About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Non-profit Organizations.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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Primary Responsibilities

This opportunity is for a Transportation Data Scientist (AI Solutions) to support federally funded transportation research projects. You will join a research-focused team delivering AI/ML capabilities for transportation operations, safety, and analytics.

• Assist in data and literature reviews to identify AI methods, public datasets, and technologies relevant to freight analytics, traffic safety, and operations (sensor fusion, computer vision, multimodal AI).
• Prepare, clean, normalize, enrich, and fuse multi-source data (traffic logs, imagery, weather, permitting records, WIM) and address real-world data quality issues (inconsistency, sparsity, bias).
• Contribute to design, development, validation, and deployment of AI/ML models for transportation problems (e.g., vehicle load classification using weigh-in-motion data and imagery; crash prediction in TMCs).
• Evaluate model performance across diverse conditions and recommend improvements for robustness, scalability, and trustworthiness in operational environments.
• Support stakeholder outreach and engagement: organize peer exchanges, workshops, and technical briefings with state DOTs, MPOs, enforcement agencies, and vendors to gather requirements and feedback.
• Work with cross-functional teams to align projects with USDOT goals and federal standards (risk management, QA, compliance).
• Contribute to monthly progress reporting, risk mitigation, and iterative model refinement based on customer feedback.

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Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Transportation Engineering, or a related field; Ph.D. preferred.
• 2+ years of professional (non-academic) experience in data science and AI/ML with hands-on AI solution development.
• Practical experience with machine learning frameworks and tools (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn; pandas, NumPy).
• Experience handling multimodal data (imagery, sensor/time-series, logs) and end-to-end ETL/data integration for AI use cases.
• Familiarity with AI techniques relevant to the role (deep learning, computer vision, generative AI concepts, LLMs).
• Strong analytical skills; comfortable with model evaluation metrics (AUC, accuracy, etc.) and testing under varied data quality scenarios.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; experience presenting technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, research-oriented environment.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% for stakeholder meetings, site visits, or conferences.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance (requires three consecutive years of U.S. residency).
• All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

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Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience supporting state DOTs or federal transportation agencies (FHWA, USDOT) on AI/ITS initiatives.
• Familiarity with transportation datasets and standards (HSIS, SHRP2, NGSIM, SAE J2735/V2X).
• Experience with synthetic data generation, physics-informed ML, or generative AI for transportation simulations.
• Understanding of federal AI governance, risk management, and equity considerations in transportation deployments.
• Project management experience in multi-agency initiatives or contributions to communities of practice.
• Publications or conference presentations in AI/transportation venues (TRB, ITS America, etc.).

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Location & Clearance

• This is a full-time, on-site role at the customer site in Bethesda, MD.
• Candidate MUST have been continuously located in the United States for the last three consecutive years and be eligible for a Public Trust clearance.
• Employment authorization in the U.S. is required.

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Compensation & Benefits

• Anticipated salary range for this role: $100,000 - $120,000.
• Posted pay range associated with the source listing: $87,100 - $157,450.
• Benefits typically include competitive compensation, health & wellness programs, income protection, paid leave, and retirement plans (details provided by the hiring client).

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Why You’ll Like This Role

• Work on federally supported, impactful projects at the intersection of AI and transportation operations.
• Apply practical AI/ML skills to real-world transportation challenges (WIM, crash prediction, sensor fusion).
• Collaborate with state and federal transportation stakeholders and influence deployment-ready solutions.
• Join a mission-driven research environment where innovation and cross-agency collaboration are prioritized.

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Notes from Careertakes

• Careertakes is the recruiting partner for this opening. The hiring organization is a confidential client operating in the Non-profit Organizations industry.
• Applicants may be considered for additional matched roles through the Careertakes platform.

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.