AI/ML Engineer
General Information
Requisition #
Locations USA-Washington DC
Posting Date 05/26/2026
Security Clearance Required - TS/SCI with Polygraph
Remote Type N/A
Time Type Full time
Description & Requirements
Elder Research Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MANTECH international Corporation seeks a motivated, career and customer-oriented AI/ML Engineer.
Elder Research has multiple positions available for talented AI/ML engineers with experience in any of the following:
- Implement and maintain RAG pipelines, including document processing, embedding generation, retrieval configuration, and prompt assembly.
- Integrate LLMs into applications using available APIs and frameworks.
- Develop and maintain REST API interactions to support data retrieval and system integration.
- Design or refine Postgres schemas to improve data organization and query performance.
Minimum Qualifications:
Education and Experience:
- Doctorate + 6 years of experience
- Masters + 7 years of experience
- Bachelor’s degree + 8 years of experience
Job Specifications/Requirements:
- Demonstrated ability to conduct independent technical research, evaluate emerging
AI/ML approaches, and apply advanced analytical problem-solving comparable to PhD-
level research environments. - Ability to rapidly learn and apply new AI/ML methodologies, tools, and frameworks in
support of evolving mission requirements. - Experience developing AI/ML applications focused on Retrieval-Augmented Generation
(RAG), semantic retrieval, LLM integration, or related AI workflows. - Strong proficiency in Python and modern AI/ML libraries, frameworks, and API
integrations.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Advanced research experience in machine learning, deep learning, natural language
processing, generative AI, reinforcement learning, computer vision, or related disciplines. - Experience publishing research, contributing to open-source AI/ML initiatives, or leading
experimental and prototype development efforts. - Familiarity with model evaluation frameworks, fine-tuning workflows, inference
optimization, and AI observability/monitoring tools. - Experience with vector databases, AWS/cloud environments, Docker, and containerized
AI/ML development workflows. - Experience designing and integrating REST APIs and scalable data architectures.
Clearance Requirements:
- Current TS/SCI w/ Polygraph
- Must be a US Citizen
The projected compensation range for this position is $144,768 - $187,450. There are differentiating factors that can impact a final salary/hourly rate, including, but not limited to, Contract Wage Determination, relevant work experience, skills and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location (For Remote Opportunities), education and certifications as well as Federal Government Contract Labor categories. In addition, MANTECH invests in its employees beyond just compensation. MANTECH’s benefits offerings include, dependent upon position, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, short-term and long-term Disability, Retirement and Savings, Learning and Development opportunities, wellness programs as well as other optional benefit elections.
About Elder Research, Inc - People Centered. Data Driven
Elder Research considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to disability or veteran status or any other status protected under any federal, state, or local law or regulation.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a position with Elder Research, please email us at [email protected] and provide your name and contact information.
Skills Required
- Doctorate + 6 years of experience
- Masters + 7 years of experience
- Bachelor's degree + 8 years of experience
- Proficiency in Python and modern AI/ML libraries
What We Do
Elder Research is a recognized leader in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence consulting. Founded in 1995 by Dr. John Elder, Elder Research has helped government agencies and Fortune Global 500® companies solve real-world problems in diverse industry segments. Our goal is to transform data, domain knowledge, and algorithmic innovations into world-class analytic solutions. When we combine the business domain expertise of our clients with our deep understanding of advanced analytics, we create a team that can extract actionable value from the data. Our areas of expertise include data science, text mining, data visualization, scientific software engineering, and technical teaching. Experience with diverse projects and algorithms, advanced validation techniques, and innovative model combination methods (ensembles) enables Elder Research to maximize project success for a continued return on analytics investment. In 2020 we acquired the Institute for Statistics Education at Statistics.com to provide focused data science, analytics, and statistics training for corporations and individuals. The Institute’s certificates and degrees are certified by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, and its courses are approved by the American Council on Education. Elder Research’s Analytics Services are designed to scale based on the unique requirements of each organization and can maximize the client’s return on analytic investment. Elder Research is also a leader in advanced analytic training and offers a variety of training services directed at each of the key stakeholders within an organization. Training builds a common foundation and vision for analytics across business units and lead to the successful adoption, deployment, and maintenance of analytic models within an organization.
