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Norfolk, VA, USA | Full Time

DATA SCIENCE AND AI ENGINEER

DEFTEC delivers mission-critical solutions through skillfully delivered services and innovative products. We are inspired by our clients' critical missions and driven to provide the most effective solutions to execute their missions, operational challenges, and requirements. Our dedicated, experienced, and talented employees work closely with our clients to ensure the delivery of exceptional services and products.

POSITION OVERVIEW

This role supports the development and operationalization of scalable data engineering and software infrastructure to enable AI and Large Language Model (LLM) capabilities across NATO's Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and the broader NATO Enterprise. Key responsibilities include building and maintaining robust data pipelines, optimizing data delivery systems, and integrating LLMs with operational environments through secure APIs and containerized microservices.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

+ Contribute to the development and implementation of an enabling data science and AI capability at HQ SACT and across the NATO Enterprise, with a specific focus on scalable data engineering and software systems to support AI initiatives.

+ Design, develop, and maintain robust data pipelines and architectures to manage the ingestion, transformation, and processing of structured and unstructured data for large Language Model (LLM)-based applications and other AI systems.

+ Lead efforts to optimize data delivery and automate data engineering processes, proposing enhancements to infrastructure to improve scalability, efficiency, and reliability in support of LLM deployments.

+ Build API-based infrastructure and frameworks that enable seamless integration of LLMs and ML models with operational systems, ensuring performance, security, and interoperability with NATO environments.

+ Support the development, testing, and validation of microservices and containerized applications to operationalize AI/ML capabilities, including deployment of LLM use cases within NATO.

+ Implement distributed data storage and processing systems (e.g., cloud-based or hybrid architectures) that align with NATO standards and enable scalable use of LLMs across the enterprise.

+ Develop tools and systems to improve data accessibility, enabling data scientists and analysts to efficiently interact with and query data for training, inference, and analytics.

+ Coordinate with data scientists, software engineers, and system architects to align data engineering workflows with broader AI/ML objectives, ensuring timely delivery of clean, high-quality data for LLM training and inference.

+ Establish mechanisms for real-time data processing and streaming, enabling LLMs to operate effectively in dynamic and responsive applications, such as operational decision support or strategic analysis.

+ Conduct preprocessing, cleansing, and transformation of raw data into formats optimized for training, fine-tuning, and inference within LLM infrastructure.

+ Implement robust monitoring, logging, and performance optimization tools for data pipelines and APIs, ensuring reliability and traceability of LLM-enabled workflows.

+ Collaborate with teams to support federated learning approaches and cross-domain data sharing, ensuring compliance with NATO data sovereignty, security, and ethical guidelines.

+ Provide subject matter expertise on data engineering and software development to (military and civilian) staff within HQ SACT or the NATO Enterprise, and develop proofs of concept for LLM-based applications as directed.

+ Research, recommend, and implement best practices for deploying LLMs in secure, cloud-based environments such as Microsoft Azure or AWS, while considering NATO specific data policies and standards.

Required Qualifications:

+ A Bachelor's degree or higher at a nationally recognized/certified university in Data Science, Data Analytics, AI engineering, or a related discipline such as Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Software Engineering OR 4 years minimum professional experience in the area of Data Science, including providing analysis and advice in the field of data science, within the last 5 years. 2.

+ Minimum 4 years of proven work experience as a Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Engineer, or Software Engineer, with a strong emphasis on distributed systems, cloud based architectures, developing operational AI/ML solutions, and designing API-based infrastructures, microservices architectures, and containerized applications (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).

+ Demonstrated experience working with GenAI, in particular LLMs, including preprocessing data, fine-tuning, and deployment in secure and scalable environments to include AI/ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn.

+ Proven expertise in programming languages such as Python, Java, or Scala, with demonstrated experience in software engineering practices (e.g., version control, CI/CD pipelines, containerization).

+ Experience building and optimizing data pipelines, ETL processes, and real-time streaming solutions using tools like Apache Airflow, Kafka, Spark, or equivalent.

+ Knowledge of applied AI principles, particularly in implementing AI systems for operational decision support and analyzing unstructured data (e.g., text, imagery).

+ Ability to architect and maintain scalable data lakes, data warehouses, or distributed storage systems (e.g., Delta Lake, Snowflake, Hadoop, or NoSQL solutions).

+ Demonstrated understanding of data security, privacy, and sovereignty issues, particularly in military or international environments, ensuring compliance with NATO operational and ethical standards.

+ Experience building visually impactful reports, dashboards, and analytics using tools such as Tableau, MS Power BI, or Kibana, supporting informed decision-making for high-level stakeholders.

+ Professional experience in NATO environments or familiarity with NATO processes, organizational culture, and decision-making structures.

+ Ability to translate operational problems into practical AI/ML solutions tailored for military and civilian teams.

+ Proven ability to collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams, including coordinating with data scientists, software engineers, and system architects on cross-functional projects.

+ Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to brief non-technical audiences and mentor staff in AI engineering, data science, and software development concepts.

DEFTEC offers a comprehensive whole-life benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, holiday, paid time off, 401K with a match, life insurance, short/long-term disability, and educational reimbursement. The DEFTEC team comprises professionals who make a difference daily in crucial national security missions. Our leadership knows that this happens by employing a diverse team that is well cared for. Our top priority is our employees, making DEFTEC an ideal workplace.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you require reasonable accommodations.

DEFTEC is a Drug-Free Workplace where post-offer applicants and employees are subject to testing for marijuana, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, PCP, and alcohol when criteria are met as outlined in our policies.

AAP/EEO Statement

DEFTEC Corp is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, and gender expression, religious creed, disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS, medical condition (cancer and genetic characteristics ), genetic information, age, marital status, civil union status, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, denial of family and medical care leave, arrest record and/or any other characteristic(s) protected by federal, state or local law.

This policy applies to all terms of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment during employment.

Other Duties

Please note that this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of the activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time, with or without notice.