Head of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering

Head of Data Science and Machine Learning Engineering
Northern Virginia Executive Leadership Role

A leading technology-driven organization in Northern Virginia is seeking a visionary and hands-on leader to serve as its Head of Data Science and Machine Learning Engineering. This high-impact role offers the opportunity to own the entire AI/ML lifecyclefrom research and algorithmic innovation to scalable production deploymentwhile leading integrated Data Science and Machine Learning Engineering teams.

As a key member of the technology leadership team you will define and execute the strategic AI vision directly influencing product innovation customer experience and competitive differentiation.

What Youll Do

Team Leadership

• Lead and mentor high-performing Data Science and Machine Learning Engineering teams.
• Foster a collaborative culture focused on excellence accountability and innovation.
• Define operational models that optimize delivery speed quality and scalability.

Strategic Ownership

• Own the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle: ideation development deployment monitoring and maintenance.
• Align AI/ML strategy with product and business goals.
• Drive an R&D agenda focused on advanced modeling techniques and agentic systems.

Technical Delivery

• Architect and scale MLOps infrastructure for robust automated model deployment.
• Provide hands-on leadership in developing models using deep learning embeddings neural networks and GNNs.
• Utilize AWS Bedrock SageMaker TensorFlow and PyTorch to build scalable AI solutions.
• Stay ahead of emerging trends in ML AI and GenAI.

Communication & Evangelism

• Partner with executive leadership to communicate AI strategy across the organization.
• Represent the company at industry events and customer engagements.
• Translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences.

What You Bring

Leadership & Communication

• Proven ability to lead both research-focused and production-focused teams.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; comfortable engaging with clients analysts and media.
• A collaborative mindset and ability to work cross-functionally with engineering product and GTM teams.
• Passion for continuous learning and innovation.

Technical Expertise

• Deep knowledge of modern ML techniques: gradient boosting Bayesian models causal inference deep learning embeddings GNNs.
• Hands-on experience with MLOps tools and principles (CI/CD for ML model registries feature stores).
• Strong software engineering and architectural skills.
• Proficiency in Python and libraries such as TensorFlow PyTorch and scikit-learn.
• Experience with AWS AI/ML services especially Bedrock and SageMaker.
• Familiarity with agentic workflows is a plus.

Bonus Experience

• Background in consumer data ad-tech or mar-tech.
• Domain expertise in health finance consumer goods politics or advocacy.

If youre a strategic thinker with a passion for data and innovation and ready to shape the future of enterprise-level machine learning systems wed love to connect.