Applied AI Engineer

Parsons; Centennial (CO); On-site; USD 75,000 - 131,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) matching

ESOP

Flexible work schedules

Paid time off

Holidays

Wellness programs

Comprehensive health plans

Employee Assistance Program

Weekly Wellness events

Job summary

Parsons is seeking an Applied AI Engineer to join our Colorado team onsite to translate complex data into actionable AI applications across computer vision, robotics, and geospatial systems. This role combines hands-on AI development with production software delivery, APIs, and data pipelines, leveraging PyTorch, FastAPI, and SQL ecosystems to deploy scalable solutions in real-world environments.

The ideal candidate will apply modern AI methods, collaborate with engineers, and contribute to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Robotics, Data Science, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical work experience).
• 2+ years of experience building production-grade software using Python.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including modular design, testing, debugging, and maintainable code.
• Experience developing and integrating machine-learning or computer-vision models into real applications.
• Experience with PyTorch or a comparable ML framework.
• Experience building APIs and backend services, with FastAPI or similar frameworks preferred.
• Experience with SQL databases and structured data.
• Familiarity with modern AI techniques such as computer vision foundation models, embeddings, LLMs, or VLMs.
• Proficiency with Git/source control, Linux development environments, and CI/CD workflows.
• Ability to independently prototype, evaluate, and productionize new technical approaches.

Responsibilities

• Design and build AI-enabled applications from prototype stages through production deployment.
• Develop computer vision and multimodal AI workflows for imagery, video, drone data, geospatial data, and 3D environments.
• Apply modern AI methods including segmentation, feature extraction, self-supervised learning, foundation models, LLMs, and VLMs.
• Create AI workflows for drone-based inspection, mapping, perception, and emerging autonomous capabilities.
• Develop scalable Python services and APIs using frameworks such as FastAPI.
• Build data pipelines that connect AI inference with SQL databases, APIs, sensor-derived data, and external data sources.
• Optimize and deploy AI models using PyTorch, ONNX, and related inference tooling.
• Collaborate with engineers and domain experts to transform loosely defined technical problems into usable software.
• Support software architecture, testing, source control, automated deployment, and production reliability.
• Rapidly evaluate emerging AI techniques to identify where they deliver practical value.

Skills

Applied AI development

Software engineering fundamentals

Multimodal AI

Prototyping

API development

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Python

FastAPI

PyTorch

ONNX

SQL

Git

Linux

CI/CD

Job description

Parsons is hiring an Applied AI Engineer in Colorado (onsite) to build production-grade AI applications that convert complex real-world data into actionable information. This role combines hands‑on applied AI development with work across computer vision, robotics, geospatial systems, and production software delivery.

Responsibilities

• Design and build AI-enabled applications from prototype stages through production deployment.
• Develop computer vision and multimodal AI workflows for imagery, video, drone data, geospatial data, and 3D environments.
• Apply modern AI methods including segmentation, feature extraction, self-supervised learning, foundation models, LLMs, and VLMs.
• Create AI workflows for drone-based inspection, mapping, perception, and emerging autonomous capabilities.
• Develop scalable Python services and APIs using frameworks such as FastAPI.
• Build data pipelines that connect AI inference with SQL databases, APIs, sensor-derived data, and external data sources.
• Optimize and deploy AI models using PyTorch, ONNX, and related inference tooling.
• Collaborate with engineers and domain experts to transform loosely defined technical problems into usable software.
• Support software architecture, testing, source control, automated deployment, and production reliability.
• Rapidly evaluate emerging AI techniques to identify where they deliver practical value.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Robotics, Data Science, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical work experience).
• 2+ years of experience building production-grade software using Python.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including modular design, testing, debugging, and maintainable code.
• Experience developing and integrating machine-learning or computer-vision models into real applications.
• Experience with PyTorch or a comparable ML framework.
• Experience building APIs and backend services, with FastAPI or similar frameworks preferred.
• Experience with SQL databases and structured data.
• Familiarity with modern AI techniques such as computer vision foundation models, embeddings, LLMs, or VLMs.
• Proficiency with Git/source control, Linux development environments, and CI/CD workflows.
• Ability to independently prototype, evaluate, and productionize new technical approaches.

Technologies

• Python, FastAPI, PyTorch, ONNX
• SQL, Git, Linux, CI/CD
• LLMs, VLMs
• Self-supervised learning, segmentation, feature extraction, foundation models

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with TypeScript and React or similar modern web‑development frameworks.
• Experience building full‑stack AI applications.
• Experience with geospatial or 3D data, including one or more of: LiDAR and point clouds, photogrammetry, GIS/geospatial imagery, digital twins or facility models, camera geometry and 3D reconstruction.
• Experience working with drone platforms, aerial imagery, mapping, or autonomous sensing systems.
• Experience with ONNX, GPU inference, model optimization, or edge deployment.
• Experience developing applications using LLMs or VLMs or SSL methods (SAM, DINO v3).
• Experience with segmentation, feature matching, embedding models, or self-supervised computer vision.
• Familiarity with Docker, cloud deployment, automated testing, and modern DevOps practices.
• Familiarity with ROS/ROS 2, localization, sensor systems, or robotics software.
• Experience working with drone, mobile, camera, or other real‑world sensor datasets.

Compensation

Salary range: USD 74,800 - 130,900 per year.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Paid time off
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• 401(k)
• Life insurance
• Flexible work schedules
• Holidays
• Paid time off and paid flexible holidays
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans through large national carriers, with the choice of regional PPO, HDHP, or HMO networks
• Employee Assistance Program
• Weekly Meditation Mondays and Wellness Wednesdays

Security Clearance Requirement

None