Job Specifications
Member of Technical Staff – Machine Learning Engineer (Secret Clearance)
Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid – DMV) travel to SCIF's as needed
Clearance: Active and transferable Secret Clearance
Salary: $150,000-$215,000 and 5000 of equity shares
Talent Stack is supporting a confidential, defense-focused technology client in hiring a Machine Learning Engineer to build and deploy production-grade AI applications in mission-critical environments.
About the Role:
This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy working across machine learning, data engineering, and software engineering, with a strong emphasis on systems design, performance, and real-world deployment. The work directly supports high-impact programs in secure and regulated settings. This is NOT a Data Science role.
What We’re Looking For:
Engineers with hands-on experience deploying ML systems into production
Strong software engineering fundamentals, not research-only or experimentation-focused profiles
Comfort working across ML models, backend services, and data pipelines
Experience improving performance, scalability, and reliability of deployed systems
Engineers who value ownership, maintainability, and usability
Willingness to work on-site in secure DC-area environments (SCIFs) as required
What You’ll Do:
Design, build, and maintain production ML systems using Python
Lead platform and system upgrades to improve scalability and performance
Develop interactive, user-facing analytics dashboards using a Python-based SDK
Optimize data access patterns and runtime performance
Troubleshoot and resolve issues in live, mission-critical applications
Partner closely with Technical Product Managers to enhance usability and delivery
Required Qualifications:
4+ years of professional experience as an ML Engineer, Software Engineer, or similar
Bachelors degree from a top US based Computer Science program/STEM related degree.
4+ years of Python engineering experience in production environments
Proven experience deploying and maintaining ML models in live systems
Solid understanding of software engineering best practices (testing, version control, performance, maintainability)
Experience working in security-sensitive, regulated, or mission-critical environments
Active Secret clearance
Prior experience supporting DoD, IC, or federal customers
Strong systems and performance optimization experience
Experience building user-facing analytics or decision-support tools
Work Environment:
Hybrid role based in Washington, DC
40-hour work week with flexible start/end times
Core hours: 10am–4pm
On-site work in SCIFs required based on project needs
Occasional travel to U.S. customer sites
Visa sponsorship not available, Must be a US citizen
Active and transferable U.S. government–issued security clearance is required prior to start date. Candidates must currently hold an active Secret, (TS) or TS/SCI clearance.
U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.
Recruitment Agencies Disclaimer: This position is posted for direct applicants only. We kindly request that external recruiters, staffing agencies, or search firms refrain from submitting candidates. Unsolicited resumes will be treated as direct applications, and no agency fees will be honored.
Reference # P3
About the Company
Talent Stack, LLC is a boutique recruiting and sourcing consultancy that partners with companies to deliver the best technical talent for cutting-edge tech teams. We specialize in building tailored, scalable talent strategies that align with your company’s vision and growth goals.
At Talent Stack, we believe innovation starts with people. That’s why we’re committed to “Strategically Stacking Talent for Tomorrow’s Tech.” Whether you're a startup pushing boundaries or an established company evolving fast, we connect you with ...
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