Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Virginia

Machine Learning Engineer jobs in Virginia are in high demand, concentrated in defense and intelligence contracting, federal IT modernization, and commercial cloud services, with openings at every level from entry-level data scientist to principal engineer. Northern Virginia anchors the market as one of the most active ML hiring regions on the East Coast, alongside Richmond and the Hampton Roads corridor, where major employers including Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Amazon Web Services maintain large engineering workforces. The most sought-after specialties are natural language processing, computer vision, and MLOps pipeline development. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.

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Overview

Open roles68
Top employerCapital One
Top cityMcLean, VA
Cities hiring14
Work type50% Hybrid
Top industryTechnology

Showing 5 of 68+ Machine Learning Engineer jobs

Machine Learning Engineer 5, Senior Manager - Intelligent Foundations and Experiences (IFX)
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Machine Learning Engineer 5, Senior Manager - Intelligent Foundations and Experiences (IFX)
Capital One
McLean, Virginia
Data Science
Data Science & Analytics
ML (Machine Learning)
Doctoral degree
10,000+

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Machine Learning Engineer 5, Senior Manager - Intelligent Foundations and Experiences (IFX)
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Machine Learning Engineer 5, Senior Manager - Intelligent Foundations and Experiences (IFX)
Information Technology Senior Management Forum
McLean, Virginia
Project Management
Software Engineering
Technical Product & Program Management
$209k - $262k/yr
Doctoral degree
51-200

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Machine Learning Engineer, SME
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Added 5d ago
Machine Learning Engineer, SME
VTG Defense
McLean, Virginia
Data Analytics
Data Engineering
Data Science
Master's degree
1,001-5,000

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Machine Learning Engineer / SME (LLM Eval & RAG Testing) - SME | TS/SCI
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Machine Learning Engineer / SME (LLM Eval & RAG Testing) - SME | TS/SCI
Falls Technology
McLean, Virginia
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Data Science
On-Site

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Machine Learning Engineer SSSGDV2219
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Machine Learning Engineer SSSGDV2219
Sabree Software Services
McLean, Virginia
Full-stack Engineering
Software Engineering
Technical Program Management

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See All 68 Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Virginia

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Machine Learning Engineer Jobs by City in Virginia

Where Virginia roles are concentrated, by current openings.

Arlington
10 jobs
Chantilly
8 jobs
Herndon
7 jobs
Reston
5 jobs
Centreville
4 jobs
Fort Belvoir
3 jobs
Ashburn
2 jobs
Springfield
2 jobs

Machine Learning Engineer Job Market in Virginia

A snapshot from current Virginia openings, updated as new roles post.

Who's Hiring

Capital One8 open roles
SAIC4 open roles
AeroVironment4 open roles

Top Industries Hiring

  • Technology & Software

What Virginia Employers Look For

The qualifications that appear most often in machine learning engineer jobs across Virginia.

  • Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, mathematics, or a closely related field
  • Proficiency in Python and machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch
  • Experience designing, training, and deploying production-grade machine learning models
  • Familiarity with cloud platforms, particularly AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud environments
  • Active or eligible U.S. security clearance for roles supporting federal or defense clients
  • Strong command of data engineering tools including SQL, Spark, or distributed computing systems

Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Virginia: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you become a machine learning engineer in Virginia?

Machine learning engineering has no state-issued license in Virginia, so the path runs through education and demonstrated skills. Most Virginia employers expect at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, statistics, or engineering, and many defense and federal contractors in Northern Virginia add a security clearance requirement. Building a portfolio of deployed models and contributing to open-source projects strengthens applications considerably, especially for candidates targeting commercial roles in Richmond or Hampton Roads.

How much do machine learning engineers make in Virginia?

Machine learning engineers in Virginia earn a median of about $136,460 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $83,350 for the lowest 10% to over $211,930 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.

Which companies hire machine learning engineers in Virginia?

Employers hiring machine learning engineers in Virginia right now include Capital One, SAIC, and AeroVironment, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Northern Virginia's dense concentration of federal contractors and hyperscale cloud infrastructure makes it one of the most consistent sources of ML engineering demand in the country.

Which Virginia cities have the most machine learning engineer jobs?

McLean, Arlington, and Chantilly have the most machine learning engineer openings in Virginia. Northern Virginia drives the largest share because of its federal agency proximity, defense contractor campuses, and AWS's headquarters in Arlington, while Richmond adds openings from financial services and health IT firms, and Hampton Roads draws from Navy and DoD technology programs.

Are there remote machine learning engineer jobs in Virginia?

Yes, and more than most fields. About 64% of machine learning engineer openings tied to Virginia are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how central the work is to software development pipelines that do not require physical presence. Research, model training, and MLOps roles tend to be the most remote-friendly, while positions tied to classified federal contracts typically require on-site work in Northern Virginia.

How can I get hired as a machine learning engineer in Virginia with little or no experience?

The most realistic entry path is a junior data scientist or ML associate role at one of Virginia's large federal IT contractors, where firms like Leidos and SAIC run new-grad hiring programs that onboard candidates directly from university pipelines. Northern Virginia's proximity to George Mason University and Virginia Tech's satellite programs means many contractors actively recruit from those institutions. Building two or three end-to-end portfolio projects, earning an AWS or Google Cloud ML certification, and applying for data analyst roles as a lateral entry point all improve your odds.

Where can I find and apply to machine learning engineer jobs in Virginia?

You can find and apply to machine learning engineer jobs in Virginia on Migrate Mate, which lists current Virginia openings across Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, and beyond. Find the roles that fit your experience and specialization and apply directly from the listing.

See All 68 Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Virginia

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