Data Scientist; Level 3​/Level 4 Security Clearance

Position: Data Scientist (Level 3/Level 4) with Security Clearance
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE:
No relocation assistance available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START:
No CLEARANCE TYPE:
None TRAVEL:
Yes, 10% of the Time Description At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon.

We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

About the Team and Role At Northrop Grumman, the Insights & Intelligence (i2) organization seeks to embed trusted AI and data insights into every business decision at the company. We build lightweight, production-grade analytics solutions that solve problems traditional enterprise tools struggle to meet. Our team operates with high autonomy, working closely with engineers and business leaders to identify high-value problems, build apps and other products from the ground up, and deploy them into production.

We value speed, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to toggle between "prototype rapidly" and "engineer for production" based on what the situation demands. This role can be performed at the Principal (mid-career) or Sr. Principal (senior career) level. As a Principal/Sr. Principal Data Scientist, you will lead analytical projects that drive high-impact business decisions-working with program teams to deeply understand their challenges, developing rigorous analytical approaches and models, and delivering insights through production-quality code, applications, and strategic recommendations.

Job duties include, but are not limited to:
* Work directly with stakeholders (engineers, program managers, subject matter experts) to scope problems, formulate the right analytical questions, and translate business challenges into rigorous data science approaches

* Apply deep analytical thinking to decompose complex problems-critically evaluate data quality and relevance, challenge assumptions, and design methods that address the business need

* Develop statistical models, machine learning solutions, and analytical frameworks that deliver actionable insights and drive operational decisions

* Build user-friendly, production-grade ML/AI applications (e.g., Streamlit, Dash) and analytical artifacts that provide data insights to teams across the enterprise and enable better decision making

* Write production-quality Python code and develop analytical pipelines using cloud-based platforms (AWS, Databricks) to support scalable and reproducible data science workflows

* Deliver insights through multiple channels-executive recommendations, analytical reports, interactive dashboards, and direct consultation with business leaders

* Take ownership of the technical quality and business impact of your work-make thoughtful methodological decisions, validate approaches rigorously, and stand behind your recommendations

* Stay current on analytical methods, statistical techniques, and domain-specific best practices to continuously improve the quality and impact of your work What Makes You Successful in this role:
You balance speed with quality:
You can assess when "good enough now" beats "perfect later" and prioritize impact and working solutions over perfection. You think deeply about problems:
You don't just apply standard methods-you critically evaluate whether your analytical approach addresses the business problem, challenge your assumptions, and dig into the data to understand what's really happening. You're intellectually curious:
You get excited about jumping into new domains, asking smart questions, and learning enough about unfamiliar business problems to design the right analytical approach. You have high agency:

You proactively gather information, identify blockers, can operate in ambiguity, and make thoughtful decisions with incomplete information. You take ownership:
You're accountable for both the technical quality and business impact of your work. When you deliver a recommendation, you stand behind the methodology and can defend your approach. You're a bridge-builder:
You can talk to engineers about implementation, business stakeholders about their problems, and executives about strategic implications. You translate and collaborate across domains. Work Arrangement This is a hybrid/remote position. Most of our team is based in the Northern Virginia area, and we welcome candidates who can sometimes collaborate in person, but we operate primarily remotely and value flexibility. This position's…