ML Ops Engineer

Please note: This role is contingent upon a contract award. While it is not an immediate opening, we are actively conducting interviews and extending offers in anticipation of the award.

The Work

At ICF our Digital Modernization Division is an information technology and management consulting organization that delivers integrated, strategic solutions to federal clients. We bring expertise in cloud, cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, data modernization, and digital transformation to support mission-critical government programs.

Join a team accelerating the modernization of a large federal agency's enterprise data and analytics ecosystem. This cloud-based platform provides data storage, analytics, governance, and AI/ML capabilities that enable thousands of users to transform data into actionable insights. As demand continues to grow, the team is focused on migrating legacy workloads, streamlining onboarding and support, expanding platform capabilities, and helping organizations across the enterprise adopt modern data and AI solutions at scale.

The ML Ops Engineer will develop and maintain machine learning pipelines, model registries, deployment frameworks, monitoring solutions, and automated workflows that support enterprise AI initiatives. Working closely with data scientists, data engineers, cloud architects, platform engineers, and Trustworthy AI stakeholders, this role enables the successful operationalization of machine learning capabilities across cloud-based environments.

Job Location: Remote, however, strong preference for candidates who live in the Washington DC Metro Area. There will be occasional onsite meetings on the client site in Washington, DC.

• If you accept this position, you should note that ICF does monitor employee work locations, blocks access from foreign locations/foreign IP addresses, and prohibits personal VPN connections.

What You'll Do

• Design, build, and maintain production-grade MLOps pipelines for model training, evaluation, validation, registration, deployment, monitoring, retraining, rollback, and retirement.
• Develop reusable MLOps and LLMOps patterns using Azure Databricks, Databricks ML, MLflow, Unity Catalog, Azure Machine Learning, Python, and approved Azure AI services.
• Implement experiment tracking, model versioning, model registries, lineage, quality metrics, model cards, and approval workflows using MLflow and Unity Catalog to ensure models are discoverable, reusable, and auditable.
• Build automated CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Databricks Asset Bundles, and Terraform to promote models, code, configurations, and supporting infrastructure consistently across development, test, and production environments.
• Deploy and maintain scalable model-serving infrastructure for batch, streaming, real-time, and API-based inference workloads using Databricks Model Serving, Azure Machine Learning, Databricks compute, serverless capabilities, and GPU-enabled configurations, as applicable.
• Establish automated testing and evaluation gates for model performance, data quality, fairness, safety, explainability, robustness, privacy, and release readiness.
• Implement model and feature monitoring, drift and bias detection, logging, tracing, alerting, and operational dashboards using MLflow Model Monitoring, Lakehouse Monitoring, and the broader platform monitoring stack.
• Develop automated retraining, champion/challenger promotion, rollback, and model-retirement workflows that prevent performance degradation and support reliable production operations.
• Integrate ML workflows with source control, infrastructure provisioning, secrets management, identity and access controls, environment management, and enterprise release processes.
• Implement Trustworthy AI controls, including model documentation, impact assessments, audit logging, content safeguards, human oversight, and evaluation evidence aligned with Government-approved standards and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
• Partner with data scientists, AI engineers, data engineers, platform engineers, DevSecOps, Security, and Governance personnel to make models repeatable, testable, deployable, and operationally supportable.
• Monitor compute and serving utilization, tune cluster and endpoint configurations, apply tagging conventions, and implement cost-optimization strategies for training and inference workloads.
• Troubleshoot failed pipelines, deployment issues, model-serving incidents, performance degradation, and monitoring alerts while supporting root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Create and maintain deployment templates, reusable repositories, operational runbooks, model documentation, release evidence, and technical standards that accelerate responsible AI/ML adoption across the enterprise.

Basic Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship is required due to federal contract requirements.
• Candidate must reside in the U.S., be authorized to work in the U.S., and all work must be performed in the U.S.
• Candidate must have lived in the U.S. for three (3) full years out of the last five (5) years.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field or a high school diploma with four (4) additional years of relevant experience in lieu of a bachelor's degree.
• 6+ years of experience designing and supporting production machine learning solutions in cloud environments.
• Master's degree may substitute for two (2) years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with machine learning operations (MLOps), automated deployment pipelines, and model lifecycle management.
• Proficiency in Python and modern software development practices.
• Experience with source control systems and CI/CD frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with Azure Machine Learning, Databricks, MLflow, or comparable ML platforms.
• Experience implementing model monitoring, automated retraining, and performance tracking solutions.
• Knowledge of cloud-native architecture, containerization, and scalable model serving patterns.
• Experience supporting Responsible AI, AI governance, or Trustworthy AI initiatives.
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code and automated environment provisioning.
• Strong understanding of cloud cost optimization practices for AI/ML workloads.

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Bot and Third-Party Applications

Please note that this application must be submitted directly by the applicant for consideration. Failure to do so may result in the application being excluded for consideration. Applicants needing an accommodation for disability or religious purposes in connection with the application process should contact Candidateaccommodation@icf.com for assistance.

Working at ICF

ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we're not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future.

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email Candidateaccommodation@icf.com and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act.

Candidate AI Usage Policy

At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process.

However, we understand that some candidates may require accommodation that involves the use of AI. If such an accommodation is needed, candidates are instructed to contact us in advance at candidateaccommodation@icf.com. We are dedicated to providing the necessary support to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is:

$98,614.00 - $167,644.00

Nationwide Remote Office (US99)