Senior Data Scientist

Location: Windsor Mill, MD
Work Schedule: 100% Onsite
Position Type: Contract

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Data Scientist with deep expertise in AI/ML, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Large Language Models (LLMs). This role will focus on developing scalable machine learning solutions, building NLP pipelines, analyzing complex datasets, and deploying cloud-native AI applications in a fast-paced environment.

The ideal candidate will have strong Python programming skills, hands-on experience with modern NLP frameworks, and a proven ability to develop and operationalize machine learning models and generative AI solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and deploy NLP and Generative AI solutions using Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Build scalable Python-based ML and NLP pipelines
• Analyze transactional and trend-based datasets using SQL and data science methodologies
• Design cloud-native AI/ML solutions within AWS environments
• Train, optimize, and evaluate supervised and unsupervised machine learning models
• Collaborate with analysts and stakeholders to identify business challenges and recommend data-driven solutions
• Provide advanced analytical support and deliver actionable insights from large datasets
• Support scalable deployment and operationalization of ML, MLOps, and LLMOps solutions
• Work with cross-functional teams to improve data quality, automation, and analytics capabilities

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, or related field
• 10+ years of overall IT industry experience
• Strong hands-on experience with:
  • Python
  • SQL
  • Pandas
  • NLTK
  • spaCy
  • NLP frameworks
  • Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Experience building cloud-native solutions on AWS
• Strong understanding of machine learning frameworks and libraries including TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, and NumPy
• Experience with version control tools such as Git
• Experience with data engineering and orchestration frameworks such as Apache Spark and Airflow
• Experience deploying and maintaining ML models using DevOps, MLOps, or LLMOps methodologies
• Ability to clean, process, and analyze large real-world datasets
• Experience working with databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Hadoop, and flat files
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field
• Experience supporting federal or state government IT projects
• Experience with semantic search technologies
• Familiarity with Hadoop ecosystem tools such as Spark, Hive, and Impala
• Experience in analytical research environments
• Experience with GPU programming using CUDA
• Experience with Mathematica
• Familiarity with markup languages such as LaTeX and HTML
• Experience using NLP techniques for anomaly detection

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who can operate independently while collaborating effectively across teams. This person should be passionate about AI/ML innovation, comfortable working with large-scale datasets, and capable of delivering scalable, production-ready solutions.