Data Scientist, Level 3 at Independent Software
Annapolis Junction, MD
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Aug 16, 2026
Annapolis Junction, MD
Sep 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A defense-contractor data scientist role focused on designing, building, and deploying AI/ML solutions — including autonomous agents, LLM-based systems, and reinforcement learning — against large-scale datasets in support of national security missions. The position requires hands-on development in Python with modern ML frameworks and spans the full lifecycle from model development and optimization through deployment. Candidates must already hold an active TS/SCI with polygraph.
Senior level · 8+ years · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Mid, but the requirements read as Senior.
Quick apply — this platform usually takes a CV and a few fields.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 3 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
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $122,874 (middle half $87,544–$162,374).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 18, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The title 'Data Scientist Level 3' maps to a mid-level numeric designation, but the experience requirements (8+ years with a bachelor's, 6+ with a master's, etc.) and the breadth of responsibilities clearly support a Senior-level classification.
No work location is specified in the posting. Given the TS/SCI + polygraph requirement and national security mission context, this is almost certainly an on-site role, but the specific site or metro area is not stated.
The degree requirement accepts multiple pathways including a high school diploma with 12 years of experience, so no minimum formal degree is hard-gated — equivalent experience is explicitly accepted.
PyTorch and TensorFlow are listed as alternatives within the same 'such as' clause; LangChain is listed alongside them but is a distinct tool (orchestration framework vs. training library), so it is captured separately.
The TS/SCI polygraph clearance is an explicit hard gate: candidates must already possess an active clearance to be considered.
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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