Defense AI ML Engineer for Mission-Scale Systems

Carnegie-Mellon-University; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University SEI is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer to take research ideas from concept to prototype for defense-focused missions. The role spans data pipelines, model development, API services, and secure deployment, with collaboration across researchers and government customers.

The ideal candidate advances ML theory, has hands-on DL experience, and is ready to work onsite in Pittsburgh, PA or Arlington, VA while mentoring teammates and shaping technical strategy.

Qualifications

• BS in CS/EE/Statistics or related field with extensive experience; MS/PhD optional depending on years.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an active DoD security clearance.
• Onsite work 5 days/week at CMU SEI offices in Pittsburgh, PA or Arlington, VA.
• Strong programming in Python, C/C++, and Java; production-grade code and APIs.
• Solid ML theory, statistics, and common algorithms.
• Hands-on with TensorFlow, PyTorch, Torch, Caffe, or similar DL libraries.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, container orchestration (Docker/Kubernetes), model versioning, and security tooling.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and evaluate state-of-the-art ML models (CV, NLP, planning).
• Build and maintain data pipelines, ETL processes, and backend services in Python, C/C++, and Java.
• Lead rapid prototyping, translate research results into operational prototypes, test performance and security.
• Define and refine DevSecOps practices for ML (model registries, containerized deployment, CI/CD, security scanning).
• Mentor junior team members and collaborate with researchers, government customers, and other engineers.

Skills

Python

C/C++

Java

TensorFlow

PyTorch

CI/CD

Docker/Kubernetes

API development

Data pipelines

Security awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE/Statistics

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Git

API services

Job description

Carnegie Mellon University SEI is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer to take research ideas from concept to prototype for defense-focused missions. The role spans data pipelines, model development, API services, and secure deployment, with collaboration across researchers and government customers.

The ideal candidate advances ML theory, has hands-on DL experience, and is ready to work onsite in Pittsburgh, PA or Arlington, VA while mentoring teammates and shaping technical strategy.