Data Scientist at QinetiQ US
Washington, DC
$125,000–$132,000from the description
Jul 5, 2026
Washington, DC
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior data scientist role embedded with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), focused on working with large, complex datasets — structured and unstructured — to support military and policy decision-making. Day-to-day work involves data retrieval, merging, and analysis using Python, R, and SQL, alongside database administration and AI/ML applications. An active TS/SCI clearance with CI polygraph is required.
Senior level · 8+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $135,107 (middle half $108,024–$176,763). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (11)
The role is on-site at DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), which is located in the Washington DC metro area. Remote work is not indicated.
The clearance requirement is TS/SCI with a CI (Counterintelligence) polygraph — mapped to TopSecretSci.
The degree requirement is flexible: a Bachelor's + 8 years of experience, OR 12 years of experience in lieu of a degree. Because equivalent experience is explicitly accepted, the degree requirement is set to None; the overall years minimum is set to 8 (the lower bound when a degree is held).
Python and R are listed as interchangeable primary data science languages with a 3-year requirement; the years demanded is applied to the combined requirement. SQL is also required for data retrieval/merging but carries no separate year count.
SQL Server and PostgreSQL are listed as example DBMS options ('such as'); they are treated as alternatives under a single hard-gated database skill.
Data analytics, data mining, statistical analysis, and AI/ML are listed as a grouped requirement; AI/ML is captured as the representative named technology skill.
Tableau and Power BI appear under Preferred Qualifications as data visualization examples ('such as') and are treated as preferred alternatives.
Jenkins and SonarQube appear under Preferred Qualifications as DevOps tool examples alongside git; git is emitted as a standalone preferred skill, and Jenkins/SonarQube are grouped as alternatives since they serve a similar CI/QA tooling function in that context.
HUMINT familiarity is listed as preferred but names no specific technology or tool, so it is omitted from the skills list per extraction rules.
ETL and data architecture for DoD/federal agencies appear under Preferred Qualifications as experience context rather than a named tool, so they are omitted from the skills list.
Requires a TS/SCI clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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