Director, AI Systems and Delivery (Deputy Lead, AI Integration)

The Aerospace Corporation; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 278,000; Full time

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation seeks a Department Director for Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning to lead the AI Systems and Delivery organization. You will serve as deputy to the Corporate Technical Fellow, guiding the AI portfolio, governance, funding, and cross-domain delivery across classified and unclassified environments.

The role requires a technical master plan, strong leadership, and the ability to translate strategic intent into actionable directions for teams and executives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field and 10 years in AI/ML engineering or related delivery.
• 4+ years in people-management with direct supervision and performance management.
• Experience delivering platforms in regulated or accredited environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication for executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Oversee AI integration governance, funding decisions, and portfolio management.
• Set baselines for AI systems delivery and ensure proper documentation.
• Lead evaluation and release gates for mission-critical AI capabilities.
• Stand up new AI initiatives from concept to funded plans and handoff.
• Direct cross-domain AI delivery across accredited networks and environments.

Skills

AI/ML engineering

Portfolio management

Staff leadership

Executive communication

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field

Tools

MLOps

Kubernetes

Airflow

Kafka

Spark

Azure

AWS

GCP

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space. The Digital Innovation Division (DID) is accountable for generating and executing integrated strategies, providing governance, and managing internal investments that form the foundation of Aerospace’s digital transformation. The Digital Innovation Division is seeking a Department director to lead the AI Systems and Delivery organization and to serve as deputy lead for AI Integration, reporting to the corporation’s Corporate Technical Fellow for Artificial Intelligence.

Work Model:

This is a full-time position based 100% onsite in Colorado Springs, Co, Chantilly, Va, or El Segundo, Ca.

What Corporate Skills You’ll Bring

Ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and customers Leading and delivering complex initiatives across classified and unclassified environments, and multiple levels of organizational engagement Leading new and emerging initiatives from concept through execution Bringing together cross functional teams, technology, and business priorities to drive impact. Understanding of evolving priorities, and translate mission and business needs into actionable strategies and solutions.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Serve as deputy to the Corporate Technical Fellow for Artificial Intelligence for the AI Integration organization, carrying delegated decision authority for the organization and representing it when the Fellow is not present.
• Own the operating cadence for the corporate AI portfolio: intake, prioritization, milestone review, and the governance and funding decisions that follow, with program management review preparation and status reporting produced by portfolio management staff.
• Set the technical baseline for AI systems delivery and ensure it is documented, current, and enforced rather than implied.
• Own the evaluation and release gate for AI capability reaching mission and enterprise use, including model and agent assurance, red-teaming, and the documented decision on what does not ship.
• Stand up new AI initiatives in their earliest and least defined phase, carrying them from a stated intent through scope, requirements, and a funded plan, then transitioning them to a steady-state owner.
• Direct the extension and sustainment of AI capability across multiple classification levels, including accredited classified networks, and own the delivery plan for cross-domain AI work.
• Operationalize the standards set by the Generative AI Council into repeatable, auditable release criteria, and report evaluation outcomes to governance bodies.

What You Need to be Successful:

Department Director- Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, Information Systems, Operations , STEM or a related technical field, or equivalent work experience. 10 years of progressive experience in AI/ML engineering, AI systems architecture, digital transformation, or enterprise technical delivery, including significant experience delivering platforms in regulated or accredited environments. 4+ years in a people-management role, including direct supervision of technical staff, and full employee performance management. Demonstrated accountability for a technical portfolio at multi-million dollar scale, including setting priorities across competing demands and defending a plan to executive leadership, working through portfolio management and program management staff. Working depth in AI/ML platform and orchestration concepts sufficient to set standards and arbitrate architecture decisions, including MLOps practice, model and agent lifecycle management, data pipelines, and containerized deployment (for example Kubernetes, Airflow, Kafka, Spark). Strong understanding of cloud data and AI platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP), with practical familiarity in the Azure data and AI ecosystem. Proven experience delivering capability on accredited networks at more than one classification level. Exceptional written and verbal communication, including the ability to take a broadly stated strategic intent and render it as direction a team and a stakeholder can act on. Willing to travel approximately 25% of the time to support customer meeting and technical collaboration. This position requires ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

• Advanced degree in a STEM or other technical discipline.
• 15+ years in AI engineering, applied AI/ML, AI architecture, or data operations, with 5+ years managing technical teams and managing managers or leads.
• Direct mission experience in the national space domain, missile defense, or remote sensing.
• Experience standing up an AI evaluation or assurance function, including documented release criteria and a defensible record of capability declined or withdrawn.
• Experience extending an enterprise AI platform onto an accredited classified network.
• Experience building a technical organization from a small team through sustained headcount growth, including developing first-line leads.
• Experience serving as a deputy or chief of staff to a senior technical executive, carrying delegated authority in their absence.
• Experience launching new programs or capability areas before requirements, funding, or customer scope were fully defined.
• Current DoD TS and SSBI/SCI clearance.

Compensation

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills. (Min - Max) $185,100.00 - $277,600.00 Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Benefits

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at [e-mail] . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.

Right Place

The Aerospace Corporation has over 26 locations nationwide, which allows us to build a workforce that will nurture the best ideas, and generate the most novel innovations and solutions to our nation’s toughest space enterprise challenges.

Right Path

Right Path Aerospace covers all stages of the space lifecycle, from concept to operations. We believe our people are our most valuable resource and that’s why we propel our employees forward in their careers through ongoing education, training, and professional development.

Right Purpose

We can all serve a mission much greater than ourselves, and at Aerospace that is exactly what we do. By hiring the industry’s most preeminent scientists and engineers, Aerospace advances emerging technologies that protect some of the most critical missions on Earth and above it.

Additional Information

Return to the Aerospace Careers site. Aerospace employees working in organizations with technical responsibilities are required to obtain a Security Clearance. U.S. citizenship is required for those positions.