Attachment 0001 PWS - UD SEAM.pdf

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TALENT 2.0

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

FOR

CHIEF DIGITAL AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OFFICER (CDAO)

Directorate of Scaled Capabilities Product Development Division

Search Products Portfolio

Unstructured Data Search Enhanced by AI/ML (UD-SEAM)

4 February 2025

Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Background

3 Scope

3.1 Team Structure

3.2 Product Security Domain Considerations

4 Position Requirements

4.1 Senior Level Project / Program Manager

4.2 Mid-level Project Manager / Product Lead

4.3 Mid-level Systems Architect (Solutions Architect)

4.4 Senior Level Data Scientist

4.5 UI/UX Designer

4.6 Mid-level SCRUM Master

4.7 Senior-level Data Engineer

4.8 Mid-level Data Engineer

4.9 Senior-Level Full Stack Software Engineer -- AI ML Model Development, ML Operations, and Applied Data Science

4.10 Mid-Level Full Stack Software Engineer -- AI ML Model Development, ML Operations, and Applied Data Science

5 Contract Management

5.1 Contracting Agency

5.2 Period of Performance

5.3 Place of Performance

5.4 Travel

5.4.1 Travel Screenings

5.4.2 Travel Documents

5.5 Security

5.6 USG Networks and Communications Infrastructure

6 Additional Information

6.1 Point of Contact (POC)

6.2 Project Guidance

7 Anti-Terrorism/Operational Security

7.1 Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12)

7.2 Operational Security (OPSEC)

7.3 Information Awareness Training / Cyber Awareness Challenge

7.4 Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

8 Government Furnished Property/Equipment (GFP/GFE)

8.1 GFP/GFE provided

9 Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations

9.1 AI Ethical Considerations

1 Introduction The Department of Defense’s (DoD) CDAO is the senior official responsible for the acceleration of the DoD’s adoption of data, analytics, and AI to generate decision advantage from the boardroom to the battlefield. CDAO is also responsible for the integration of multi-disciplinary data to support the development of combined joint all-domain command and control (commonly known as CJADC2) capabilities in support of integrated joint warfighting and delivery such capabilities to the combatant commands.

The Advana platform is a modern cloud-hosted data platform that provides a managed data service and a shared analytic capability. Advana provides a fully accredited environment from which to develop, test, and deploy the tools of the CDAO Directorate of Scaled Capabilities, Product Development Division’s Search Portfolio.

The Portfolio’s flagship Search products include GAMECHANGER (Policy Search), Contract Search, and JBook Search. Additionally, the Portfolio has developed and is deploying a semantic search web service Application Programming Interface (API) on government networks in multiple security domains.

The semantic search API is designed to align with the self-service approach to providing AI enabled functionality. Integration with the Portfolio’s own GAMECHANGER product serves as the first exemplar and basis for the Product Integration Guide showing how other use cases may utilize the API as it matures and becomes more widely available.

• GAMECHANGER Policy Search provides a single place for users across the DoD to search and perform analysis on a corpus of over 60,000 policy and related DoD documents, collected from over 50 document repositories and sources throughout the DoD and Intelligence Community.

GAMECHANGER has over 16,000 monthly users and is Advana’s most widely used application as of September 2024.

• The Contract Search application provides a single place for the acquisitions, procurement, and cost estimating community to search and perform analysis on a corpus of over 90M DoD contract documents. Contract Search has approximately 100 monthly users.

• JBook Search enables cost analysts to search across RDT&E procurement data, and apply classifications across programs, projects, and line items. It is the only tool in the Department that provides data-driven insight into where and how the DoD is investing. JBook Search has approximately 300 monthly users.

2 Background The CDAO is the lead for all AI work within Department of Defense (DoD) and is responsible for transforming the department.

On December 8, 2021, the Deputy Secretary of Defense created the position of CDAO to serve as the Department’s senior official responsible for strengthening and integrating data, artificial intelligence, and digital solutions in the DoD. Stood up in February 2022 by integrating the Joint Artificial Intelligence

Center (JAIC), Defense Digital Services (DDS), the Chief Data Officer, and the enterprise platform Advana into one organization, the CDAO is building a strong foundation for data, analytic, and AI-enabled capabilities to be developed and fielded at scale. Part of this foundation is ensuring the Department has the necessary people, platforms, and processes needed to continuously provide business leaders and warfighters with agile solutions. CDAO reached full operating capacity on 01 June 2022 and will be fully stood up under Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) effective October 9, 2022.The CDAO is offering this BOA to all DoD agencies to provide top-tier AI staff in support of their mission.

