Senior Applied AI Engineer

Senior AI Engineer TS/SCI and Poly Required  Annapolis Junction, MD Responsibilities:- Architect and implement production-grade AI systems for cyber operations, handling scale and reliability.- Lead technical exploration into novel AI applications, charting paths through unproven territory.- Design and build sophisticated agent orchestration systems that coordinate multiple AI models and tools.- Create robust MCP server implementations that become foundational infrastructure for the team.- Develop advanced prompt engineering strategies and reusable patterns for complex cyber scenarios.- Build fault-tolerant API integration layers that gracefully handle model failures and edge cases.- Mentor junior engineers while maintaining high personal code output.- Make architectural decisions that balance innovation with operational reliability.- Drive technical discussions about AI capabilities, limitations, and strategic applications.-Create proof-of-concepts that demonstrate previously impossible capabilities.- Establish best practices for AI development within the unique constraints of cyber operations.Skills Requirements:- 12+ years of software engineering experience with deep Python expertise.- Extensive hands-on experience building and deploying AI-powered applications in production.- Expert-level understanding of modern AI architectures (agents, RAG, chains, function calling).- Proven track record of integrating multiple AI services and handling their failure modes.- Strong experience with MCP servers or similar model serving infrastructure.- Advanced prompt engineering skills with demonstrable results.- Experience building resilient distributed systems and handling async workflows.- Deep understanding of AI model capabilities and limitations across providers.- Ability to rapidly prototype while maintaining production-quality standards.- Track record of solving novel technical problems without existing solutions.- Excellent debugging skills for non-deterministic AI behaviors.Nice to Haves:- Direct experience applying AI to cybersecurity or intelligence use cases.- Contributions to major AI frameworks or tools.- Experience fine-tuning models for specialized domains.- Background in building developer tools or platforms.- Knowledge of adversarial AI and security considerations for AI systems.- Published research or talks on applied AI topics.- Experience leading technical initiatives in ambiguous problem spaces.