AI/ML Software Developer SME
Rapid Cycle Solutions Llc · Chantilly, VA
$180,000–$220,000
Jul 19, 2026
Chantilly, VA
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
An on-site role focused on building and maintaining AI/ML systems for a federal intelligence client in Chantilly, VA. Day-to-day work centers on training machine learning models, developing end-to-end AI pipelines (including ETL processes and databases), automating web scraping and open-source data collection, and supporting operational teams with fixes and updates. Suited to experienced ML practitioners comfortable working with highly sensitive government data under a TS/SCI Full Scope Polygraph clearance.
Senior level · 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.
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).
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 (8)
The role title is 'AI/ML Software Developer SME' but the day-to-day work spans both ML model training/research (15-2051 Data Scientists) and full software development of AI-based systems (15-1252 Software Developers); 15-2051 was chosen as the primary code given the heavy emphasis on model training, statistical analysis, and data problem framing, with 15-1252 as a close runner-up.
The clearance requirement is explicitly stated as TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph (FS Poly), which maps to TopSecretSci.
The posting lists 'Jav' under AI/ML programming languages — this appears to be a typo for 'Java'; it has been captured as an alternative to Python accordingly.
Conda is listed alongside Python, Java, and C++ as an 'AI/ML specific programming language' in the required qualifications section; while it is a package/environment manager rather than a language, it is captured as required per its placement in the hard-requirements block.
ETL and AWS appear only under 'Nice to Have Qualifications' and are marked as preferred.
No salary range or compensation figures are provided in the posting.
No minimum total years of experience is explicitly stated at the role level.
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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