To achieve its mission, the CDAO:

• Shapes DoD policies to accelerate the development and delivery of AI-enabled capabilities

• Develops, maintains, and executes Department-level governance of AI

• Contributes to DoD strategic planning initiatives, such as the NDS and DPG to understand and shape priority Joint and enterprise AI-enabled capabilities

The current functions of DoD AI agencies include:

• Oversee the development of strategies to reduce technology and non-technology barriers to AI adoption

• Ensure warfighting operations are functioning consistently to identify and exploit modernization opportunities

• Coordinate information flow across the agency and with other agencies

• Manage taskers and monitor performance measures

• Elucidate use cases for AI

• Deliver sustainable, useful, reliable AI Products

• Inform Operation infrastructure design

• Inform doctrine

• Inform talent development/management

• Educate leaders

• Improve data (collection, curation, storage, and sharing)

The CDAO will perform several critical functions in close coordination with the Services, Joint Staff, CIO, USD (R&E), and other digital leaders.

All software development work performed in support of the Search Portfolio will be developed in accordance with CDAO CTO, professional, and industry standards to maximize continuous iteration / continuous development (CI/CD), application of responsible AI concepts, and enterprise scalability, using the CDAO’s preferred Scaled Agile Framework to the maximum extent possible. This also includes managing the applications of the Search Portfolio more from the perspective of Agile Product Ownership than that of traditional project management.

Systems and software development work will further comply with DoD policy as it pertains to risk-managed access to data, active collaboration in the industry/academic/USG data and AI communities, and efficient acquisitions and procurement strategies.

3 Scope The Search Portfolio serves the fundamental need to accelerate decision advantage through information accessibility, information retrieval and insight extraction. The Portfolio will sustain the GAMECHANGER, Contract Search, and JBook Search applications on the Advana platform as the platform upgrades and evolves.

Additionally, the Portfolio will continue development of YETI, an AI/ML enabled natural language processing (NLP) Application Programming Interface (API), supporting the selection of ingest of independent corpuses of unstructured data, embedded using a selection multiple Large Language Models, and made available through a secured query API for semantic search, summary generation, FAQ generation, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), and Generative AI based natural language query.

All software products will be developed with the intention of obtaining Authorization to Operate (ATO) on networks in multiple security domains, including but not limited to NIPRnet, SIPRnet, and JWICS.

Being internally funded products, the efforts to develop and sustain the products of the Search Portfolio are also intended to serve as exemplars of the software development process using the DevSecOps Factory and AI/ML/Big Data distributed high performance compute environment available on CDAO’s Advana platform, with the experiences producing lessons learned to be documented for other users of the platform and for feedback to further improve the platform.

When released as a product to the community, YETI is intended to expose an API that can be quickly and easily integrated into an existing DoD NIPR/SIPR/JWICS website or application, providing a 75% solution for DoD data owners to extract the information and insights they need from their unstructured data via natural language search. The remaining 25% includes use-case fine-tuning and UI customization, for which the data owner’s integration engineers will be responsible.

The goals to be achieved by the development of the YETI product include, but are not limited to:

• Develop a generalized tool to semantically search, summarize, and categorize unstructured data

• Participate in DoD and government AI/ML Task Forces, connect with others in DoD working on similar capabilities, and share best practices with an LLM community of practice

• Extend a generalized API deployed to NIPR to semantically search, summarize, and categorize unstructured data and enable others across the Department to use the API within the paradigm of CDAO / Advana 1.2's self-service model

• Support the installation of the capability on other networks at different classification levels, including SIPRnet and JWICS

• Includes a set of swappable containers with different functions that provide inputs and outputs through an API.

• Develop methodology to test how Search performance (with varying levels of prompt engineering)

• Contribute to and drive a demand signal for a data operations playbook for unstructured data

• Develop a cost model for semantic search API use cases

• Contribute to and drive a demand signal for a data operations playbook for unstructured data

• Develop and document a strategy and implementation plan to ingest and consistently store unstructured data on the Advana platform, following the Bronze/Silver/Gold table paradigm (i.e.

raw files in bronze, parsed/transformed data in silver, cleaned, processed and data available for query in gold)

• Develop an approach to address issues arising from maintaining semantic indices associated with document change management and version control for unstructured data, such as when a new manual comes out to replace a previous version

3.1 Team Structure

The Search Portfolio currently has 4 products. It is anticipated that the products will be supported by two SCRUM teams of Data Scientists, Data Engineers, and Full Stack Developers, with a Product Lead.

Some resources, including the Program Manager, UI/UX Engineer, and SCRUM Master will be shared across the portfolio as needs require, as may also be the case for at least one of the Data Scientists.

Over the course of the product life cycles of the products within the Search Portfolio this structure may change to reflect changes within the portfolio.

