Data Scientist Jobs in District of Columbia
Data Scientist jobs in District of Columbia concentrate heavily in federal government agencies, defense and intelligence contracting, policy research, and public health organizations, making D.C. one of the most distinctive and active markets for the role in the country. The bulk of hiring sits in Washington D.C. itself, with additional activity in nearby Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, where major employers such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, and MITRE have deep, lasting footprints. The most in-demand specialties are machine learning engineering, natural language processing applied to policy and intelligence data, and health analytics. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Showing 5 of 61+ Data Scientist jobs
We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.
POSITION SUMMARY
CVS Health is seeking a highly innovative, hands-on, and technically accomplished Principal Data Scientist to serve as the senior technical leader for the Excalibur team, a strategic organization responsible for building advanced data, analytics, machine learning, and generative AI solutions that improve IT operations and productivity for more than 350,000 CVS Health colleagues.
As a Principal Data Scientist, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of AI-driven operational excellence across CVS Health. This role combines deep technical execution with people leadership, offering the opportunity to architect and deliver enterprise-scale machine learning models, AI agents, advanced analytics platforms, and generative AI solutions that directly impact the colleague experience and technology operations across one of the largest healthcare organizations in the United States.
The Principal Data Scientist will serve as the technical anchor for the Excalibur team, leveraging the Excalibur Data Lake, a unified Databricks platform that brings together colleague, application, operational, and telemetry data. You will personally design, build, deploy, and monitor production-grade AI and machine learning solutions while leading and mentoring a team of talented data scientists, engineers, and analysts. This is an exciting opportunity for a Principal Data Scientist who wants to remain close to the code while influencing technical strategy, advancing enterprise AI maturity, and developing high-performing teams. The role provides significant executive visibility, ownership of mission-critical AI initiatives, exposure to cutting-edge technologies, and the opportunity to create measurable business impact at enterprise scale. Success in this role will position you as a key technical leader driving the next generation of data and AI capabilities across CVS Health.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Design, develop, deploy, and monitor machine learning models, predictive analytics solutions, and generative AI applications that improve IT operations, colleague productivity, and business outcomes.
Build and maintain scalable data pipelines, data products, and curated datasets on Databricks, transforming application, operational, and telemetry data into trusted enterprise assets.
Architect and deliver self-service analytics, interactive reporting, and conversational "chat with your data" experiences that enable data-driven decision making across technology and business teams.
Write and review production-quality Python, SQL, and Spark code while establishing best practices for software engineering, data quality, testing, model development, AI governance, and MLOps.
Own the team's technical roadmap and drive architecture decisions related to machine learning approaches, feature engineering, model selection, validation strategies, AI frameworks, and platform design.
Partner with product managers, business stakeholders, engineers, architects, and technology leaders to prioritize opportunities, align technical solutions to business needs, and deliver measurable value.
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of data scientists, engineers, and analysts through coaching, technical reviews, career development, and a culture of continuous learning and innovation.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
10+ years in Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or Advanced Analytics, delivering production-ready solutions and measurable business outcomes within complex enterprise environments.
6+ years developing production-quality solutions using Python, SQL, and Spark, including testing, version control, and software engineering best practices.
4+ years building scalable data pipelines, managing data quality at scale, and supporting cloud-based data lake architectures, including 3+ years with Databricks or a comparable modern data and AI platform.
2+ years designing and deploying Generative AI solutions, including Large Language Models (LLMs), AI agents, and related AI-powered applications within enterprise environments.
3+ years leading or mentoring data scientists and engineers, conducting technical design and code reviews, building analytics and visualization solutions, and translating complex business challenges into machine learning, analytics, and AI products.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative discipline.
Experience implementing MLOps, model monitoring, LLM observability, and machine learning lifecycle management using platforms such as MLflow, Arize AI, Databricks or similar tools.
Experience developing and deploying CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and automated software delivery frameworks for data science and machine learning solutions leveraging GitHub Actions.
Experience building forecasting, anomaly detection, recommendation, scoring, or optimization models within large-scale enterprise environments.
Experience with Databricks Unity Catalog, enterprise data governance, data sharing frameworks, and modern data management practices.
Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable insights for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Publications, patents, conference presentations, open-source contributions, or other demonstrated achievements in machine learning, analytics, artificial intelligence, or generative AI.
EDUCATION
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or equivalent work experience (High School Diploma/GED plus 4 years of relevant experience).
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Bring your heart to CVS Health. Every one of us at CVS Health shares a single, clear purpose: Bringing our heart to every moment of your health. This purpose guides our commitment to deliver enhanced human-centric healthcare for a rapidly changing world. Anchored in our brand — with heart at its center — our purpose sends a personal message that how we deliver our services is just as important as what we deliver. Our Heart At Work Behaviors™ support this purpose. We want everyone who works at CVS Health to feel empowered by the role they play in transforming our culture and accelerating our ability to innovate and deliver solutions to make healthcare more personal, convenient, and affordable.
