Entry Level Software Developer (AI-Native Full Stack)

Smoothstack; Washington, Baltimore (District of Columbia, MD); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid training

Biweekly stipend

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Smoothstack offers an AI-native development pathway where new engineers are trained for 10 weeks and then deployed to a Fortune Global 500 client’s federal services arm. You’ll work on mission-critical systems for U.S.

government agencies, with the option to convert to a full-time role after 12 months. You will develop AI-enhanced CI/CD pipelines, adopt AI-assisted DevSecOps practices, and collaborate with product, design, security, and compliance teams to ship production-ready increments.

Qualifications

• Experience with AI-native development is a plus.
• Familiarity with DevSecOps and secure containerization concepts.
• Ability to contribute across full software development lifecycle.
• Comfort working with cloud services and API-driven architectures.

Responsibilities

• Drive AI-assisted DevSecOps adoption across projects.
• Develop AI-enhanced CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code templates.
• Use AI coding assistants for implementation, refactoring, and documentation.
• Generate unit and integration tests and improve code coverage.

Skills

AI/ML concepts

DevSecOps practices

CI/CD

Testing and QA

Tools

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

APIs / REST

Docker

AWS / GCP

Job description

Hybrid | $75,000–$80,000 | U.S. Citizens Only

Why this role

Start your career using AI to code faster, test better, and ship with confidence. Smoothstack hires you, pays you to train for 10 weeks, then deploys you to the engineering team of a Fortune Global 500 consulting firm's federal services arm, supporting mission-critical systems for U.S. government agencies. After 12 months on assignment, you'll have the opportunity to convert to a full-time role directly with the client. Multiple positions available.

Highlights

• Paid training (biweekly stipend plus benefits from day one)
• Clear salary growth path: $75,000–$80,000 in Year 1, projected $95,000 in Year 2
• Opportunity to convert to a full-time role with the client after 12 months
• Build your career with one of the world's largest technology consulting firms, working on federal mission-critical systems
• Relocation assistance of up to $3,000

What you will do on assignment

• Drive the adoption of AI-assisted DevSecOps practices, using large language models and automation tools to accelerate secure containerization of legacy applications while maintaining security compliance.
• Develop and maintain AI-enhanced CI/CD pipelines that automatically generate security policies, container configurations, and infrastructure-as-code templates based on application requirements and best practices.
• Use AI coding assistants for implementation, refactoring, and documentation while following team guidelines.
• Generate unit and integration tests, improve coverage, and reduce defects.
• Speed up PRs with AI-assisted reviews, summaries, and risk notes.
• Query logs and docs with AI to troubleshoot issues and unblock work.
• Partner with product, design, security, and compliance to ship increments to production standards.

Entry Level AI Engineer responsibilities

• Development in Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, and APIs while providing expertise across the full software development lifecycle, from concept and design through testing and delivery of high-volume, low-latency applications for mission-critical systems.
• Participate in technical solution and design discussions.
• Perform proofs of concept and comprehensive solutions throughout the development lifecycle.
• Add new features while improving efficiency, reliability, and scalability to address client needs.
• Java or Python, Spring Boot or Node, REST and gRPC, React, SQL, GitHub, CI/CD, Docker, AWS or GCP. AI tools such as LangChain, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, code review assistants, test generators, and documentation copilots.

Built for Engineers Like You

You've been using AI to write code, generate tests, and ship projects faster than anyone expected. You want a job where that's the baseline, not a novelty. Smoothstack hires engineers like you, trains you on AI-native development the way it's practiced at scale, and places you on enterprise teams at some of the world's biggest companies, building systems that millions of people rely on. You get paid from day one, and you grow into the engineer your team can't ship without. This is where the AI-native career starts.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Smoothstack is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law.