Full-Time

Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Engineer 2

Captivation

Captivation

11-50 employees

Software engineering for mission-focused teams

Compensation Overview

$130k - $270k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Annapolis Junction, MD, USA

In Person

US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required

Bachelor's, Master's, PhD

Category
AI & Machine Learning (1)
Required Skills
Data Science
Data Structures & Algorithms
Machine Learning
Quality Assurance (QA)
Data Modeling
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • Must currently hold a Top Secret/SCI U.S. Government security clearance with a favorable polygraph.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen.
  • Five years of experience deploying machine learning algorithms is required.
  • A Master's or Ph.D. degree in advanced math, artificial intelligence, data science, computer science, or deep learning from an accredited college or university is required.
  • Five additional years of machine learning experience with a relevant Bachelor's degree may be substituted for a Master's degree.
  • Demonstrated ability in software engineering and artificial intelligence/machine learning model test and evaluation.
Responsibilities
  • Select appropriate data sets.
  • Perform statistical analysis.
  • Run machine learning algorithms.
  • Use results to improve models.
  • Train and retrain systems when needed.
  • Work with various machine learning libraries and packages.
  • Run standard test and evaluation protocols.
  • Provide system integration oversight.
  • Oversee testing and evaluation of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms through an iterative design process to meet verification and validation requirements.
  • Research and implement a broad range of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms and tools.
  • Design or select appropriate data and knowledge representation methods.
  • Recognize software architecture, data modeling, and data structures.
  • Transform and convert data science prototypes into scalable solutions.
  • Verify data and model output quality.
  • Identify differences in data distribution that affect model performance.

Captivation builds digital software for mission makers by delivering engineering services across a wide range of disciplines. The work is collaborative, with teams that move quickly like a small business and take pride in what they develop. The company emphasizes transparency, a flat organizational structure, and a developer-focused culture, which enables engineers to work directly and iteratively with clients. Compared with larger firms, Captivation differentiates itself through its focus on timely delivery, practical problem solving, and actively pursuing challenging projects for the Intelligence Community, using modern software technologies. The goal is to produce solutions that clients value, on time, while growing the team and empowering its engineers to take ownership of their work.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Columbia, Maryland

Founded

2014

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Greenhouse listed 75 openings on August 28, 2026, signaling active demand.
  • Haystack posted a DevOps role on August 14, 2026 with $130,000-$270,000 pay.
  • Captivation launched AI machine learning, platform, and network roles in August 2026.

What critics are saying

  • Captivation had 55-75 openings in 2026, suggesting constant contract-driven hiring churn.
  • Most roles require Top Secret/SCI and favorable polygraph, shrinking the candidate pool immediately.
  • A single program loss in Annapolis Junction would hit revenue and trigger rapid headcount cuts.

What makes Captivation unique

  • Captivation serves Armed Forces and Intelligence Community customers from Baltimore and Annapolis Junction.
  • Captivation hires cleared engineers across Java, AWS, Kubernetes, and DevOps roles in 2026.
  • Captivation offers direct-hire roles with 20% 401(k), 6 weeks PTO, and paid insurance.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account

Unlimited Paid Time Off

401(k) Retirement Plan