We strive to promote and sustain a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging every day. CVS Health is an affirmative action employer and is an equal opportunity employer, as are the physician-owned businesses for which CVS Health provides management services. We do not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, promotion, or any other personnel action based on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We proudly support and encourage people with military experience (active duty, veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and military spouses) to apply for CVS Health job opportunities.
Pay Range
The typical pay range for this role is:
$144,200.00 - $288,400.00
This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company’s equity award program.
Our people fuel our future. Our teams reflect the customers, patients, members and communities we serve and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every colleague feels valued and that they belong.
Great benefits for great people
We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.
This full‑time position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the physical, emotional, and financial well‑being of colleagues and their families. The benefits for this position include medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, retirement savings options, wellness programs, and other resources, based on eligibility.
Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on Benefits Moments.
We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on: 10/31/2026
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.
We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.
POSITION SUMMARY
CVS Health is seeking a highly innovative, hands-on, and technically accomplished Principal Data Scientist to serve as the senior technical leader for the Excalibur team, a strategic organization responsible for building advanced data, analytics, machine learning, and generative AI solutions that improve IT operations and productivity for more than 350,000 CVS Health colleagues.
As a Principal Data Scientist, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of AI-driven operational excellence across CVS Health. This role combines deep technical execution with people leadership, offering the opportunity to architect and deliver enterprise-scale machine learning models, AI agents, advanced analytics platforms, and generative AI solutions that directly impact the colleague experience and technology operations across one of the largest healthcare organizations in the United States.
The Principal Data Scientist will serve as the technical anchor for the Excalibur team, leveraging the Excalibur Data Lake, a unified Databricks platform that brings together colleague, application, operational, and telemetry data. You will personally design, build, deploy, and monitor production-grade AI and machine learning solutions while leading and mentoring a team of talented data scientists, engineers, and analysts. This is an exciting opportunity for a Principal Data Scientist who wants to remain close to the code while influencing technical strategy, advancing enterprise AI maturity, and developing high-performing teams. The role provides significant executive visibility, ownership of mission-critical AI initiatives, exposure to cutting-edge technologies, and the opportunity to create measurable business impact at enterprise scale. Success in this role will position you as a key technical leader driving the next generation of data and AI capabilities across CVS Health.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Design, develop, deploy, and monitor machine learning models, predictive analytics solutions, and generative AI applications that improve IT operations, colleague productivity, and business outcomes.
Build and maintain scalable data pipelines, data products, and curated datasets on Databricks, transforming application, operational, and telemetry data into trusted enterprise assets.
Architect and deliver self-service analytics, interactive reporting, and conversational "chat with your data" experiences that enable data-driven decision making across technology and business teams.
Write and review production-quality Python, SQL, and Spark code while establishing best practices for software engineering, data quality, testing, model development, AI governance, and MLOps.
Own the team's technical roadmap and drive architecture decisions related to machine learning approaches, feature engineering, model selection, validation strategies, AI frameworks, and platform design.
Partner with product managers, business stakeholders, engineers, architects, and technology leaders to prioritize opportunities, align technical solutions to business needs, and deliver measurable value.
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of data scientists, engineers, and analysts through coaching, technical reviews, career development, and a culture of continuous learning and innovation.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
10+ years in Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or Advanced Analytics, delivering production-ready solutions and measurable business outcomes within complex enterprise environments.
6+ years developing production-quality solutions using Python, SQL, and Spark, including testing, version control, and software engineering best practices.
4+ years building scalable data pipelines, managing data quality at scale, and supporting cloud-based data lake architectures, including 3+ years with Databricks or a comparable modern data and AI platform.
2+ years designing and deploying Generative AI solutions, including Large Language Models (LLMs), AI agents, and related AI-powered applications within enterprise environments.
3+ years leading or mentoring data scientists and engineers, conducting technical design and code reviews, building analytics and visualization solutions, and translating complex business challenges into machine learning, analytics, and AI products.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative discipline.
Experience implementing MLOps, model monitoring, LLM observability, and machine learning lifecycle management using platforms such as MLflow, Arize AI, Databricks or similar tools.
Experience developing and deploying CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and automated software delivery frameworks for data science and machine learning solutions leveraging GitHub Actions.
Experience building forecasting, anomaly detection, recommendation, scoring, or optimization models within large-scale enterprise environments.
Experience with Databricks Unity Catalog, enterprise data governance, data sharing frameworks, and modern data management practices.
Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable insights for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Publications, patents, conference presentations, open-source contributions, or other demonstrated achievements in machine learning, analytics, artificial intelligence, or generative AI.
