Applied Data Science Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Description

Leidos is seeking a hands-on Senior Software Engineer / Data Scientist to support the development of modern training, education, and mission-support applications for national security programs. This role combines applied data science, AI/ML integration, and modern software engineering to build scalable, interactive learning and training systems within classified environments.

This is an individual contributor role focused on execution and delivery. We are seeking a technical doer — someone who actively designs and builds production systems, contributes code daily, and works across the full application stack. The ideal candidate brings strong TypeScript and modern front-end development experience alongside practical AI/ML and data science skills that can be applied to operational training and education environments.

You will work closely with instructional designers, software engineers, mission stakeholders, analysts, and UX teams to create intelligent, data-driven learning platforms and operational training tools.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain modern web-based training and learning applications

• Build responsive, scalable, and accessible front-end applications using TypeScript and modern frameworks

• Develop and integrate AI/ML-enabled capabilities into training and operational support systems

• Apply data science and analytics techniques to support adaptive learning, user insights, performance analysis, and mission workflows

• Collaborate with instructional designers and subject matter experts to translate learning objectives into interactive digital experiences

• Integrate front-end systems with APIs, backend services, AI/ML pipelines, and enterprise platforms

• Develop reusable UI components, visualizations, and workflows supporting scalable training ecosystems

• Work with structured and unstructured data sources across enterprise and classified environments

• Participate in the full software development lifecycle including architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, and sustainment

• Support deployment and operationalization of AI/ML capabilities within production systems

• Utilize modern AI-assisted development workflows and coding agents to accelerate software delivery, prototyping, testing, refactoring, and documentation

• Apply contemporary engineering practices using AI-powered development tools while maintaining strong standards for code quality, security, maintainability, and testing

• Evaluate and integrate emerging developer tooling and agentic engineering capabilities into team workflows and application development practices

• Troubleshoot application, integration, and data-related issues across distributed environments

• Contribute to software engineering standards, reusable frameworks, and development best practices

• Stay current with emerging front-end, AI/ML, and learning technology trends

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Engineering, or related technical field with 8+ years of relevant experience and 15+ years overall experience; additional experience may be considered in lieu of degree

• Strong hands-on software engineering experience with TypeScript and modern front-end development

• Experience with modern front-end frameworks such as React, Next.js, Angular, or Vue

• Practical experience applying data science, analytics, or AI/ML techniques to real-world applications

• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with common data science and machine learning libraries

• Experience integrating applications with APIs, backend systems, and data services

• Familiarity with AI/ML workflows including data preparation, model integration, inference pipelines, or analytics processing

• Experience using modern AI-assisted software development tools and coding agents within professional engineering workflows

• Familiarity with contemporary AI coding ecosystems and developer productivity tools such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, or similar platforms

• Demonstrated ability to effectively leverage AI-assisted development while maintaining sound software engineering fundamentals, debugging practices, testing discipline, and secure coding standards

• Strong understanding of modern software development practices including Git, CI/CD, automated testing, and agile methodologies

• Demonstrated ability to independently design and implement production-ready technical solutions

• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Must hold an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting training, education, simulation, or learning technology environments

• Experience building intelligent tutoring systems, adaptive learning platforms, or analytics-driven training applications

• Experience working with large language models (LLMs), generative AI, NLP, or AI-assisted user experiences

• Familiarity with AI frameworks and ecosystems such as Hugging Face, LangChain, vector databases, or agentic AI frameworks

• Experience developing applications using agentic or AI-accelerated software engineering workflows

• Familiarity with AI-enabled developer tooling integrated into modern IDEs, terminals, and CI/CD environments

• Experience evaluating, customizing, or operationalizing AI coding agents for enterprise or mission-focused development environments

• Experience combining AI-assisted development with modern TypeScript, React, or full-stack application architectures

• Experience with data visualization, interactive analytics, or dashboard development

• Experience working with learning ecosystems or standards such as SCORM, xAPI, or LMS integrations

• Familiarity with Node.js or full-stack application development

• Experience deploying applications in cloud or enterprise environments

• Experience modernizing legacy applications into modern web architectures

• Experience supporting Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, or national security customers

Desired Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is:

• A builder and hands-on engineer first

• Comfortable owning implementation from concept through deployment

• Current on modern front-end and AI-assisted engineering practices

• Equally comfortable working across UI, data, APIs, and AI integration layers

• Interested in education, training, simulation, or mission learning environments

• Able to balance speed, experimentation, and engineering discipline in production systems

• Comfortable operating in modern AI-accelerated engineering environments where coding agents and AI-assisted workflows are part of day-to-day software development practices

Clearance Requirement

Active TS/SCI with Polygraph

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos’ name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system – never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at LeidosCareersFraud@leidos.com.

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.