchers as technical lead.
• Translate mission needs into system requirements, architectures, and evaluation plans.
• Design and execute experiments to evaluate AI/ML, generative AI, and agentic systems.
• Develop analytic pipelines and performance metrics using real-world data.
• Translate quantitative results into clear, actionable insights for diverse stakeholders.
• Lead contributions to proposals, designs, and customer deliverables; present work externally.
• Mentor junior staff and advance best practices in AI system development.

Skills

AI/ML applications

Python

SQL

LangChain

LangGraph

Pandas

NumPy

Matplotlib/Plotly

Education

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

Tools

LangChain

LangGraph

Jupyter

Job description

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Who We Are

Aptima is a technological leader in the national security industry. Our mission is to drive the future of national security by engineering scalable solutions that fuse technological innovation with human potential to transform how individuals and teams train, develop, and perform in mission-critical environments.

Our culture is rooted in our core values, which have evolved over time and our employees have embraced: Integrity, Ingenuity, Excellence, Respect, Engagement, Teamwork. At our core, Aptima researches, develops, and innovates within an area that engineering firms largely ignore, the human component. To impact the world in meaningful ways, you must bring those innovations to light, and that is precisely what we do.

How You Will Make An Impact

The Senior Research Engineer leads data driven problem solving, including design and technical execution, by applying modern AI/ML techniques in dynamic systems that drive our tech enabled solutions for our Department of War (DoW) customers. This role combines expertise in translating problem requirements and model selection with applied AI system design and project leadership, serving as a technical lead on multidisciplinary programs and coordinating the work of AI engineers and researchers. The position emphasizes end-to-end data modeling ownership, hands on interaction with stakeholders, and translation of mission needs into operationally effective capabilities, while contributing to proposals, customer engagements, and internal technical excellence.

Key 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.

Requirements

• We are open to candidates willing to work in Aptima's Dayton office, Orlando office, or in the DC area
• 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.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state or local law.

Salary Description

$145,000 - $165,000