EDUCATION
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or equivalent work experience (High School Diploma/GED plus 4 years of relevant experience).
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Bring your heart to CVS Health. Every one of us at CVS Health shares a single, clear purpose: Bringing our heart to every moment of your health. This purpose guides our commitment to deliver enhanced human-centric healthcare for a rapidly changing world. Anchored in our brand — with heart at its center — our purpose sends a personal message that how we deliver our services is just as important as what we deliver. Our Heart At Work Behaviors™ support this purpose. We want everyone who works at CVS Health to feel empowered by the role they play in transforming our culture and accelerating our ability to innovate and deliver solutions to make healthcare more personal, convenient, and affordable.
We strive to promote and sustain a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging every day. CVS Health is an affirmative action employer and is an equal opportunity employer, as are the physician-owned businesses for which CVS Health provides management services. We do not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, promotion, or any other personnel action based on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We proudly support and encourage people with military experience (active duty, veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and military spouses) to apply for CVS Health job opportunities.
Pay Range
The typical pay range for this role is:
$144,200.00 - $288,400.00
This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company’s equity award program.
Our people fuel our future. Our teams reflect the customers, patients, members and communities we serve and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every colleague feels valued and that they belong.
Great benefits for great people
We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.
This full‑time position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the physical, emotional, and financial well‑being of colleagues and their families. The benefits for this position include medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, retirement savings options, wellness programs, and other resources, based on eligibility.
Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on Benefits Moments.
We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on: 10/31/2026
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.
See All 61 Data Scientist Jobs in District of Columbia
Find roles in District of Columbia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Scientist JobsData Scientist Jobs by City in District of Columbia
Where District of Columbia roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Data Scientist Job Market in District of Columbia
A snapshot from current District of Columbia openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Law & Legal Services
- Government & Public Sector
- Consulting & Professional Services
What District of Columbia Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in data scientist jobs across District of Columbia.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in statistics, computer science, mathematics, or a related quantitative field
- Proficiency in Python or R for data analysis, modeling, and pipeline development
- Experience with machine learning frameworks such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch
- Ability to obtain or hold an active U.S. government security clearance for federal and contractor roles
- Familiarity with SQL and working with large structured and unstructured datasets
- Strong communication skills for presenting findings to non-technical policy or leadership audiences
Data Scientist Jobs in District of Columbia: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a data scientist in District of Columbia?
There is no District of Columbia-issued license or state registration required to work as a data scientist. The standard path is a bachelor's degree in a quantitative field followed by a master's degree or demonstrated project experience, then entry through federal agency programs, contractor internships, or research fellowship pipelines. Many D.C.-area roles, especially in federal contracting and intelligence, require candidates to be eligible for or already hold a security clearance, which becomes a practical credential in this market.
How much do data scientists make in District of Columbia?
Data scientists in District of Columbia earn a median of about $126,490 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $89,750 for the lowest 10% to over $209,730 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire data scientists in District of Columbia?
Companies currently hiring data scientists in District of Columbia include Unissant, Guidehouse, and Nalley Consulting, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. The D.C. market is particularly deep in federal systems integrators and management consulting firms that embed data scientists directly within government agency teams.
Which District of Columbia cities have the most data scientist jobs?
The cities with the most data scientist openings in District of Columbia are Washington and Bolling AFB. Washington D.C. itself drives the largest share through federal agencies and their contractors, while Northern Virginia cities like Arlington and McLean attract demand from defense and intelligence firms, and Maryland suburbs such as Bethesda draw roles tied to NIH, FDA, and other health-focused federal institutions.
Are there remote data scientist jobs in District of Columbia?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 76% of data scientist openings tied to District of Columbia are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting the desk-based and analytical nature of the work. Modeling, research, and business intelligence roles tend to be the most remote-flexible, while positions that involve classified systems or secure government networks typically require on-site presence.
How can I get hired as a data scientist in District of Columbia with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a federal agency internship or a contractor analyst program that accepts recent graduates. Agencies such as the Census Bureau, NIH, and the Department of Defense run structured programs for early-career candidates, and large contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton and Leidos recruit from these pipelines. Moving into a data scientist role from an adjacent position such as a research analyst, statistician, or business intelligence analyst is common here. Building a portfolio of policy-relevant or public-data projects and pursuing clearance eligibility both give candidates a concrete edge over applicants with equivalent academic credentials.
Where can I find and apply to data scientist jobs in District of Columbia?
You can find and apply to data scientist jobs in District of Columbia on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings in the D.C. area. Search the listings, find the roles that match your background and interests, and apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 61 Data Scientist Jobs in District of Columbia
Find roles in District of Columbia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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