Lead AI / ML Engineer (TS/SCI)

Location: Washington, DC (On-site)
Job Type: Full-Time
Clearance Requirement: Active TS/SCI

US Citizenship is Required

Position Overview:

Praescient Analytics is seeking a highly skilled and visionary Lead AI/ML Engineer to support a critical need with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). This critical role provides top-tier technical leadership for advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Agentic AI development efforts under the agency's Digital Modernization Accelerator (DMA) and CIO Enterprise Services Division (CIO7) initiatives.

The ideal candidate will bridge the gap between breakthrough AI experimentation and robust operationalization, ensuring that all deployed models conform to rigorous Intelligence Community standards while driving the deployment of next-generation human-machine teaming capabilities.

Core Responsibilities:

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  Technical Leadership & Architecture: Lead the design, prototyping, development, and operationalization of enterprise-wide AI/ML capabilities, with a particular focus on advanced generative AI and agentic artificial intelligence systems.
  
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  Lifecycle Management (MLOps): Establish and maintain a secure, scalable, and standardized AI/ML Operations environment that handles the entire lifecycle from data curation and preparation through automated deployment and continuous model retraining.
  
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  Compliance & Model Governance: Ensure all AI/ML models, training pipelines, and algorithms strictly meet the accreditation criteria mandated by the DIA Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) and relevant ethical AI directives (e.g., Memo U-23-0491/DI).
  
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  Assurance & Validation: Lead model validation, adversarial robustness testing, explainability evaluations, and bias detection analysis to safeguard the integrity of intelligence capabilities.
  
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  Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the primary technical interface between data scientists, software engineers, DevSecOps teams, and mission analysts to translate complex technical architectures into analytic tradecraft solutions.
  
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  Innovation & Research: Stay at the forefront of emerging AI breakthroughs (such as transformer architectures and complex reasoning agents) and formulate proactive recommendations to address complex national security challenges.
  

Minimum Qualifications:

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  Clearance: Must possess an active federal TS/SCI clearance.
  
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  Education: An advanced degree (Master’s or PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, or a highly related technical field.
  
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  Experience: Demonstrated senior-level experience leading end-to-end AI/ML implementation projects and engineering robust, secure AI operations (MLOps) infrastructure in federal or secure environments.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

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  Years of Experience: 13+ years of specialized experience designing, developing, and embedding advanced neural networks or predictive statistical modeling into production software.
  
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  Technical Domain Expertise: Proven experience with state-of-the-art transformer architectures, large language models (LLMs), reinforcement learning, and building complex agentic systems.
  
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  DIA Framework Knowledge: Deep familiarity with DIA QAF compliance, model security verification, and the transition of pipelines into cloud-native Platform as a Service (PaaS) or containerized architectures (Kubernetes/OpenShift).
  
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  Security & Adversarial Defence: Demonstrated experience implementing zero-trust concepts within data architectures and engineering defenses against model poisoning, membership inference, data exfiltration, or adversarial manipulation.
  
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  Thought Leadership: Published peer-reviewed research or widely recognized technical contributions to the broader defense/intelligence AI/ML community.
  

What You Can Expect From Us:

• Real opportunity for career growth in an environment where your achievements will be celebrated
• Constant collaboration with numerous teams to ensure client success
• A team that respects and embraces your ideas and expertise
• Coworkers that are motivated by pursuing excellence, rather than the prospect of personal gain
• A workplace dedicated to supporting and bettering public safety and government agencies

Benefits:

• Very competitive salary based on qualifications and experience
• Comprehensive, Company paid healthcare for you (We pay your premiums and deductibles)
• 401(k) with company match
• Travel & performance incentives
• 3 weeks paid time off (plus Federal Holidays)
• $5K annual training allowance

Praescient Analytics is a Certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) with over a decade of expertise in advanced analytics, engineering, and DevOps, specializing in transforming complex data into actionable intelligence for informed decision-making. Since 2011, we have supported over 40 organizations across diverse domains, including military intelligence operations, financial and fraud investigations, and insider threat detection.

Our team of experts—skilled in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, DevOps, and engineering—brings deep experience in solving complex challenges. With a proven track record in federal contracting, we deliver tailored, high-impact solutions designed to enhance operational efficiency, ensure mission success, and address the evolving needs of our clients. Praescient's innovative and adaptive approach makes us a trusted partner in delivering data-driven insights and technological excellence for critical missions.

Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
US Citizenship Required
Interested Candidates: Please forward your resume to recruiting@praescientanalytics.com and please visit our website to apply online at www.praescientanalytics.applicantstack.com/x/openings.