Associate AI Software Engineer/ AI Software Engineer (AHT)

0090 CORP-Corporate Office; United States; On-site; USD 84,000 - 151,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance coverage

Life and disability insurance

Savings plan

Company paid holidays

Paid time off (PTO)

Overtime and shift differential

Discretionary bonus

Annual bonuses

Long Term Incentives

Job summary

Northrop Grumman seeks an AI Software Engineer to advance ML/AI capabilities in its CWI AI Center of Excellence in Beavercreek, OH. The role emphasizes developing models and deploying ML solutions across autonomy, NLP, data fusion, and computer vision.

The candidate will collaborate with cross-functional teams, present progress to stakeholders, and contribute to responsible and explainable AI initiatives. A strong foundation in ML, Python, and AI frameworks is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related STEM field with 0 years of relevant experience; an additional 4 years may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• AI models and algorithms experience (e.g., LLMs, CNNs, transformer models).
• Experience developing systems using AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, Scikit-learn).

Responsibilities

• Define, develop, and deliver mathematical and statistical models and algorithms to address prediction, optimization, and classification problems.
• Apply ML algorithms to large structured and unstructured datasets for autonomy, pattern recognition, and decision support.
• Design, develop, document, test, debug, and deploy AI/ML applications.

Skills

AI/ML frameworks

Python

ML models

LLMs

NLP/NLG/NLU

Data processing

DevOps

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s in CS or STEM

Master’s in CS (optional)

Tools

Flask/FastAPI

Git/Source Control

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time Description

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

The Northrop Grumman C2 & Weapons Integration (CWI) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence in Beavercreek, Ohio is seeking an AI Software Engineer. This role supports research and development in areas including Large Language Models (LLMs), natural language processing (NLP), natural language understanding (NLU), natural language generation (NLG), AI-based decision-making, sensor fusion, data fusion, computer vision, and image processing, with a focus on responsible and explainable AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Define, develop, and deliver mathematical and statistical models and algorithms to address prediction, optimization, and classification problems.
• Apply machine learning algorithms to large structured and unstructured datasets for use cases such as autonomy, pattern recognition, target detection and tracking, recommendation and decision support systems, signals processing, and robotic systems.
• Design, develop, document, test, debug, and deploy AI/ML applications.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deploy AI/ML solutions in development and production environments.
• Prepare and present technical progress and results to internal and external stakeholders.

This position may be filled as a level 1 or 2 based on the qualifications below.

Basic Qualifications

• Associate AI Software Engineer (Level 1): Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related STEM field with 0 years of relevant experience; an additional 4 years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• AI Software Engineer (Level 2): Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related STEM field with 2 years of relevant experience, or master’s degree in Computer Science or a related STEM field with 0 years of relevant experience; an additional 4 years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Experience implementing and/or applying one or more AI models and algorithms (for example: LLMs, deep neural networks, genetic algorithms, embedding models, deep learning architectures).
• Experience developing systems using AI/ML frameworks and libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, or Scikit-learn.
• Experience across the ML pipeline, including: Working with novel or heterogeneous datasets.
• Data processing and preparation.
• Training and fine-tuning ML systems.
• Modifying existing deep learning architectures and implementing models from architecture diagrams.
• Evaluating system performance using established and custom metrics and methods.
• Ability to perform rapid prototyping and proof-of-concept implementations.
• General familiarity with applied machine learning concepts, including multilayer perceptrons, convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent architectures such as LSTMs, transformer models, supervised and unsupervised learning methods, reinforcement learning methods, and statistical or graphical models.
• General familiarity with computational and statistical learning theory.
• Experience with web application development frameworks such as Flask or FastAPI.
• Understanding of software engineering practices, including use of source control and basic software architecture concepts.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. Government TS/SCI security clearance with CI Poly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance with CI Poly.
• Experience with AWS or other commercial cloud computing platforms.
• Experience with microservice architectures and related practices, including containerization and container orchestration technologies.
• Familiarity with explainable AI, adversarial AI, active learning, and third-wave AI approaches.
• Familiarity with DevOps, DevSecOps, and/or MLOps concepts and workflows.
• Familiarity with Linux-based operating systems.
• Experience working independently to plan and execute technical tasks.
• Hands-on experience with LLMs (e.g., prompt design/engineering, use of LLM development frameworks, fine-tuning, or model quantization).
• Experience with modeling and simulation.
• Experience using vector databases and/or graph databases.

Salary

• Primary Level Salary Range: $83,800.00 - $125,800.00
• Secondary Level Salary Range: $101,000.00 - $151,400.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.

Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Life and disability insurance
• Savings plan
• Company paid holidays
• Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business
• Overtime and shift differential
• Discretionary bonus in addition to base pay
• Annual bonuses
• Long Term Incentives (for VP or Director positions)

Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results.

Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO.

U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space - our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will give you every opportunity to do your best work. Working together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines, we share a drive to push the boundaries of science, technology and engineering to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide.