Feeny
Kestrel Intelligence

Data Scientist (Virginia) at Kestrel Intelligence (Crystal City, VA)

Kestrel Intelligence· Crystal City, VA·

Role details

Work type
Hybrid
Employment
Full-Time

Job description

The Mission At Kestrel, we are building the future of scalable autonomy across domains. Our systems enable commercial and national security customers to sense and act in support of complex missions without significant autonomous system expertise. This technology bridges domains (e.g., space, air, land, sea) and fields (e.g., AI, orbital dynamics, geospatial), requiring a team that has both breadth and depth in these related topics.

The Role

We are looking for an individual contributor to architect and deploy production-grade subsystems that power our cutting-edge products for both commercial clients and critical national security missions. As a Kestrel Data Scientist, you will lead the development of high-fidelity data processing pipelines, traditional AI/ML models, and wrapping them into tools for next-generation Agentic AI. You will work at the bleeding edge of geospatial science. This role requires adaptability, engineering rigor, and a deep respect for the mission.

Core Responsibilities:

  • Architecture: Lead the end-to-end creation of production-ready AI/ML and agentic subsystems.
  • Geospatial Engineering: Build robust preprocessing pipelines for raster and vector data (using GDAL, SNAP, rasterio, PostGIS).
  • Innovation: Integrate emerging technologies, from Geospatial Foundation Models (GeoFMs) to autonomous route planning, into a cohesive operational picture.

You Must Be:

A master of foundational geospatial: Proven experience building geospatial data preprocessing pipelines (raster and vector) using the modern geospatial stack (GDAL, SNAP, rasterio, PostGIS, etc.).

A specialist: You must have production-grade experience in at least two (2) of the following domains:

  • Traditional GeoAI/ML: Object detection/land classification (scikit, OpenCV, etc.).
  • Geospatial Foundation Models: Utilizing GeoFMs like AlphaEarth, Prithvi, or Clay.
  • SAR & Interferometry: Pipeline development (e.g., isce2).
  • Hyperspectral Imaging: Processing (e.g., SPy).
  • RF Propagation: Modeling signal data (e.g., CloudRF).
  • Digital Elevation Models: Handling DEM in multiple formats (e.g., DTED).
  • Autonomous Systems: Route planning for unmanned systems (e.g., Auterion, ArduPilot).
  • Optimization: Complex scheduling for satellite constellations or aircraft.
  • Economics: Models for resource allocation such as auction, bidding, pricing, waiting.

Must be a US Citizen

Bonus:

  • Based in the Colorado Springs, CO or Washington, DC (working in customer sites in Crystal City, VA and Herndon, VA) areas
  • Active Top Secret // Specially Compartmented Information (TS//SCI) clearance with counterintelligence-scope polygraph (CSP) or full-scope polygraph (FSP)

Why work at Kestrel Intelligence

  • Mission-driven work at the intersection of AI, space, and national security — every engineer and data scientist contributes directly to solving high-impact intelligence problems.
  • Small, growing team (~7 people) means outsized ownership and influence; employees wear multiple hats and work closely with founders and former operators.
  • Hybrid work policy with office hubs in Colorado Springs, CO and Crystal City, VA (across from the Pentagon) — offering flexibility while maintaining in-person collaboration for sensitive work.
  • Cutting-edge tech stack dealing with agentic AI, multi-sensor fusion, and real-time orchestration — an opportunity to build novel systems not available in the commercial sector.
  • Culture highlights: Tight-knit team with backgrounds in intelligence, defense, and big tech; emphasis on removing busywork rather than removing humans; transparent hiring process (uses AI tools to screen, but final decisions are human-led).

Application questions