Staff Computational Data Scientist

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they are making history.

Northrop Grumman Space Systems, located in Fairfax, VA, is seeking an experienced Computational Scientist with expertise in AI/ML modeling. This role involves collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team on cutting-edge projects in free space optical communications (FSOC). The ideal candidate will have a strong background in computational science, machine learning, and applied mathematics, with experience in data analysis, high performance computing, and GPU-based model development and optimization. The candidate will collaborate with scientists and engineers to understand atmospheric effects on FSOC missions and develop computational solutions to mitigate their impacts. In this role, the candidate will lead a small team to develop, implement, and optimize solutions using the latest AI/ML or other computational techniques, and educate team members on the latest AI advancements. Key attributes include creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking. The candidate should expect to work in-office in Fairfax, VA, alongside a team of atmospheric scientists and systems and software/hardware engineers whose experience ranges from junior to senior levels. Additionally, the candidate will provide advisory support to the Program Manager on meeting customer mission requirements.

What You'll Get to Do:

• Design, develop, document, and test algorithms and applications that meet mission requirements
• Develop, implement, and optimize computational solutions, including AI/ML models, to support the mitigation of atmospheric impacts on FSOC
• Design and build data pipelines and analysis workflows for large datasets; deploy predictive models in production to support mission operations
• Collaborate with atmospheric scientists, systems and hardware engineers in planning, design, and development of atmospheric mitigation technologies.
• Meet with customers to understand requirements for mission success.
• Design and develop optimized computing algorithms and applications required to meet customers mission requirements
• Provide mentorship and guidance to other team members
• Work with junior engineers and atmospheric scientists to implement and validate algorithms
• Stay up-to-date with cutting-edge advancements in AI/ML

What you need to be successful in the role:

• Comfortable with requirements-analysis and stake-holder engagement.
• Strong problem-solving skills and root-cause analysis to ensure that curated data is accurate, repeatable, and explainable.
• Solid communication skills (written, verbal, and visual)
• Ability to communicate data and engineering analysis regarding conclusions that were reached.
• Ability to create and present data reports to support investigations.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Development /programming of tools to improve pipeline efficiency, eliminate repetitive tasks, and implement new analysis tools/techniques.
• Prioritization skills to manage workload and make sound decisions for assigned team's model development and data analysis activities.

Basic Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance at the time of application with ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS/SCI) clearance with Polygraph. US Citizenship is a requirement.
• A PhD in a physical or computational science with 7 or more years of experience.
• Experience applying AI/ML techniques to solve real-world problems
• Demonstrated use of High Performance Computing (HPC) Systems
• Demonstrated use of accelerated computing, numerical analysis, applied mathematics
• Demonstrated proficiency with Python, C++, CUDA
• Demonstrated proficiency with one or more machine learning and deep learning frameworks (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras)
• Demonstrated proficiency using libraries and toolkits including: TensorFlow, PyTorch
• Experience with Git and version control
• Experience communicating technical insights through development of briefings and/or papers

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with C, C++, Fortran software languages
• Experience with atmospheric science and modeling
• Experience with time series modeling, or probabilistic modeling including the use and application of deep neural networks
• Proven experience designing and building data pipelines and analysis workflows for large datasets
• Proven experience deploying predictive models in production to support mission operations
• Experience interfacing and presenting to executive audiences

Salary Range: $188,200.00 - $282,200.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.

Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.