Technical SETA SME – Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Guidehouse; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 113,000 - 188,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Parental Leave

Job summary

Guidehouse is seeking a Technical SETA with an active TS/SCI clearance and polygraph to support a multidomain research program. The role emphasizes NLP expertise, LLMs, and text analytics within data‑intensive environments.

The candidate will lead NLP methodologies, contribute to AI governance, and help design and optimize NLP pipelines for mission environments, working across meetings and testing events.

Qualifications

• ACTIVE TS/SCI with polygraph required.
• Bachelor’s degree in physics, mathematics, CS, or related engineering fields.
• 8+ years of relevant work experience in physics, mathematics, CS, or engineering.
• Experience with NLP methodologies and transformer-based architectures.
• Knowledge of AI governance, data quality, bias mitigation, and mission assurance.

Responsibilities

• Provide SME support across the lifecycle of a research program, including development, source selection, execution, closeout, and transition.
• Attend meetings, workshops, conferences, and testing events as the Subject Matter Expert.
• Serve as NLP/LLM expert, including text analytics and AI-driven language processing technologies.
• Develop or evaluate NLP pipelines with preprocessing, tokenization, model training, fine‑tuning, and optimization for mission environments.

Skills

NLP

AI/ML

Transformer models

Text analytics

Data architectures

Education

Bachelor's degree in physics/mathematics/CS

Tools

Hugging Face

PyTorch

TensorFlow

spaCy

Job description

Job Family:Data Science & Analysis (ESA)Travel Required:Up to 10%Clearance Required:Active Top Secret SCI with PolygraphWhat You Will Do:The Technical SETA will provide support in the execution of the lifecycle of a research program from development, source selection, execution, closeout, and transition. The Technical SETA will be responsible for attending meetings, workshops, conferences, and testing events as the Subject Matter Expert.In this role, the Technical SETA will serve as the Subject Matter Expert in Natural Language Processing (NLP), including large language models (LLMs), machine‑language understanding, text analytics, and AI‑driven language processing technologies.What You Will Need:An ACTIVE and MAINTAINED TS/SCI Federal or DoD security clearance with a polygraphBachelor’s degree in physics, mathematics, computer science, or relevant engineering fields (electrical, computer, systems, software)EIGHT (8) or more years of work experience in physics, mathematics, computer science, or relevant engineering fields (electrical, computer, systems, software).Experiences should include, but not be limited to:Systems engineering and integration experience in complex, data‑intensive environmentsKnowledge of AI/ML (computer vision, NLP, predictive analytics, LLMs)Demonstrated experience with NLP methodologies such as text classification, named entity recognition, topic modeling, information extraction, or transformer‑based architecturesExperience developing or evaluating NLP pipelines, including text preprocessing, tokenization strategies, model training, fine‑tuning, and optimization for mission environmentsUnderstanding of data architectures and pipelines for large‑scale analytics/intelligence productionFamiliarity with AI governance, data quality, bias mitigation, and mission assurance in operational NLP/LLM deploymentsExperience creating program plans, work breakdown structures, and milestone schedulesWhat Would Be Nice To Have:Master’s degree or PhD in physics, mathematics, computer science, or relevant engineering fields (electrical, computer, systems, software) with FOUR (4) or more years of work experienceExperience in the Intelligence Community (IC), including requirements, CONOPS, and transitionExperience managing a multi-disciplinary R&D or T&E teamExperience as a Project Manager or Deputy Project ManagerExperience with NLP development tools or frameworks such as Hugging Face, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy, or similar librariesAbility to proactively manage multiple, concurrent tasksExcellent writing, slide development, and editing skills, including the ability to develop succinct, comprehensive, and understandable documents using complex data from multiple sources for technical and non-technical audiencesStrong organizational, problem-solving, and time-management skills; detail orientedThe annual salary range for this position is $113,000.00-$188,000.00. Compensation decisions depend on a wide range of factors, including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, security clearances, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs.What We Offer:Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.Benefits include:Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision InsurancePersonal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid HolidaysPosition may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonusParental Leave and Adoption Assistance401(k) Retirement PlanBasic Life & Supplemental LifeHealth Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending AccountsShort-Term & Long-Term DisabilityStudent Loan PayDownTuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning OpportunitiesSkills Development & CertificationsEmployee Referral ProgramCorporate Sponsored Events & Community OutreachEmergency Back-Up Childcare ProgramMobility StipendAbout GuidehouseGuidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer–Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at [e-mail]. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation.All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or [e-mail]. Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse. Note that Guidehouse will never charge a fee or require a money transfer at any stage of the recruitment process and does not collect fees from educational institutions for participation in a recruitment event. Never provide your banking information to a third party purporting to need that information to proceed in the hiring process.If any person or organization demands money related to a job opportunity with Guidehouse, please report the matter to Guidehouse’s Ethics Hotline. If you want to check the validity of correspondence you have received, please contact [e-mail]. Guidehouse is not responsible for losses incurred (monetary or otherwise) from an applicant’s dealings with unauthorized third parties.Guidehouse does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Guidehouse and Guidehouse will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.