Technical SETA SME – Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Guidehouse Open · verified Oct 22, 2026 At a glance
Mid-level AI Research role at Guidehouse. US - MD, Bethesda · full-time · $113,000–$188,000 base.
aimlroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Guide research programs from initial development and source selection through delivery, closeout and transition
- Bring NLP expertise to meetings, workshops, conferences and testing events as the program’s subject matter expert
- Advise on language technologies, including large language models, machine-language understanding and text analytics
What you bring
- Maintain an active federal or DoD TS/SCI clearance with polygraph
- Hold a bachelor’s degree in a listed technical field and have at least eight years of related work experience
- Have systems integration experience in data-intensive settings and practical knowledge of AI and machine learning
- Demonstrate NLP methods and pipeline work, from text preparation and model training to tuning for mission settings
- Understand large-scale analytics data pipelines, AI governance and quality controls, and program plans and schedules
Who this fits
This mid-level role suits a technical NLP specialist who can advise on research programs and explain language-processing work as a subject matter expert. An active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph is required, and travel may reach ten percent.
From the employer
Job Family:
Data Science & Analysis (ESA)
Travel Required:
Clearance Required:
What You Will Do:
The Technical SETA will provide support in the execution of the lifecycle of a research program from development, source selection, execution, closeout, and transition. The Technical SETA will be responsible for attending meetings, workshops, conferences, and testing events as the Subject Matter Expert.
In this role, the Technical SETA will serve as the Subject Matter Expert in Natural Language Processing (NLP), including large language models (LLMs), machine‑language understanding, text analytics, and AI‑driven language processing technologies.
What You Will Need:
- An ACTIVE and MAINTAINED TS/SCI Federal or DoD security clearance with a polygraph
- Bachelor’s degree in physics, mathematics, computer science, or relevant engineering fields (electrical, computer, systems, software)
- EIGHT (8) or more years of work experience in physics, mathematics, computer science, or relevant engineering fields (electrical, computer, systems, software).
- Experiences should include, but not be limited to:
- Systems engineering and integration experience in complex, data‑intensive environments
- Knowledge of AI/ML (computer vision, NLP, predictive analytics, LLMs)
- Demonstrated experience with NLP methodologies such as text classification, named entity recognition, topic modeling, information extraction, or transformer‑based architectures
- Experience developing or evaluating NLP pipelines, including text preprocessing, tokenization strategies, model training, fine‑tuning, and optimization for mission environments
- Understanding of data architectures and pipelines for large‑scale analytics/intelligence production
- Familiarity with AI governance, data quality, bias mitigation, and mission assurance in operational NLP/LLM deployments
- Experience creating program plans, work breakdown structures, and milestone schedules
What Would Be Nice To Have:
- Master’s degree or PhD in physics, mathematics, computer science, or relevant engineering fields (electrical, computer, systems, software) with FOUR (4) or more years of work experience
- Experience in the Intelligence Community (IC), including requirements, CONOPS, and transition
- Experience managing a multi-disciplinary R&D or T&E team
- Experience as a Project Manager or Deputy Project Manager
- Experience with NLP development tools or frameworks such as Hugging Face, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy, or similar libraries
- Ability to proactively manage multiple, concurrent tasks
- Excellent writing, slide development, and editing skills, including the ability to develop succinct, comprehensive, and understandable documents using complex data from multiple sources for technical and non-technical audiences
- Strong organizational, problem-solving, and time-management skills; detail oriented
What We Offer:
Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.
Benefits include:
Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus
Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Basic Life & Supplemental Life
Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
Student Loan PayDown
Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
Skills Development & Certifications
Employee Referral Program
Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program
Mobility Stipend
About Guidehouse
Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer–Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.
Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@guidehouse.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation.
All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or guidehouse@myworkday.com. Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse. Note that Guidehouse will never charge a fee or require a money transfer at any stage of the recruitment process and does not collect fees from educational institutions for participation in a recruitment event. Never provide your banking information to a third party purporting to need that information to proceed in the hiring process.
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