Applied AI Engineering Manager

Jobright.ai; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits paid by the company

Life, FSA, HSA, 401k + match

Free daily lunch

Unlimited PTO

Casual dress code

Relocation assistance

Annual bonuses (coming soon)

Job summary

CHAOS Industries seeks an experienced Applied AI Engineering Manager to lead the development and deployment of AI/ML capabilities across defense-focused product lines. You will manage a team of PhD-level researchers and engineers, translating advanced AI research into practical, field-ready solutions.

You will architect scalable AI systems, drive productization, integration, and robust performance in edge and embedded environments, while collaborating across systems, hardware, software and

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, ML, AI or related field.
• 10+ years in AI/ML with at least 5 years leading teams.
• Track record deploying AI in production/operational systems.
• Experience with embeddings, RAG, RLHF, prompt engineering, and fine tuning.
• Expertise with ML frameworks and MLOps pipelines.
• Familiarity with embedded/edge AI environments.
• Knowledge of RL, NLP or signal processing.
• Experience interfacing with SQL/MongoDB databases.

Responsibilities

• Lead Applied AI initiatives translating research into deployable solutions.
• Manage, mentor, and inspire PhD-level AI engineers and researchers.
• Architect scalable AI solutions for perception, decision-making and sensor fusion.
• Productize AI models ensuring robustness, interpretability and edge performance.
• Collaborate with systems, hardware, software and product teams.
• Represent CHAOS in technical briefings and customer discussions.
• Hands-on when needed to contribute technically.

Skills

AI/ML development

Team leadership

Embeddings & RAG

RLHF & prompt engineering

MLOps & deployment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / AI / ML

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

LangChain

LlamaIndex

JAX

SQL

MongoDB

Edge/Embedded AI

Job description

CHAOS Industries is a global technology company focused on delivering next-generation capabilities to the defense and critical industrial sectors. They are seeking an experienced Applied AI Engineering Manager to lead the development and deployment of AI/ML-powered capabilities across their product lines, managing a team of researchers and engineers to translate advanced AI research into practical applications, particularly in defense.

Aerospace Government National Defense Big Data Military National Security Real Time Security

Work & Life Balance No H1B Security Clearance Required Top Investors Unicorn with $4.5B valuation

Responsibilities

Lead Applied AI Initiatives: Translate cutting-edge AI/ML research into deployable solutions, bridging the gap between academic innovation and operational impact

Team Leadership: Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of PhD-level AI engineers and ML researchers. Foster a culture of experimentation, rigor, and real-world delivery

System Architecture & Integration: Architect scalable AI solutions for perception, decision-making, sensor fusion, predictive analytics, and autonomous operations

Productization of AI: Ensure AI models are robust, interpretable, testable, and performant under real-world conditions—especially in adversarial, low-power, or edge-deployed environments

Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with systems, software, hardware, and product teams to define AI requirements, develop interfaces, and integrate capabilities into platforms

Stakeholder Engagement: Represent CHAOS in technical briefings, customer discussions, and strategy sessions with government and industry partners

Hands-On Development: While this is a leadership role, we value technical engagement. You should be comfortable rolling up your sleeves when needed

Work onsite 4-5 days per week out of our offices in San Francisco, Hawthorne, or Seattle

Travel up to 20% as needed to support program and customer objectives

Qualification

Required

Degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or related technical discipline

10+ years of experience in AI/ML development, with at least 5 years leading technical teams

Proven track record of deploying AI solutions in production or operational systems, not just in research settings

Experience with embeddings, RAG, RLHF, prompt engineering, and fine tuning

Deep expertise in applied ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, LlamaIndex, and JAX), and experience with model lifecycle, deployment, and MLOps pipelines

Familiarity with embedded, edge, or resource-constrained AI environments

Strong knowledge of reinforcement learning, NLP, or signal processing

Experience interfacing with databases (SQL, MongoDB, etc.)

U.S. Citizenship or lawful permanent residency with the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Must be able to work onsite 4–5 days per week in San Francisco, Hawthorne, or Seattle

Preferred

Current or prior U.S. security clearance

Experience with AI in defense, or aerospace

Familiarity with DARPA, DoD, or programs related to AI

Background in AI, adversarial robustness, or mission assurance

Familiarity with defense compliance frameworks (e.g., RMF, STIGs, or MIL-STD)

Experience with tools like JIRA and Confluence

Health Benefits: Your medical, dental and vision benefits will be 100% paid for by the company

Life, FSA, HSA, 401k (+ Company match), and more

Free daily lunch

Unlimited PTO

Casual dress code

Relocation assistance + (coming soon!) annual bonuses

Company

Advanced sensing and detection solutions for defense and border protection.

Valor Equity Partners Accel,New Enterprise Associates Accel

Leadership Team

Bo Marr

Co-founder, co-CEO, CTO of Chaos Industries