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Dustin J. Ober

Data Scientist & ML Engineer

dustin@aiober.com
540-793-0177
Chantilly, VA
linkedin.com/in/dober1
aiober.com
Security Clearance: Top Secret with SCI and Poly

Summary

Data Scientist specializing in NLP, Machine Learning, and Production ML Systems. 30+ models deployed for defense and intelligence applications. Extensive experience architecting end-to-end AI pipelines, custom NER systems, and secure ML infrastructure. PMP-certified technical leader bridging data science with mission-critical training outcomes. Author of "The Sovereign AI Handbook" series on disconnected AI architectures.

Professional Experience

Contract-based roles supporting classified defense and intelligence missions.

ML Engineer / Data Scientist2024 – Present
Leidos - Chantilly, VA
  • Received Letter of Appreciation from customer for leading AI implementation into workflows and processes.
  • Designed and deployed custom NER models for specialized intelligence datasets, achieving extraction accuracy exceeding industry benchmarks.
  • Trained and deployed 30+ ML models using TensorFlow and DSPy, streamlining data extraction into production-ready insights.
  • Built secure FastAPI REST services with JWT authentication and Dockerized applications ensuring 99.9% deployment consistency.
  • Lead PMP Instructor for 4+ cohorts; authored PMP 2026 Exam Prep Ebook with high community engagement.
Technical Lead / Data Analyst2022 – 2024
Peraton & Leidos - Chantilly, VA
  • Nominated for Schoolhouse Training Award for 4-week core-skills course matching agency certification standards.
  • Directed team of instructional designers using Agile methodologies for course development pipelines.
  • Automated reporting pipeline reducing generation time by 97% (from 1 week to 30 minutes).
  • Created searchable Section 508/WCAG accessibility database adopted across NCTC.
Instructional Systems Specialist2019 – 2021
DEA, Tekmasters, Tridea Works
  • Led development of Cyber Drug Investigator Course, identifying 290+ critical tasks via Job Task Analysis.
  • Created learner-centered curricula using Articulate 360, Captivate, and Camtasia for intelligence environments.
  • Established remote learning infrastructure using Adobe Connect and Microsoft Teams.
Instructor / Course Developer2004 – 2014
United States Air Force
  • 15+ years of distinguished service across technical training and leadership roles.
  • Maintained technical databases with 1,000+ entries achieving 100% data accuracy.
  • Authored 52 technical scenarios for firearms training simulators.

Publications & Research

The Sovereign AI Handbook Series

  • Sovereign AI Infrastructure: Hardware & Architecture for Disconnected Environments
  • The Disconnected Pipeline: Solving Dependency Management in Secure Facilities
  • Private Knowledge Retrieval: Architecting Local RAG Systems
  • Verifiable Intelligence: DSPy, Governance, and Hallucination Control
  • Agentic Architectures in Secure Enclaves: Multi-Agent Systems for Zero-Egress Environments
  • Beyond "Vibes": Engineering Reliable AI Tutors with DSPy
  • The Future of Neuro-Symbolic Tutors: Hyper-Personalized, Verifiable Learning Paths
  • Scaling LLM Evaluation with DSPy: From Manual Prompting to Optimized Pipelines

Open-Source Ebooks

  • DSPy: The Comprehensive Guide: 9-chapter guide from fundamentals to advanced deployment
  • AI-Powered Instructional Design: Strategic guide for AI in education (RACE, Chain-of-Thought)
  • PMP 2026 Exam Prep: Interactive study guide with practice exams

Kaggle Competition Case Studies

  • Hypothesis-Driven Time Series Forecasting: Hedge Fund Competition: Process over results in low-SNR environments
  • The Deep Past Challenge: Akkadian Translation: 400% dataset expansion via data archaeology

Education

Graduate Certificate: AI Systems Management2025
Strayer University
Master of Education: Instructional Design & Technology2018
Liberty University
BS in Management / Computer Information Systems2014
Park University

Certifications

  • Project Management Professional (PMP) - PMI
  • Deep Learning Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Natural Language Processing Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Computer Vision Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Generative AI Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Artificial Intelligence Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Deep Reinforcement Learning Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Intro to Machine Learning (PyTorch) - Udacity
  • AI Programming with Python - Udacity
  • AI Product Manager - Udacity
  • Generative AI Fundamentals - Databricks
  • Lakehouse Platform Essentials - Databricks
  • AWS Cloud Practitioner (Foundational) - AWS
  • Business Analytics Nanodegree - Udacity
  • Statistics for Data Analysis - Udacity

Technical Skills

Data Science & MLTensorFlow, PyTorch, DSPy, NLP/NER, Scikit-Learn, Pandas, NumPy, Feature Engineering, A/B Testing
ML Ops & DevPython, FastAPI, Docker, Git, MLflow, RESTful APIs, Jupyter, SQL, LangChain, LangGraph
DatabasesPostgreSQL, Neo4j, Qdrant, SQLite, Redis, Vector Databases
LeadershipPMP Methodology, Agile/Scrum, Technical Training, ADDIE, Team Leadership
AccessibilitySection 508 Compliance, WCAG 2.1, Government Standards, A11y Testing