3.2 Product Security Domain Considerations

All of the products within the Search Portfolio are deployed to NIPRnet and are anticipated to remain running in production on that network throughout the duration of the contract. It is also anticipated that almost all software development shall be performed at the unclassified level and the primary code repositories will be stored in the Advana 1.2 Git.

However, several of the products shall also be deployed to SIPRnet and JWICS during the contract’s period of performance. This includes GAMECHANGER and the Semantic Search API. This will be done by replicating the code base to Git repositories in the higher-level security domain, updating it as necessary with code specific to that security domain, which is expected to primarily consist of necessary changes to the build process and CI/CD pipeline, and then executing the pipelines to deploy to staging, test, and then deploy to production.

Additionally, one of the products, Contract Search, facilitates Semantic search and automated analysis of a repository of unclassified but acquisition sensitive data. Staff that are required to have access to the data stored on the production system, which includes the developers maintaining, updating, and deploying the product, are required to sign NDAs associated with being granted access to acquisition sensitive data.

4 Position Requirements Performers must have experience with multi-intelligence and multi-domain systems and understanding of current object and activity-based models in the community. Performers must have active TS clearance and must be able to achieve a TS/SCI clearance with scope as indicated in the Required Skill/Experience sections of each position requirement.

4.1 Senior Level Project / Program Manager

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.2.4

Number Required: 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Possess a Master of Business and Management (MBM), a Master of Business Administration (MBA), or a master’s degree in a related technical discipline (e.g., Engineering, Computer Science, or Electronics) and 5 years of experience or a Bachelor’s degree plus 7-10 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Possess a minimum of 7-10 years of Project Management experience (or MS plus 5 years) managing complex projects in an IT engineering or big data environment.

• Possess a minimum of an active Top Secret (TS) security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility

• Possess a minimum of five years of experience managing projects utilizing non-traditional program management methodologies (e.g., Agile) in big data, AI/MLOps, and DevSecOps environments.

• Possess a minimum of five years of experience in a military or other Government environment performing in a related subject area (e.g., project management, engineering, or computer science).

• Ability to track and report aggregated personnel utilization and budget usage across the Search portfolio.

• Strong communications skills: Ability to proactively engage fellow CDAO members within and beyond the team as well as DoD cross-organizational communications.

• Possess an active certification in one of the following:

o Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional, PMI

Program Management Professional (PgMP) certification, or equivalent program or project management certification.

4.2 Mid-level Project Manager / Product Lead

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.2.4

Number Required: 2 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5-7 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 3 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Experience with Agile software development methodologies, tools, and with the Product Owner role within the Scaled Agile Framework.

• Ability to identify key users and non-customer stakeholders, as well as to balancing the needs of all product stakeholders.

• Ability to synthesize requirements underlying feature requests and turn those into user stories and tasks for a product backlog.

• Experience grooming and prioritizing SCRUM team backlogs

• Ability to coordinate product backlogs across development teams to effectively share subject matter experts, ensuring all product teams maintain velocity.

• Ability to analyze and recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and facilitate engineering efforts to meet aggressive timelines.

• DevSecOps experience, knowledge of CI/CD tooling.

• Experience working with software and data engineers developing products integrating containerized environments.

• Experience working with software engineers and data scientists utilizing distributed computing environments for AI/ML and Big Data workloads, such as Apache Spark or Databricks

• Well versed in modern software architectures like micro-services and current front-end frameworks used by the development teams.

• Track record of active learning and creative problem solving

Major Duties/Tasks:

• Assists with planning, developing, testing, and documenting Search Portfolio products.

• Applies business process improvement practices, modernizing projects, acquisition process/planning, and reengineering old methodologies and principles.

• Support agency teams in development and management of milestones, goals, and deliverables for each of the Search Portfolio products

• Coordinating and rationalizing CDAO’s technical efforts to support AI/ML enabled indexing, search, and augmented retrieval of unstructured data sets.

• Stays informed on latest AI system and software architectures and trends from design patterns to DevSecOps and systems architecture patterns.

• Develops plans, road maps, software design strategies.

• Captures, develops, and reports reference architectures and documenting compliance standards.

• Works with mission teams to engage with potential customers within the DOD and identifies and evaluates prospective projects.

4.3 Mid-level Systems Architect (Solutions Architect)

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.7

Number Required: 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5-7 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 3 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Significant experience in one or more scripting languages such as Python or R, Proficient in one or more big data programming languages, such as Python, Scala, or Java

• Analyze and decomposes activities and requirements to software designs that are allocated across systems components/sub-components.

