Senior Data Scientist (Active Secret Clearance)

“In 36 months, agentic AI systems will be an operating reality across major institutions. We intend to be central to it.” — Dr. Jim Rebesco, Cofounder and CEO, Striveworks 

The government’s demand for AI is growing far faster than the systems required to support it. Fewer than 15% of federal AI programs have reached sustained production, despite billions of dollars invested. The models perform in testing, but they degrade in the real world. And when performance drops, trust goes with it.

Striveworks was built to solve that problem.

What you’ll build

Since 2018, we have delivered the most trusted AI systems operating in real-world use cases—providing a layer of assurance underneath hundreds of deployed models that monitors performance, manages drift, and sustains systems long after they leave the lab.

As a Senior Data Scientist at Striveworks, you will be a core contributor to the projects, products, and direction of the company. Working as part of a team of data scientists, machine learning engineers, software engineers, and DevOps engineers, you’ll develop and validate machine learning models and custom analytic algorithms applied to image, video, text, geospatial, time series, and structured data. You will also implement AI-based software solutions for cloud and edge environments. 

What it’s like here

We lead with trust, treat each other with respect, and use candor consistently, kindly, and constructively. We care deeply about our work, and we find genuine satisfaction in doing it well. Above all, we take ownership—because we feel the weight of collective results personally. We are looking for people who share these values and are eager to put them into practice.

What we’re looking for

• A BS degree in computer science, machine learning, mathematics, or a related discipline and 6+ years of relevant experience
• Expertise in machine learning, data science, and their application to image and video data, as well as experience deploying those capabilities to production environments
• Expertise in implementing and analyzing algorithms and data structures
• Proficiency in programming languages and libraries common to machine learning; excellence in Python is essential, as is knowledge of libraries like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and/or scikit-learn
• Exposure to DevOps tooling and best practices (e.g., Git, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD)
• Active Secret (or above) US security clearance and US citizenship

The following isn’t required, but we’d love to see it:

• A graduate degree in computer science, machine learning, mathematics, or a related discipline
• Experience processing a variety of unstructured data types (e.g., imagery, full-motion video, text, acoustic, sonar, RF, geospatial, graphs, or telemetry signals)
• Experience building AI agents and agentic workflows
• Experience implementing ETL pipelines, data pipelines, and/or workflow automation
• Experience developing solutions in a compiled programming language (e.g., Go, Rust, C++, Java, etc.)
• Experience building full-stack applications (back end, front end, REST) or solutions targeted for cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP) and/or Kubernetes (K8s)
• Experience leading a small team
• Experience delivering technology solutions in secure government environments

You will be hybrid/on site at our Austin, Texas, office. You will be expected to travel up to 25% of the time.

Compensation

The anticipated base pay range for this position is $185,000–$230,000/year. Striveworks’ total compensation package includes a competitive base salary, equity grants, and cash bonuses.

Benefits include:

• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Voluntary life, long-term disability, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance
• HSA and FSA (including dependent care FSA) plans
• 401(k) plan
• Unlimited PTO
• Paid parental leave

Ready to build systems that work for a mission that matters? Let’s talk.

Striveworks is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, belief, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity or expression), national origin, social or ethnic origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. Striveworks will not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.

If you require assistance or a reasonable accommodation in the application process, please contact People Operations at [email protected].

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify their identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete an employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Striveworks is a participating employer in the E-Verify program.