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Machine Learning Engineer Opt Jobs in Reston, VA

10a Labs

Machine Learning Engineer

Washington, DC · On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

We are seeking a Machine Learning Engineer (3-5+ years of experience) to help design, build, evaluate, and deploy advanced machine learning systems across a range of safety, security, and ...

Somatus, Inc.

Machine Learning Engineer

Mclean, VA · On-site

$105K - $115K/yr

As a Machine Learning Engineer at Somatus, you will work collaboratively with our data and technology teams to help clinical, operational, and financial partners solve advanced analytical problems.

Kitware

Machine Learning Engineer

Arlington, VA · Hybrid

$110K - $160K/yr

... machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computer vision * Perform rapid prototyping and enhanced development to be integrated into operational systems * Contribute your strong programming ...

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Machine Learning Engineer Opt information

See Reston, VA salary details

$32.8K

$134K

$201.3K

How much do machine learning engineer opt jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for machine learning engineer opt in Reston, VA is $133,966.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $105,600.00 and $161,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are Machine Learning Engineers?

Machine Learning Engineers are specialized software engineers who design, build, and deploy machine learning models into production environments. They work at the intersection of software engineering and data science, transforming data-driven prototypes into scalable, reliable systems that organizations can use to make predictions or automate tasks. Their responsibilities include data preprocessing, choosing appropriate algorithms, model training, and ensuring the model's performance in real-world applications. Machine Learning Engineers often collaborate with data scientists, data engineers, and product teams to deliver intelligent solutions.

What is the difference between Machine Learning Engineer Opt vs Data Scientist?

AspectMachine Learning Engineer OptData Scientist
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in CS, AI, or related fields; certifications in ML toolsBachelor's or Master's in CS, Statistics, or related fields; data analysis certifications
Work EnvironmentDevelops, tests, and deploys ML models in production systemsAnalyzes data, builds models, and provides insights for decision-making
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, AI startups, e-commerce, financeResearch institutions, tech firms, consulting, finance
Common Search & ComparisonOften compared for technical skills and deployment focusCompared for data analysis and business insights

Machine Learning Engineers Opt focus on deploying scalable ML models in production environments, while Data Scientists primarily analyze data and develop models for insights. Both roles require strong technical skills, but their core responsibilities differ in application and deployment.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Machine Learning Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Machine Learning Engineer, you need a solid background in mathematics, statistics, and programming (especially Python), typically supported by a degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field. Familiarity with machine learning frameworks (such as TensorFlow, PyTorch), data processing tools, and cloud platforms, along with relevant certifications, is highly valuable. Strong problem-solving ability, collaboration, and effective communication are standout soft skills in this role. These skills and qualities ensure the successful development, deployment, and integration of machine learning solutions that drive business value.

What are some common challenges Machine Learning Engineers face when deploying models to production environments?

Machine Learning Engineers often encounter challenges such as ensuring model scalability, handling data drift, and integrating models seamlessly with existing systems when deploying to production. Monitoring model performance in real time and retraining models as new data becomes available are also critical tasks. Collaboration with data engineers and DevOps teams is essential to address infrastructure and deployment hurdles while maintaining model accuracy and reliability.
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Machine Learning Engineer Opt jobs near you

Machine Learning Engineer

10a Labs

Washington, DC • On-site

$130K - $200K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO

Re-posted 12 days ago

Job description

About 10a Labs: 10a Labs is the safety and threat-intelligence layer trusted by frontier AI labs, AI unicorns, Fortune 10 companies, and leading global technology platforms. Our adversarial red teaming, model evaluations, and intelligence collection enable engineering, safety, and security teams to stay ahead of evolving threats and deploy AI systems safely.
About the Role:
We are seeking a Machine Learning Engineer (3-5+ years of experience) to help design, build, evaluate, and deploy advanced machine learning systems across a range of safety, security, and intelligence applications.
This role spans the full ML lifecycle, from dataset development and experimentation to model training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring. You will work both independently and collaboratively across projects involving multimodal classification systems, frontier model evaluations, model distillation research, and agentic workflows. The ideal candidate combines strong engineering fundamentals with a research mindset and enjoys tackling ambiguous, high-impact problems at the frontier of AI.
You will collaborate closely with researchers, software engineers, red teamers, and subject-matter experts to develop production-ready systems that support leading AI organizations and technology companies.
Responsibilities may include:
  • Design, train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning models across text, image, audio, and multimodal domains.
  • Develop and improve classification systems for safety, security, abuse detection, and intelligence applications.
  • Conduct experiments to benchmark, evaluate, and compare AI models, including large language models and multimodal systems.
  • Contribute to model distillation, optimization, and fine-tuning efforts to improve performance, efficiency, and deployability.
  • Design evaluation pipelines, metrics, and testing frameworks to measure model capabilities, reliability, and safety.
  • Build agentic systems and automated workflows for evaluation, red teaming, research, and large-scale experimentation.
  • Own ML projects from initial research and prototyping through production deployment and monitoring.
  • Partner with software engineers to productionize ML systems and support ongoing improvements.
  • Provide technical expertise and guidance across client engagements and internal research initiatives.

We're looking for someone who:
  • Brings curiosity, creativity, and rigor to ambiguous research and engineering problems, with a bias toward experimentation and rapid iteration;
  • Thrives in collaborative, interdisciplinary environments while also being comfortable independently driving projects to completion;
  • Communicates technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences;
  • Is resourceful, proactive, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving startup environment.
  • Is excited about developing novel approaches that advance the state of AI safety, evaluation, and security.

Requirements:
  • 3-5+ years of professional experience building and deploying machine learning systems.
  • Strong proficiency in Python and modern machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch and/or TensorFlow
  • Experience working across multiple modalities, with expertise in one or more of:
    • Computer Vision: image classification, object detection, OCR, segmentation, deepfake detection, multimodal vision-language systems, or related areas.
    • Natural Language Processing: LLMs, text classification, information extraction, retrieval systems, speech-to-text, agentic applications, or related areas.
  • Experience training, fine-tuning, evaluating, and deploying machine learning models in production environments.
  • Experience designing evaluation methodologies, benchmarking systems, and model performance metrics.
  • Experience with MLOps tools and practices (Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD for ML, MLflow, etc.)
  • Experience with cloud platforms such as Google Cloud Platform (preferred), AWS, or Azure, including ML infrastructure, workflow orchestration, storage, and database services.
  • Familiarity or experience with model distillation, synthetic data generation, reinforcement learning, or AI evaluation research is strongly preferred.

Preferred:
  • Experience working with frontier language models, multimodal foundation models, or AI safety evaluations.
  • Prior experience in cybersecurity, trust and safety, abuse prevention, threat intelligence, or related domains.
  • Experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI agent frameworks, and context orchestration systems such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI Agents, or AutoGen.

Compensation:
  • Salary Range: $130K-$200K, depending on experience and location
  • Bonus: Performance-based annual bonus
  • Professional Development: Support for conferences, continuing education, or leadership training
  • Work Environment: Fully remote, U.S.-based
  • Health Benefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
  • Time Off: Generous PTO and paid holiday schedule

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