• Experience with Elasticsearch/OpenSearch and related indexing technologies

• Understanding of RDBMS concepts, technologies, and cloud based RDBMS services

• AI/ML model development, containerization, and productization experience

• Familiarity with natural language processing, the use of Large Language Models, and the use of both containerized and Apache Spark based computing environments (e.g.

Databricks) for the processing of unstructured text data.

• Knowledge Graph construction and reasoning experience, to include experience with property graph model frameworks and Neo4J.

• Experience with cloud based computing environments such as AWS or GCS, especially experience with GovCloud, C2S, SC2S, UC2S and follow-on government cloud compute environments.

• Experience in direct support of military or intelligence community customers, demonstrating progressive technical development and mission-focused outcomes.

• Experience with cyber security compliance, secure software development methodologies and the process for obtaining authority to operate (ATO) on defense and intelligence community networks.

• Experience leveraging existing COTS/GOTS/OS tools in unconventional manners.

• Possess a minimum of an active Top Secret (TS) security clearance with Sensitive

Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility

• Analyze and assess software development and data processing requirements and determine optimum, cost-effective solutions.

• Develop an understanding the technical requirements, aligning them to business goals, and then translating them into architectures capable of handling complex search queries across collections of large datasets, utilizing the Advana platform

• Support and work with a hybrid team of analyst, engineers, and developers to conduct research, and build and deploy complex, but easy-to-use search tools, analytical capabilities and/or devise a plan for development.

• Works with data scientists, UX designers, developers, and testers to compose cohesive and sound designs that form the basis of scalable solutions.

• Optimizes software designs and architectures to deliver desired performance targets and devises tooling and methodologies to profile execution and capture performance metrics.

4.4 Senior Level Data Scientist

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.11

Number Required: 3 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 7-10 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 5 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Experience with ML fields, e.g., natural language processing, computer vision, statistical learning theory

• Hands-on experience with Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models, text embedding, semantic query, use of generative AI for text, and retrieval augmented generation

(RAG)

• Familiarity with data preprocessing, feature engineering, and model evaluation techniques essential for machine learning projects

• Strong understanding of various machine learning algorithms, including supervised and unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, and neural networks

• Experience with version control systems like Git, enabling effective collaboration and code management

• Experience in an ML engineer or data scientist role building ML models

• Experience writing code in Python, R, Scala, Java, C++ with documentation for reproducibility

• Experience using Apache Spark/Databricks distributed compute environments for AI/ML workloads

• Experience handling petabyte size datasets, diving into data to discover hidden patterns, using data visualization tools, writing SQL, and working with GPUs to develop models

• Experience with cloud-based data persistence products, especially RDS PostgreSQL and

PostgreSQL extensions such as pgvector.

• Experience persisting vectorized data from text embedding processes using Elastic and/or

OpenSearch, in addition to vector enabled RDBMS like pgvector enhanced PostgreSQL

• Experience writing and speaking about technical concepts to business, technical, and lay audiences and giving data-driven presentations

• Designs, configures, develops, tests, and supports informatics and data science solutions for a wide array of technical use cases;

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including data scientists and software engineers to integrate AI solutions developed by other elements of CDAO or the DoD community into Search Portfolio products when appropriate

• Optimize AI models for performance, scalability, and efficiency, leveraging cloud-based resources and distributed computing frameworks, specifically Apache Spark/Databricks. Ability to adapt code base to also run using GPU enabled Kubernetes clusters.

• Stay updated on and contribute to the latest advancements in AI research, applying new findings to improve Search Portfolio products

• Manage the lifecycle of AI/ML components used in Search Portfolio products from research and development to deployment and optimization

• Applies analytical methodologies to diagnose data-related challenges, implement solutions, and evaluate performance

• Documents and presents requirements, design alternatives, and findings to team members and clients;

• Ability to develop strategic, baselined, data modeling processes; ability to accurately determine cause-and-effect relationships; and

• Experience with integrated development environments, data integration, data visualization, data mining, and analysis tools.

• Maintains and guides the development of common libraries and tools used by multiple teams.

• Aids in formulating a strategy on how to achieve rapid prototyping

4.5 UI/UX Designer

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.1

Number Required: 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 7-10 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 5 years of experience.

• Experience with usability testing, including preparing test plans and associated wireframes, facilitating test sessions, analyzing data, and reporting and presenting results

• Experience with creating and documenting information design concepts and solutions by various means, including wireframes, prototypes, and task flow diagrams

• Must possess excellent written and oral communication skills, and demonstrate experience and capability to make presentations to and interact with end-users.

• Must have prior experience conducting user interviews, and contextual inquiries.

• Experience with user tracking and metrics tooling such as Matomo

• Experience with visualization of user metrics using Qlik and/or Tableau

• Any usability/ UX related certification (e.g. CUA) is a Nice to Have.

