AI/ML Engineer, Senior
About this role
Addressing complex national security missions requires translating intricate sensor phenomenology into reliable, automated analytical capabilities without relying on pre-built models or standard datasets. GRVTY seeks a Senior AI/ML Engineer in Springfield, Virginia, to design, build, and deploy custom machine learning models that detect, classify, and characterize events within challenging sensor data. This practitioner will make principled architectural decisions from the ground up and integrate operational-prototype code directly into classified R&D environments.
Daily responsibilities involve close collaboration with domain scientists, algorithm engineers, and intelligence analysts to understand technical requirements and transform them into robust Python pipelines. Beyond independent engineering, the person in this role acts as a technical anchor for junior developers by conducting code reviews, establishing team standards, and guiding technical growth. Someone with a deep grasp of underlying ML mechanics, strong communication skills, and a background in national security or scientific data domains will thrive in this environment.
What you will do
- Design and implement custom machine learning models for detecting, classifying, and characterizing events within sensor data.
- Develop end-to-end ML workflows encompassing training data preparation, model development, evaluation, optimization, and deployment.
- Collaborate directly with scientists and domain experts to translate sensor phenomenology and mission requirements into sound ML design decisions.
- Write production-quality Python code that remains modular, well-documented, testable, and maintainable by team members.
- Evaluate model performance rigorously against operationally meaningful metrics while identifying failure modes and edge cases.
- Integrate machine learning capabilities into existing analytical pipelines and software environments through deployment.
- Mentor junior AI/ML developers by reviewing code, establishing standards, and actively developing technical capabilities.
- Prepare and deliver technical briefings and written documentation to customer and program stakeholders.
What you need
- Active Top Secret Clearance with the ability to obtain SCI and CI Polygraph.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Data Science, or a closely related technical field.
- Minimum of 7 years of hands-on experience in machine learning with a track record of deploying models in real operational or production environments.
- Deep working knowledge of modern ML architectures, CNNs, transformers, and object detection frameworks.
- Expert-level Python programming skills including experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or equivalent production-scale frameworks.
- Demonstrated ability to build complete ML pipelines including data ingestion, preprocessing, annotation strategies, and training.
- Experience mentoring or leading junior developers in a hands-on technical capacity through code review and knowledge transfer.
- Strong documentation and communication skills capable of producing technical reports for non-ML audiences.
Nice to have
- Experience applying ML to sensor data that includes EO/IR, hyperspectral, SAR, or other remote sensing data.
- Background in computer vision, image classification, anomaly detection, or event characterization in scientific contexts.
- Experience training models on simulated or synthetic data and managing the gap to real-world operational data.
- Familiarity with MLOps practices including experiment tracking, model versioning, and reproducible pipelines.
- Experience working with large-scale geospatial or scientific datasets that are noisy, sparse, or domain-specific.
- Proficiency with scientific Python libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, pandas, OpenCV, and scikit-learn.
- Experience with cloud-based ML training environments on AWS, Azure, or equivalent platforms with GPU acceleration.
- Prior experience supporting defense, intelligence, or classified customer environments.
- Ph.D. in a relevant quantitative field such as Astronomy, Physics, Computer Science, or Electrical Engineering.
Benefits
- Robust health plan including medical, dental, and vision
- Competitive pay ranging from $200,000 to $240,000
- Comprehensive benefits designed to support employee and family well-being
- Retirement planning support
- Family assistance and continued education coverage
- Paid time off
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the salary range for this role?
The pay range for this position in Virginia is $200,000 to $240,000 USD. Compensation is influenced by geographic location, federal contract labor categories, wage rates, prior experience, skillsets, education, and certifications.
What kind of clearance is required?
Candidates must hold an active Top Secret Clearance with the ability to obtain SCI and CI Polygraph. The work is performed in direct support of national security missions.
What technologies and frameworks will I use?
The work requires expert-level Python programming, including experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or equivalent frameworks at production scale. Additional familiarity with scientific libraries like NumPy, SciPy, pandas, OpenCV, and scikit-learn is beneficial.
What are the primary responsibilities regarding mentorship?
You will serve as a technical anchor for junior developers on the team by setting standards, reviewing work, and helping others grow. Responsibilities include active code review, identifying gaps in understanding, and fostering technical capabilities.