Who We Are: AM Pierce & Associates and Applied Technologies Group (ATG), a wholly owned subsidiary of AM Pierce and Associates, is a woman-owned small business providing Engineering & Research, Cyber, C5ISR, Program & Acquisition Management services and solutions to a diverse government and industry client base. We are a stable and growing company who offers our employees a rich benefits package, supportive and flexible work environment, and the opportunity to work with experts in their field.
The Position: AM Pierce is seeking a Data Scientist specializing in autonomy performance, safety, characterization, and decision analytics to design, develop, and manage the end-to-end analytical pipeline supporting the evaluation of advanced autonomous systems. This position will transform large volumes of simulation, test, mission, and system-performance data into defensible technical conclusions about how autonomous systems perform, how reliably and safely they operate, where their limitations exist, and whether demonstrated performance supports engineering and acquisition decisions. The successful candidate will own the analytical process from data definition and instrumentation through ingestion, processing, statistical analysis, visualization, interpretation, and executive-level presentation. This is not primarily a dashboard-development or reporting position. The individual must be capable of developing the analytical methods used to characterize autonomous-system behavior and translating technically complex results into clear, defensible conclusions for audiences ranging from engineers and scientists to Navy Captains, acquisition leadership, and Flag Officers.
Salary: The estimated salary range for this position is $150,000 - $175,000 annually, based upon an individual's level of experience, skillset, and education. The range that is given is an estimate and may vary based on contractual constraints. At AM Pierce & Associates, it is our goal to provide equitable compensation for all employees.
The Location: Patuxent River, Maryland
The Work Environment: On-site/ Hybrid as mission requirements permit
The Description:- Develop analytical approaches for evaluating autonomous software and autonomous-system performance across controlled simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and operationally representative test environments.
- Develop quantitative approaches for assessing autonomy safety and operational risk.
- Analyze safety-critical behaviors, including constraint violations, separation, boundary compliance, unsafe states, decision timing, recovery behavior, and other mission-specific safety measures.
- Work with autonomy engineers, test engineers, operators, and scientists to design experiments capable of answering specific technical and acquisition questions.
- Develop software and analytical tools for processing high-volume autonomy and simulation telemetry. Create reusable analytical libraries and frameworks rather than one-off analyses.
Education & Experience:- Active Secret clearance with ability to obtain Top Secret.
- Bachelor's degree (four-year degree) in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical field.
- Minimum of 5 (five) years of professional experience in data science, analytics, modeling and simulation, test and evaluation, complex-system characterization, or related technical disciplines.
- Demonstrate ability to independently design and implement an end-to-end analytical pipeline.
- Advanced proficiency with Python and common scientific/data-analysis libraries such as NumPy, pandas, SciPy, scikit-learn, and related tools.
- Strong knowledge of statistical analysis and experimental design.
- Experience analyzing large, multidimensional datasets.
- Experience developing meaningful performance metrics from complex system data.
- Experience with data visualization and communicating quantitative results.
- Ability to translate ambiguous operational or engineering questions into measurable analytical problems.
- Ability to work directly with software engineers, autonomy engineers, test engineers, operators, scientists, and acquisition professionals.
- Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills.
- Demonstrate ability to communicate sophisticated quantitative results to both highly technical and non-technical senior audiences.
Desired Experience:- Experience working with military simulation and test environments is highly desirable.
- Familiarity with AFSIM, JSE, MATLAB, distributed computing, cloud/HPC environments, or similar analytical and modeling environments is beneficial.
- Experience supporting the U.S. Navy, NAVAIR, NAWCAD, DoD/DoW acquisition organizations, operational test organizations, or defense research organizations is highly desirable.
Travel:- On some occasions, the employee may be required to drive to offices or buildings near the work site. In rare occasions, travel may be required.
AM Pierce & Associates, as well as its subsidiaries, invests in its employees beyond just compensation. Elements of the Total Rewards package include competitive base pay and variable compensation opportunities. AM Pierce & Associates, as well as its subsidiaries, also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including:
- Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
- Life and Accidental Death & Disability Coverage
- Traditional 401(k) and ROTH 401(k) Retirement Plans
- Paid Time Off and Holidays
- Professional Development Opportunities
- Incentive Programs, Awards and Recognition
- Employee Assistance Program
- Will Preparation
- Identity Theft Protection & Legal Support
- Referral Program
- Voluntary Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Coverage
- Pet Insurance
- Norton Life Lock
- HSA and FSA plans
The specific program and options available to any given employee may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, Full or Part-time status, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.
For all positions requiring access to technology/software source code that is subject to export control laws, employment with the company is contingent on either verifying U.S.-person status or obtaining any necessary license. The applicant will be required to answer certain questions for export control purposes, and that information will be reviewed by compliance personnel to ensure compliance with federal law. AM Pierce & Associates, as well as its subsidiaries may choose not to apply for a license for such individuals whose access to export-controlled technology or software source code may require authorization and may decline to proceed with an applicant on that basis alone.
AM Pierce and Associates, Inc. and Applied Technologies Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AM Pierce and Associates, Inc., are Equal Opportunity Employers. It is the policy of AM Pierce & Associates, Inc. and Applied Technologies Group, Inc. not to discriminate or allow the harassment of employees. All applicable laws are followed to ensure all qualified applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.
If you require reasonable accommodations to apply for a position with AM Pierce & Associates, as well as its subsidiaries, through its online applicant system, please contact AM Pierce & Associates Human Resources Department at or email us at
If your background meets the qualifications of the position, please submit your resume and salary requirements to or submit an application online.
AM Pierce & Associates, as well as its subsidiaries, verifies employment eligibility through E-Verify.
This is a non-management position.
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