• Provide subject matter expertise to support agile development using methodologies based on iterative development, requirements and solutions

• Translates/transforms user research information into actionable user interface requirements and workflows.

• Produces high quality solutions through hybrid wireframe and visual designs, flow diagrams, storyboards, site maps and prototypes.

• Rapidly iterates on design prototypes and working applications that contribute to the design, development, and testing of AI/ML tools and delivery methods.

• Develops mock-up solutions that can be implemented quickly.

• Tests and validates usability by monitoring and reporting metrics, determining potential, leveraging research and analytics to drive product updates and improved user experience. Uses available tooling to quantify user activity and utilization of application capabilities. Produces visualizations of application usage data for analysis of user behavior.

• Applies the principles, methods and techniques of user-based design with an in-depth knowledge of complex computer-based systems to support capabilities that include development of artificial intelligence solutions.

• Supports technical activities of the end users identifying mission goals, desired metrics, data standards and user workflows.

• Works with end-users to build and analyze user stories to identify common users’, system, software and interface requirements for capability design and development.

• Identifies end user processes, software and other mission issues that could be improved using AI.

• Captures and formulates final articulation of user needs that will define the broader user experience by gathering and incorporating end-user feedback from user interviews, usability tests, surveys, data analysis, and similar methods.

• Designs and prototypes specific AI or ML solutions. Understands user needs, behaviors, and motivations. Through empathizing with the user, the analyst can inform design decisions and advocate for the user.

• Works closely with Mission and Capability Delivery teams to help determine product goals.

• Collaborates with team members on user research, customer testing, and iterative feedback loops.

4.6 Mid-level SCRUM Master

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.1

Number Required: 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5-7 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 3 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Provide subject matter expertise to support agile development using methodologies based on iterative development, requirements and solutions

• Experience with Agile software development methodologies and tools.

• Ability to synthesize requirements underlying feature requests, decompose them into user stories and group them into logically consistent epics.

• Ability to track and report team utilization and velocity.

• Strong communications skills: you will be required to proactively engage fellow CDAO members and DoD cross-organizational colleagues both inside and outside of your team.

• Documents requirements and specifications and reviews documentation provided by other teams and vendors.

• Works with mission teams to engage with potential customers within the DOD and identifies and evaluates prospective projects.

• Synthesize requirements underlying feature requests, recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and facilitate engineering efforts to meet aggressive timelines

4.7 Senior-level Data Engineer

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.5

Number Required: 2 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 7-10 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 5 years of experience.

• Experience with Big Data systems, including Apache Spark / Databricks

• Experience with ETL processes;

• Experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or MilCloud 2.0;

• Applying DoD Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) and automating that process

• Experience with multiple coding languages

• Experience engineering data pipelines across multiple security domains / classified networks

• Possess a minimum of an active Top Secret (TS) security clearance with Sensitive

Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility

Major Duties/Tasks:

• Support the configuration and ingestion of designated structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data repositories into capabilities that satisfy mission partner requirements and support a data analytics and DevOps pipeline to drive rapid delivery of functionality to the client;

• Maintain all operational aspects of data transfers while accounting for the security posture of the underlying infrastructure and the systems and applications that are supported and monitoring the health of the environment through a variety of health tracking capabilities;

• Automate configuration management, leverage tools, and stay current on data extract, transfer, and load (ETL) technologies and services;

• Work under general guidance, demonstrate an initiative to develop approaches to solutions independently, review architecture, and identify areas for automation, optimization, right-sizing, and cost reduction to support the overall health of the environment;

• Apply comprehension of data engineering-specific technologies and services, leverage expertise in databases and a variety of approaches to structuring and retrieving of data, comprehend Cloud architectural constructs, and support the establishment and maintenance of Cloud environments programmatically using vendor consoles;

• Engage with multiple functional groups to comprehend client challenges, prototype new ideas and new technologies, help to create solutions to drive the next wave of innovation, and design, implement, schedule, test, and deploy full features and components of solutions

• Identify and implement scalable and efficient coding solutions

4.8 Mid-level Data Engineer

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.5

Number Required: 2 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5-7 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 3 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Experience with Big Data systems, including Apache Spark / Databricks

• Experience with ETL processes;

• Experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or MilCloud 2.0;

• Applying DoD Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) and automating that process

• Experience with multiple coding languages

Major Duties/Tasks:

• Support the configuration and ingestion of designated structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data repositories into capabilities that satisfy mission partner requirements and support a data analytics and DevOps pipeline to drive rapid delivery of functionality to the client;

• Maintain all operational aspects of data transfers while accounting for the security posture of the underlying infrastructure and the systems and applications that are supported and monitoring the health of the environment through a variety of health tracking capabilities;

