AI Architect

VTG Defense; Chantilly (VA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

VTG Defense is looking for a highly experienced AI Architect in Chantilly, VA to lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced AI solutions. This role requires a strong technical background and customer-facing experience to advise stakeholders on AI best practices and governance.

The candidate should have 10-15+ years in AI/ML with expertise in architecting enterprise-scale solutions, ensuring compliance, and mentoring teams.

Active Secret security clearance is required; hybrid work environment possible.

Qualifications

• 10-15+ years of experience in AI/ML or related fields.
• Experience architecting and deploying enterprise-scale AI solutions.
• Hands-on experience with agentic AI systems and LLM applications.
• Strong understanding of AI testing and evaluation frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of advanced AI/ML solutions.
• Establish AI governance frameworks and best practices.
• Mentor engineers and data scientists on AI best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver integrated solutions.

Skills

Architecting AI/ML solutions

Customer-facing skills

Machine learning algorithms

Deep learning techniques

Natural language processing (NLP)

MLOps pipelines

Python programming

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree or PhD preferred

Tools

Apache Spark

Databricks

Azure AI Services

AWS SageMaker

Job description

Overview

VTG is seeking a highly experienced and innovative AI Architect to lead the design, development, evaluation, and deployment of advanced artificial intelligence solutions in support of mission‑critical and enterprise initiatives. This role requires deep expertise in modern AI/ML architectures, including agentic AI systems, large language models (LLMs), autonomous workflows, AI evaluation frameworks, and production‑grade machine learning operations (MLOps). This position is located in Chantilly, VA.

This ideal candidate is both technically exceptional and customer‑facing - capable of advising senior leadership, engaging directly with government and commercial stakeholders, and serving as a trusted authority on emerging AI technologies and best practices. This individual must have hands‑on experience building and operationalizing AI systems at scale and possess a strong understanding of modern AI governance, responsible AI principles, and evaluation methodologies.

What will you do?

Architect, design, and implement advanced AI/ML solutions, including:

• Agentic AI systems
• Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Large Language Model (LLM) integrations
• Autonomous and semi‑autonomous workflows
• AI orchestration frameworks
• Predictive analytics and traditional ML models

Lead the end‑to‑end AI lifecycle, including:

• Data ingestion and preparation
• Model development and fine‑tuning
• AI testing and evaluation
• Model deployment and monitoring
• Operational sustainment and optimization

Develop and mature AI evaluation and testing methodologies, including:

• Traditional ML evaluation metrics
• LLM benchmarking
• Red teaming and adversarial testing
• Hallucination detection
• Bias and fairness assessments
• Performance and reliability testing
• Human‑in‑the‑loop evaluation strategies
• Design scalable MLOps and AIOps pipelines to support secure and repeatable deployment of AI capabilities in enterprise and cloud environments

Establish and implement AI governance frameworks, including:

• Responsible AI practices
• Security and compliance controls
• Model transparency and explainability
• Risk management
• Data governance standards
• Serve as a senior technical advisor to customers, executives, and program leadership on AI strategy, architecture, modernization, and emerging capabilities.
• Lead technical discussions, architecture reviews, demonstrations, and customer briefings with confidence and authority.
• Stay current with emerging AI research, industry trends, open‑source technologies, and commercial AI platforms; continuously assess applicability to organizational and customer needs.
• Mentor engineers, data scientists, and software developers on AI best practices, architectures, and implementation strategies.
• Collaborate across engineering, cybersecurity, cloud, data, and product teams to deliver integrated AI solutions.

Do you have what it takes?

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field.
  • Master's degree or PhD preferred.
• 10-15+ years of experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, software engineering, data engineering, or related technical disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience architecting and deploying enterprise‑scale AI/ML solutions in production environments.
• Hands‑on experience building and operationalizing:
  • Agentic AI systems
  • LLM‑powered applications
  • AI orchestration frameworks
  • Autonomous decision‑support systems
• Strong understanding of:
  • Machine learning algorithms
  • Deep learning techniques
  • Natural language processing (NLP)
  • Reinforcement learning concepts
  • Statistical modeling and AI evaluation methodologies
• Experience with AI testing, validation, benchmarking, and evaluation frameworks for both traditional ML and generative AI systems.
• Experience implementing practical MLOps pipelines and AI operationalization frameworks.
• Strong programming experience with:
  • Python
  • Jupyter Notebooks or equivalent notebook environments
• Experience with big data and distributed processing technologies such as:
  • Apache Spark
  • Databricks (preferred)
• Experience with one or more major cloud platforms:
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Familiarity with:
  • Vector databases
  • AI orchestration frameworks (LangChain, Semantic Kernel, CrewAI, AutoGen, etc.)
  • Containerization and orchestration technologies
  • CI/CD pipelines for AI deployments
• Strong communication and presentation skills with demonstrated customer‑facing experience.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable business and mission solutions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting Federal Government, DoD, Intelligence Community, or highly regulated environments.
• Experience implementing secure AI architectures in classified or sensitive environments.
• Familiarity with AI security, adversarial AI, and zero trust principles.
• Experience with GPU infrastructure, model optimization, and scalable inference architectures.
• Published research, conference presentations, patents, or contributions to the AI community preferred.
• Active participation in AI research communities, industry working groups, or open‑source AI initiatives.

Clearance Requirement

• Active Secret security clearance required, or ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance.

Desired Characteristics

• Strategic thinker with strong technical depth and hands‑on engineering capability.
• Passion for continuous learning and staying ahead of rapidly evolving AI technologies.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous and fast‑paced technical environments.
• Strong leadership, collaboration, and mentoring abilities.
• Customer‑focused with executive presence and consultative communication skills.

Technologies & Tools

Experience with several of the following is desired:

• Python
• Jupyter Notebook
• Apache Spark
• Databricks
• TensorFlow
• PyTorch
• Hugging Face
• LangChain
• Semantic Kernel
• CrewAI
• AutoGen
• Kubernetes
• Docker
• Azure AI Services
• AWS SageMaker
• Google Vertex AI
• Vector databases
• MLflow
• GitLab/GitHub CI/CD pipelines

Work Environment

This role may support hybrid, on‑site, or customer‑location work environments depending on program requirements. Occasional travel may be required for customer engagement, technical workshops, or industry events.