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Data Scientist


DDI Data Scientists solve critical data challenges by building optimal data pipelines, analyzing and transforming data, and delivering data to systems to advance CIA’s intelligence mission.

 
  • Full time
  • Starting salary: $75,782 - $172,075*
  • *Higher starting salary possible depending on experience level
  • Bachelor's degree
  • Foreign language bonus eligible
Express Interest

Agency-wide Requirements

All applicants must be:

  • U.S. citizens (dual U.S. citizens also eligible)
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Willing to move to the Washington, DC area
  • Able to complete security and medical evaluations
  • Registered for the Selective Service

About the Job

As a Data Scientist for CIA, you will organize and interpret data to inform U.S. decision-makers, drive successful operations, and shape CIA technology and resource investments. Through CIA's global mission, the Agency has access to unique and highly specialized data sets. You will work with open source data and statistical software packages, cloud services, and AI/ML technologies to find patterns and relationships in large volumes of data. You will also create scalable, high performance, and repeatable computational solutions which realize their algorithmic approaches. Data Scientists clearly communicate their conclusions to a diverse audience and become experts through Agency-sponsored continuing education, attendance at academic, and technical conferences as well as collaboration with the Intelligence Community.

Who You’ll Work With

At the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), we recognize our Nation’s strength comes from the diversity of its people. People from a broad range of backgrounds and viewpoints work at CIA, and our diverse teams are the reason we can keep our country safe.

Read more about diversity and inclusion

What You’ll Get

Our benefits support every aspect of a working professional’s life, including health and wellness, time off, family, finances, and continuing education. Our programs include highly sought-after government health benefits, flexible schedules, sick leave, and childcare. In some cases, we also offer sign-on incentives and cover moving expenses if you relocate.

As a CIA employee, you’ll also get the satisfaction of knowing your work is part of something bigger than yourself. Our work is driven by one mission: to keep our Nation safe. Every day is an opportunity to enhance U.S. national security.

Learn more about working at CIA

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree preferably in a quantitative science, engineering, or social sciences (e.g STEM) field such as:
    • Computational Social Science
    • Computer Science
    • Data Analytics
    • Economics
    • Engineering
    • Geospatial Analysis
    • Mathematics
    • Operations Research
    • Quantitative Finance
    • Statistics
  • At least a 3.0 GPA on a 4-point scale
  • Experience analyzing real world data through coursework, thesis research, internships, or work experience
  • Ability to analyze data in Python or another Object Oriented Programming Language
  • Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to a variety of audiences verbally and in writing
  • Creativity
  • Initiative
  • Integrity
  • Leadership abilities
  • Problem solving skills
  • Ability to work effectively individually and on a team in a diverse environment.
  • Ability to meet the minimum requirements for joining CIA, including U.S. citizenship and a background investigation

Desired Qualifications

  • Advanced degree in a data science equivalent field or sub-field
  • Experience developing, retraining, or using AI and Machine Learning packages
  • Experience working with cloud computing platforms such as AWS
  • Experience with performance scaling and working with large data challenges
  • Ability to successfully complete projects with large or incomplete data and provide solutions