• Automate configuration management, leverage tools, and stay current on data extract, transfer, and load (ETL) technologies and services;

• Work under general guidance, demonstrate an initiative to develop approaches to solutions independently, review architecture, and identify areas for automation, optimization, right-sizing, and cost reduction to support the overall health of the environment;

• Apply comprehension of data engineering-specific technologies and services, leverage expertise in databases and a variety of approaches to structuring and retrieving of data, comprehend Cloud architectural constructs, and support the establishment and maintenance of Cloud environments programmatically using vendor consoles;

• Engage with multiple functional groups to comprehend client challenges, prototype new ideas and new technologies, help to create solutions to drive the next wave of innovation, and design, implement, schedule, test, and deploy full features and components of solutions

• Maintain an existing collection of web scraping tools used as the initial step of the ETL process

• Identify and implement scalable and efficient coding solutions

4.9 Senior-Level Full Stack Software Engineer -- AI ML Model Development, ML Operations, and Applied Data Science

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.10

Number Required: 2 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 7-10 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 5 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Programming experience with Python, JavaScript, and at least one more programming language (Java is preferred).

• Experience with front end frameworks like React or Vue. Experience with backend runtimes and frameworks like Node.js, Spring, Spring Boot, Django, Flask, etc.

• Experience with Agile software development methodologies, tools, and providing leadership to other developers operating within an Agile framework.

• DevSecOps experience including the use of Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) Tooling (Git runners, code scanning tools)

• Experience with containerization and use of Kubernetes

• Familiarity with Object Relational Modeling persistence frameworks (e.g. SQLAlchemy), and with PostgreSQL

• Familiarity with the use of ElasticSearch/OpenSearch, and Neo4J as persistent stores

• Well versed in modern software architectures like micro-services as well as front-end frameworks.

• Strong communications skills: you will be required to proactively engage fellow CDAO members both inside and outside of your team.

• Ability to synthesize requirements underlying feature requests, recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and facilitate engineering efforts to meet aggressive timelines.

• DoDD 8140 IAT Level III is preferred

• Designs and develops software requirements for multiple Artificial Intelligence based support capabilities including the software architectures, APIs, frameworks, and libraries.

• Develops front end and backend of software prototypes, components, and tooling that can be leveraged to speed prototyping process.

• Maintains and guides the development of common libraries and tools used by multiple teams.

• Maintains the existing code base of in-production applications, performing bug fixes, updates of code and component libraries to meet security and performance needs as required, and capability enhancements as planned in the sprint schedule.

• Works closely with clients and requirements owners to build out product lines.

• Develops plans, road maps, software design strategies. Analyze and decomposes activities and requirements to software designs that are allocated across systems components/sub-components.

• Aids in formulating a strategy on how to achieve rapid prototyping of AI capabilities, including Generative AI.

• Works with data scientists, UX designers, cognitive scientists, developers, and testers to compose cohesive and sound software designs that form the basis of scalable AI solutions.

• Documents requirements and specifications and reviews documentation provided by other teams and vendors.

• Optimizes software designs and architectures to deliver desired performance targets and devises tooling and methodologies to profile execution and capture performance metrics.

• Stays informed on latest AI system and software architectures and trends from design patterns to DevSecOps and systems architecture patterns.

• Captures, develops, and reports reference architectures and documenting compliance standards.

4.10 Mid-Level Full Stack Software Engineer -- AI ML Model Development, ML Operations, and Applied Data Science

AI Talent BOA Task Area: 2.1.10

Number Required: 4 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 5-7 years experience, or a Masters Degree plus 3 years of experience.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Programming experience with Python, JavaScript, and at least one more programming language (Java is preferred).

• Experience with front end frameworks like React or Vue. Experience with backend runtimes and frameworks like Node.js, Spring, Spring Boot, Django, Flask, etc.

• Experience with Agile software development methodologies and tools.

• DevSecOps experience including the use of Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery

(CI/CD) Tooling (Git runners, code scanning tools)

• Experience with containerization and use of Kubernetes.

• Familiarity with Object Relational Modeling persistence frameworks (e.g. SQLAlchemy), and with PostgreSQL

• Familiarity with the use of ElasticSearch/OpenSearch, and Neo4J as persistent stores

• Well versed in modern software architectures like micro-services as well as front-end frameworks.

• Strong communications skills: you will be required to proactively engage fellow CDAO members both inside and outside of your team.

• Ability to synthesize requirements underlying feature requests, recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and facilitate engineering efforts to meet aggressive timelines.

• DoDD 8140 IAT Level III is preferred.

