Data Scientist Research Associate Jobs in Washington, DC

Description
PREP Research Associate
This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may want to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and, therefore, requires those institutions to be recipients of a PREP award. The PREP program involves staff from a wide range of backgrounds conducting scientific research across various fields. Individuals in this position will perform technical work supporting the collaboration's scientific research.
Research Title:
Data Scientist / Computer Scientist - Standardized AI-Ready Dataset Frameworks for AI-Based Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN)
The work will entail:
NIST seeks an experienced researcher to support the development of standardized frameworks for "AI-ready" datasets in the Radio Access Network (RAN), in support of U.S. leadership in 6G standardization. The successful candidate will survey existing wireless data repositories and relevant standards activities, participate in multi-modal measurement campaigns, and develop technical guidelines for AI-ready RAN dataset creation. The candidate is expected to convey the results of their work through a NIST Technical Note and contribute to standards bodies such as the AI-RAN Alliance, O-RAN Alliance, and 3GPP.
U.S. Citizen Preferred
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
• Survey existing multi-modal wireless data repositories and standards activities to assess AI-readiness and identify gaps, limitations, and potential enhancements.
• Support Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) measurement campaigns to capture, synchronize, and label RF, LiDAR, and camera data.
• Develop data processing pipelines to evaluate and compare dataset formats for AI/ML applications.
• Co-author a NIST Technical Note on guidelines for creating standardized AI-ready RAN datasets.
• Develop contributions to standards bodies and industry consortia, and ensure outputs are publicly disseminated through proper NIST processes.
Qualifications
• Master's or Ph.D. degree in data science, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a closely related field.
• 1+ years of relevant experience in the design, collection, and processing of large-scale multi-modal datasets, preferably in wireless communications or AI/ML applications.
• 1+ years of relevant experience with modern data engineering tools and frameworks (e.g., Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, MATLAB, or similar) to enable data acquisition, storage, labeling, and analysis.
• Familiarity with wireless communications systems, including RF signal processing concepts such as I/Q samples, channel state information (CSI), and power delay profiles.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to contribute to technical reports and standards documents.
Additional Desirable Skills, Expertise and Qualifications:

• Experience with multi-modal sensing systems, including LiDAR, camera, and radar data collection and synchronization.
• Familiarity with the Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data principles, public data repositories, data schemas, versioning, and open dataset documentation practices.
• Experience with GPU-accelerated hardware platforms and software engineering including NVIDIA GPUs and CuPy/CUDA/C++ programming.
• Familiarity with 5G/6G wireless standards and AI/ML integration frameworks being developed by 3GPP, O-RAN Alliance, or the AI-RAN Alliance.
• Experience with Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) use cases such as object detection, human detection, or drone tracking. Experience in authoring research publications and presentations documenting results of experiments, modeling, and analysis research.

Application Instructions
Please upload the following with your application:
• CV/Resume
*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Your resume will not be considered if the following information is included on your CV/resume.
• Self portraits
• Phone number
• Home address/Country
• Citizenship status
• Languages spoken
• Sex/Gender
• Privacy Act Statement
Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)
Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.
PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.
Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.
Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.