Data Engineer

Agile Defense is seeking a Data Scientist / Engineer to support the design, development, and operational deployment of scalable, AI-enabled data solutions within the Department of Defense’s CDAO ADA IR program. This role is part of a multidisciplinary team integrating advanced analytics, machine learning, and engineering practices into mission-critical environments at Combatant Commands.

You will help shape and deploy data pipelines, pre-processing workflows, feature engineering strategies, and machine learning services within secure, containerized environments. The ideal candidate brings a hybrid of statistical modeling fluency and hands-on software engineering expertise. You will collaborate closely with product managers, full-stack developers, platform engineers, and mission stakeholders to transform raw data into meaningful insights and decision-support tools.

This role requires strong technical communication skills, a collaborative mindset, and experience working in agile environments that value reproducibility, testing, and continuous delivery. Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms such as Databricks, Palantir, or AWS-native data services is highly preferred.

Location: In Person: Falls Church, VA | Ft. Meade, MD | Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany | Tampa, FL | Honolulu (Camp H.M. Smith), HI | Colorado Springs, CO | Doral (Miami area), FL | Omaha (Offutt Air Force Base), NE | Scott Air Force Base, IL

Clearance: Active DoD Top Secret (or ability to obtain)

Plan, develop, and maintain reusable services for data ingestion, transformation, and feature engineering that support AI/ML workflows.

Implement core data science capabilities, such as entity resolution, classification, clustering, or prediction, within containerized environments that adhere to CI/CD, version control, and testing standards.

Collaborate with DevSecOps engineers to integrate services into secure production environments using tools like Databricks, Docker, and Terraform.

Ensure services meet performance, reliability, and security requirements consistent with DoD enterprise and cloud-native architecture.

Develop and deploy standalone or embedded ML models for tasks such as decision support, automation, anomaly detection, and pattern recognition.

Select and implement appropriate modeling techniques using Python, Spark, or cloud-native ML frameworks (e.g., SageMaker, MLflow).

Maintain reproducibility and interpretability of model outputs to meet mission transparency and audit requirements.

Package model inference services with well-documented APIs for integration into end-user applications and operational dashboards.

Conduct exploratory data analysis (EDA) to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities within structured and unstructured datasets.

Develop data visualizations and interpretive summaries that support stakeholder understanding and product team decision-making.

Translate analytical findings into actionable recommendations using a mix of visual, narrative, and quantitative communication strategies.

Contribute to the team’s shared library of analysis templates, reusable queries, and analytic workflows to accelerate future delivery.

Engage with product managers and mission users to define data and model requirements aligned with operational goals.

Work closely with engineers to ensure data science components align with technical constraints and deployment patterns.

Participate in agile sprint planning, retrospectives, and demos, sharing progress and adjusting priorities based on feedback.

Maintain strong documentation practices that enable handoff, reproducibility, and technical accountability.

A bachelor's degree plus 3 years of recent specialized experience, OR, an associate's degree plus 7 years of recent specialized experience, OR, a major certification plus 7 years of recent specialized experience, OR, 11 years of recent specialized experience  

Experience with data visualization and storytelling using tools such as Palantir's MSS Workshop and Slate applications

Experience with data visualization and storytelling using tools such as AIP & Foundry

4+ years of experience in applied data science, Palantir Foundry development, or data pipeline development.

Proficient in Python, SQL, and distributed data frameworks (e.g., Spark, Databricks, PySpark).

Experience developing ML models from training to deployment using industry-standard tools and libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, XGBoost).

Familiarity with MLOps, API development, and secure cloud-based environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, Palantir Foundry).

Strong understanding of data validation, model testing, and performance evaluation techniques.

Excellent technical communication skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical audiences.

Must be able to work onsite in a SCIF

• Happy - Be Infectious. Happiness multiplies and creates a positive and connected environment where motivation and satisfaction have an outsized effect on everything we do.
• Helpful - Be Supportive. Being helpful is the foundation of teamwork, resulting in a supportive atmosphere where collaboration flourishes, and collective success is celebrated.
• Honest - Be Trustworthy. Honesty serves as our compass, ensuring transparent communication and ethical conduct, essential to who we are and the complex domains we support.
• Humble - Be Grounded. Success is not achieved alone, humility ensures a culture of mutual respect, encouraging open communication, and a willingness to learn from one another and take on any task.
• Hungry - Be Eager. Our hunger for excellence drives an insatiable appetite for innovation and continuous improvement, propelling us forward in the face of new and unprecedented challenges.
• Hustle - Be Driven. Hustle is reflected in our relentless work ethic, where we are each committed to going above and beyond to advance the mission and achieve success.