• Designs and develops software requirements for multiple Artificial Intelligence based support capabilities including the software architectures, APIs, frameworks, and libraries.

• Develops front end and backend of software prototypes, components, and tooling that can be leveraged to speed prototyping process.

• Maintains and guides the development of common libraries and tools used by multiple teams.

• Maintains the existing code base of in-production applications, performing bug fixes, updates of code and component libraries to meet security and performance needs as required, and capability enhancements as planned in the sprint schedule.

• Works closely with clients and requirements owners to build out product lines.

• Develops plans, road maps, software design strategies. Analyze and decomposes activities and requirements to software designs that are allocated across systems components/sub-components.

• Aids in formulating a strategy on how to achieve rapid prototyping of AI capabilities, including Generative AI.

• Works with data scientists, UX designers, cognitive scientists, developers, and testers to compose cohesive and sound software designs that form the basis of scalable AI solutions.

• Documents requirements and specifications and reviews documentation provided by other teams and vendors.

• Optimizes software designs and architectures to deliver desired performance targets and devises tooling and methodologies to profile execution and capture performance metrics.

• Stays informed on latest AI system and software architectures and trends from design patterns to DevSecOps and systems architecture patterns.

• Captures, develops, and reports reference architectures and documenting compliance standards.

5 Contract Management

5.1 Contracting Agency

The Army Contracting Command Rock Island (ACC-RI) is the contracting agency for the USG. As the Contracting Activity for this agency, they have the authority, through a duly appointed Contracting Officer (KO), to enter, administer, and/or terminate this contract and make related determinations and findings. Responsibilities after award are in accordance with those defined in the contract and those applicable portions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and its supplements. ACC-RI is the only USG official who can provide direction to the contractor resulting in changes to the scope, schedule, and cost of this effort. Any changes required by the USG Inspector, or the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) must be approved in writing by the ACC-RI KO.

5.2 Period of Performance

The task order (TO) shall be a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) base year plus four option years in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract and an optional six-month extension in accordance with FAR 52.217-8.

5.3 Place of Performance

This work shall be performed at contractor facilities. The Data Scientists, Data Engineers, and Software Engineers identified as requiring a TS/SCI clearance shall be within local travel distance, of one of the

CDAO’s SCIFs in Falls Church, Pentagon, Alexandria, and Arlington. Local travel is defined as travel within a 50-mile radius.

5.4 Travel

As designated, Travel shall be used to satisfy the requirements of this Contract. Travel is an Other Direct Cost (ODC). ODC’s are on a cost-reimbursable basis, with no fee. Travel shall be in coordination with the USG and rates should be comparable to the Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) and reimbursable as outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 31.205-46. Travel shall be in accordance with the provisions of the JTR, when applicable. Transportation may be commercial means or when mission requirements dictate, the USG may provide transportation for the desired travel via USG vehicle (car, van, or small truck) or USG aircraft (both fixed wing and rotary). When the cost of travel may exceed the dollars allotted in the TO, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer prior to any travel for authorization to proceed.

5.4.1 Travel Screenings

When Contractor personnel are deployed in support of special exercises and operations, the USG will conduct theater specific training and briefings, issue theater specific clothing and individual equipment, ensure that medical requirements (such as immunization, DNA screening, HIV testing and dental examinations) for deployment have been met, and arrange for transportation to the theater of operations.

5.4.2 Travel Documents

As part of the processing of Contractor personnel, the USG will provide the following distinct forms of identification:

a. Official No-Fee U.S. Passport and Travel Visas. When deployed in support of the USG, Contractor personnel are required to always carry a valid passport. The USG will coordinate through the Department of State and appropriate embassies for use and issuance of official no-fee U.S.

passports and the required visas for travel in support of the USG.

b. CAC. This card identifies one’s status as a contractor employee accompanying the U.S. Armed Forces. This card serves as identification and authorizes access to military facilities.

c. Personal Identification Tags. The identification tags shall include the following information: full name, social security number, blood type and religious preference. These tags should be always worn when in the theater of operations.

d. Other Identification Cards. In addition, other identification cards, courier cards, badges, etc.

shall be issued depending on the USG ’s security requirements, the sensitivity of the exercise or operation, or because of other requirements based on the theater of operations.

e. Force Protection. The USG will provide force protection for Contractor personnel accompanying the USG in support of exercises and operations.

5.5 Security

The performers nominated for those positions indicated in the Required Skill/Experience sections of each position requirement must have active TS clearance and must be able to achieve a TS/SCI clearance with scope. The USG’s security requirements are in accordance with the DD Form 254 attached to this contract action. Contractor personnel performing work under this contract must have the required clearance at the time of the proposal submissions and must maintain the level of security required for the life of the contract.

