Distinguished AI Software Engineering Lead

Jobtailor; Washington (WA, District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor seeks a highly experienced Software Architect to lead secure, distributed platforms across mission-critical environments. You will define architectural principles, design APIs and data pipelines, and ensure interoperability between cloud, on-prem, and classified enclaves while enforcing best practices and accreditation readiness.

Responsibilities span building end-to-end cloud-native solutions, implementing IaC, and shaping data architectures to optimize throughput and cost, with a

Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance required; TS/SCI strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deploy secure, distributed platforms for modular, multi-service software environments.
• Design and integrate APIs, microservices, and data pipelines for interoperability across mission, simulation, and analytical systems.
• Define and enforce architectural principles, modularity standards, and software best practices across development teams.
• Engineer solutions bridging cloud, on-prem, and classified enclaves with interoperability and accreditation.

Skills

Python

Java

C++

TypeScript

Terraform

CloudFormation

CDK

CI/CD

DevSecOps

Zero-trust

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering or related field

Tools

AWS GovCloud

Kafka

Airflow

Spark

Databricks

Job description

Responsibilities

• Architect and deploy secure, distributed platforms supporting modular, multi-service software environments.
• Design and integrate APIs, microservices, and data pipelines that enable interoperability across mission, simulation, and analytical systems.
• Define and enforce architectural principles, modularity standards, and software best practices across development teams.
• Engineer solutions that bridge cloud, on-prem, and classified enclaves, ensuring interoperability and compliance.
• Engineer cloud‑native solutions in AWS GovCloud or hybrid IL4–IL6 environments with strict security and accreditation requirements.
• Implement Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or CDK) to automate provisioning, configuration, and accreditation workflows.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines that embed security, compliance, and automated testing from development through deployment.
• Ensure all platform designs support zero‑trust principles, multi‑enclave deployment, and repeatable accreditation (ATO) processes.
• Design or oversee large‑scale data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration environments (Kafka, Airflow, Spark, or Databricks).
• Shape data architectures that balance throughput, latency, and cost across distributed mission environments.
• Enable secure and efficient data access and synchronization across analytical, AI‑enabled, and simulation workloads.
• Transition software and platforms from prototype to production, ensuring maintainability, observability, and configuration consistency.
• Establish automated testing, release governance, and performance monitoring standards for ongoing sustainment.
• Partner with program and product leadership to align delivery with mission lifecycle requirements.
• Engineer architectures for redundancy and resilience under degraded or disconnected operational conditions.
• Design and maintain secure enclave architectures, boundary controls, and cross‑domain integration solutions.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity and ISSM teams to support ATO and ongoing accreditation automation.
• Integrate emerging technologies, open standards, and modern frameworks into operational systems.
• Collaborate with AI/ML, data, and simulation teams to enable model integration and inference services within production software (familiarity with MLOps concepts preferred).
• Evaluate new tools and frameworks to improve developer productivity, performance, and automation efficiency.
• Lead by example as a hands‑on technical authority, guiding design and implementation decisions.
• Mentor software engineers and architects to raise technical standards, code quality, and architectural maturity.
• Partner with fellow Distinguished Engineers and organizational leaders to align platform strategy with enterprise innovation goals.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both executive and engineering stakeholders.

Requirements

• Active Secret clearance required; TS/SCI strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field (Master’s preferred).
• 10–15 years of progressive software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a technical leadership or architecture role.
• Proven success architecting and deploying secure, distributed, cloud‑native software platforms.
• Deep experience with AWS GovCloud or IL4–IL6 hybrid environments.
• Hands‑on proficiency with Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or CDK) and CI/CD automation.
• Strong understanding of DevSecOps, zero‑trust principles, and mission accreditation (ATO/RMF) processes.Demonstrated ability to operationalize software systems from prototype through accreditation in secure environments.
• Strong coding experience in one or more core languages (Python, Java, C++, TypeScript).