Govini · 15 hours ago
Lead Data Scientist - Knowledge Retrieval
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/StaffGovini transforms Defense Acquisition from an outdated manual process to a software-driven strategic advantage for the United States. The Lead Data Scientist will provide visionary technical leadership to a team of data scientists and AI engineers, driving the development and deployment of AI solutions for National Security clientele.
AnalyticsArtificial Intelligence (AI)Business IntelligenceDatabaseNational SecuritySoftware
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Lead the end-to-end execution of large-scale AI projects, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and timely delivery
Lead the development of advanced agentic search, knowledge retrieval, and deep research systems
Drive the expansion of data-driven research and advanced analytics for strategic business and national security results
Design and deploy Agentic AI systems capable of deep conversational knowledge explorations, robust problem solving, and accurate question answering from proprietary datasets
Act as the primary Individual Contributor (IC) and technical lead for complex AI/ML/DS projects, taking deep ownership from ideation to production deployment
Serve as the domain expert in AI Search Science (ranking, query understanding, agentic search, deep research, embedding models, etc), driving the application and development of state-of-the-art methods within that specialization
Work closely with partner teams, including AI research, data engineering, and software development, to define robust software architecture, set the project roadmap, and manage technical execution
Collaborate with the Product team to clearly define product scope, translating high-level requirements into actionable technical plans and delivering market-ready AI solutions integrated with client data platforms and workflows
Drive the development of scalable, AI-based platforms designed to support and power solutions for a diverse range of customers within the defense ecosystem
Champion the introduction of new AI innovations. Stay current with the rapidly evolving fields of Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models (LLMs), and agentic systems, and actively transfer this knowledge and best practices for implementation across the team
Mentor and guide junior and senior team members, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and high-impact work
Nurture a robust AI culture within the team by leading technical discussions, conducting internal workshops, and promoting best practices in model development, experimentation, and MLOps
Demonstrate strong leadership qualities to align the team's AI strategy effectively with overall business and client needs, translating complex technical concepts into strategic business impacts for leadership
Qualification
Required
U.S. Citizenship is required
Oversee the full lifecycle of large-scale AI projects
Understanding of coding AI (such as Claude Code) and experience in using it to scale up AI team deliveries
Expertise in designing and implementing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures and complex indexing strategies for proprietary, large-scale, heterogeneous datasets
Expertise in fine-tuning multi modal embedding models
Proven ability to leverage state-of-the-art LLMs, multi-modal embedding models, vector databases, and knowledge graph systems to build production-ready knowledge retrieval, conversational AI search, and Deep Research systems
Practical experience building hybrid knowledge retrieval systems that combine advanced techniques like embedding models, knowledge graphs, and traditional methods (e.g., BM25), utilizing novel paradigms such as GraphRAG, RAG-RL, and other advanced retrieval strategies
Deep knowledge of and practical experience with ranking and reranking models, including multi-tower, bi-encoder and cross-encoder architectures, specifically within the context of search and knowledge retrieval systems
Expert proficiency in developing and deploying multi-agent AI systems and reasoning frameworks (e.g., ReAct, Chain-of-Thought) for complex knowledge exploration, robust problem-solving, and decision support within search and retrieval contexts
Ensure timely project delivery and strategic goal alignment
Collaborate with cross-functional teams (AI Research, Data Engineering, Software Development)
Define robust software architecture for large-scale AI systems and project roadmaps
Translate high-level product requirements into actionable technical plans
Deliver production-ready AI solutions integrated with clients' data platforms and workflows
Drive the implementation of scalable AI/ML platforms
Maintain deep expertise in cutting-edge AI, including LLMs and agentic systems
Train models, build systems based on AI innovations
Champion innovation and best practices across the organization
Mentor and coach team members
Foster a high-performing culture of technical excellence and continuous growth
Help to the leadership to align AI strategy effectively with client needs
Create agentic AI systems, using AI orchestrators and particular AI reasoning capabilities as tools
Preferred
Current possession of a U.S. security clearance, or the ability to obtain one with our sponsorship
Experience in or exposure to the nuances of a startup or other entrepreneurial environment
A strong publication record in the top conferences in one of the AI, ML NLP, and decision science areas
Deep knowledge of LLM and Agentic system evaluation, experience in building evaluation systems
Experience in LLM post-training or fine-tuning
Company
Govini
Govini is a software company that transforms defense acquisition and national-security decision-making through data, analytics, and AI.
Founded in 2011
201-500 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$170MKey Investors
Bain Capital
2025-10-10Private Equity· $150M
2015-05-07Series C· $20M
2012-01-01Series A
Leadership Team
Marc Vogtman
Senior Vice President Product Management
Recent News
2025-11-19
Company data provided by crunchbase