5.6 USG Networks and Communications Infrastructure

It is the USG’s intent to have contractor software development and integration efforts interface with required USG systems. Unless approved by the USG, the Contractor is prohibited from the development of independent, parallel, or mirrored operating systems. If the Contractor is provided access to, or purchases services on a fee for service basis, on any USG networks or communications infrastructure, they will comply with DoD and local guidelines and requirements for review and approval prior to introducing commercial, USG developed, or contractor developed applications, software, or equipment into the environment.

6 Additional Information

6.1 Point of Contact (POC)

The POC for the contractor will be the Contracting Officer (KO) and Contracting Officer’s Representative

(COR).

6.2 Project Guidance

The KO/COR will provide project guidance or direction regarding the functional requirements for all software products generated and customized under this PWS. Functional guidance provided by the KO/COR will be coordinated with the end user organization to ensure that cost and schedule impacts are identified and addressed prior to being implemented by the Contractor

7 Anti-Terrorism/Operational Security

7.1 Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12)

HSPD-12 establishes a mandatory, Government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal Government to its employees and Contractors (including Contractor personnel). Under this Directive, the heads of executive departments and agencies are required to implement programs to ensure that identifications issued by their departments and agencies to Federal employees and Contractors meet the Standard.

• Individual Contractor personnel shall complete the Application for Identification Card/DEERs enrollment (DD Form 1172-2) CAC request and the System Authorization Access Request (SAAR) DD Form 2875 upon arrival. Submitters will provide updates for continued access for contract extensions, new awards, and contract / contractor termination.

• The submitters will notify the security office and their contract leads of contract renewals.

Subsequent access based on contract / contractor badge renewals will require official notification via email or formal memoranda from submitter to the security office.

Documentation not properly completed will not be accepted. Submitters will forward their DD Form 1172-2 and DD Form 2875 to the security office via email. Submitters must also copy appropriate government leads.

• The security office will validate the contractor’s security clearance. If a contractor employee has a correct background investigation and favorable adjudication, they will have their CAC application initiated within 24 hours of submission.

• If the contractor does not have a valid background check or favorable adjudication eligibly by the DoD CAS (Consolidated Adjudication Service), and is on an unclassified effort, they must undergo the Homeland Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) access vetting process. The submitter, and the security office, will jointly complete the HSPD-12 package vetting process.

Contractor CACs in this case must have a completed Federal Bureau of Investigation check with favorable fingerprint results returned prior to granting an interim CAC. The following applies to HSPD-12 vetting:

i. The submitter, working with their contractor, must submit contractor Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) completing (items 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, and 17).

ii. The contractor must include an up-to-date resume.

iii. The security office will complete a HSPD-12 Notification of Incoming Personnel (NIP) form and submit it PSOD for processing.

7.2 Operational Security (OPSEC)

Protecting critical and sensitive unclassified and controlled unclassified information (CUI) is a collective responsibility. Contractor personnel must follow OPSEC policies. This includes a requirement that contractor personnel must complete Level I OPSEC Awareness training within 30 calendar days of their reporting for duty and annually thereafter.

7.3 Information Awareness Training / Cyber Awareness Challenge Individual contractor personnel must complete the DoD IA awareness training (also referred to as the Cyber Awareness Challenge) before issuance of network access and annually thereafter. All contractor employees working in IA/IT functions must comply with DoD training requirements in DoDD 8570.0.1, and DoD 8570.01-M within six months of appointment to IA/IT functions.

7.4 Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

The Contractor is required to fully comply with all provisions of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) clause 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting. This includes the implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity protections in accordance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, 'Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations.' The Contractor shall apply these protective measures to all systems that process, store, or transmit Covered Defense Information (CDI) including Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

8 Government Furnished Property/Equipment (GFP/GFE)

8.1 GFP/GFE provided

Contractors shall have internal controls to manage (control, use, preserve, protect, repair and maintain) USG property in its possession accountable to the award/order. The USG will also manage and monitor GFP.

9 Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations

9.1 AI Ethical Considerations

The Contractor shall ensure all software developed under this contract supports DoD Defense Innovation Board AI Ethics principles. These principles are as follows:

• Responsible: Human beings should exercise appropriate levels of judgment and remain responsible for the development, deployment, use, and outcomes of DoD AI systems.

• Equitable: DoD should take deliberate steps to avoid unintended bias in the development and deployment of combat or non-combat AI systems that would inadvertently cause harm to persons.

• Traceable: DoD’s AI engineering discipline should be sufficiently advanced such that technical experts possess an appropriate understanding of the technology, development processes, and operational methods of its AI systems, including transparent and auditable methodologies, data sources, and design…