Frontier AI Research Engineer, Lead

Phase2 Technology; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 128,700 - 292,000; Full time

Job summary

Booz Allen Hamilton is seeking a Lead Engineer to drive architectural rigor and the engineering execution behind Frontier Research prototypes and integrations. You will design, build, and validate advanced AI systems across the full stack, translating frontier concepts into working platforms.

This senior role provides day-to-day technical leadership, conducts design reviews, and raises the technical bar across the Applied Research team.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in deep technical engineering.
• Experience designing and building advanced AI systems, including managing them.
• Experience developing AI prototypes, products, or high‑visibility technical demonstrations
• Experience leading technical exchanges and evaluations with commercial partners and executive stakeholders
• Experience with translating research into scalable, revenue‑generating solutions
• Experience guiding R&D efforts from concept through implementation
• Ability to create and drive technical roadmaps aligned with organizational goals
• Ability to display high creativity, intellectual curiosity, and enthusiasm for showcasing innovative AI capabilities
• Bachelor's degree

Responsibilities

• Evaluate emerging advancements across hyperscalers, leading AI labs, academia, and venture‑backed companies.
• Conduct hands‑on technical assessments, benchmarks, and proof‑of‑concepts to validate applicability and performance.
• Own the technical delivery of end‑to‑end AI systems spanning infrastructure, frontier LLMs, agentic and multi‑agent applications and physical AI pipelines.
• Deliver working systems—not slideware.
• Work with business units, to support hands‑on integration of emerging AI technologies in complex customer environments such as cloud, hybrid, edge, or disconnected.
• Ensure production rigor without sacrificing innovation speed.
• Provide day‑to‑day technical leadership to engineers and researchers.
• Conduct design reviews, guide architectural decisions, and raise the overall technical bar of the Applied Research team.
• Convert prototype learnings into reusable frameworks, reference architectures, accelerators, and technical artifacts that scale across programs and business units.

Skills

Deep technical engineering

AI systems design

AI prototypes

Executive stakeholder management

R&D leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Doctorate preferred

Job description

The Opportunity

Frontier Research operates at the edge of what's possible to convert breakthrough capabilities into real-world impacts. Frontier Research functions as both a strategic radar and an execution engine, turning frontier AI capabilities into differentiated IP, new product directions, and transformational business opportunities.

The Lead Engineer is a senior technical builder who drives the architectural rigor and engineering execution behind Frontier Research prototypes and integrations. This role is responsible for designing, building, and validating advanced AI systems across the full stack. The Lead Engineer translates frontier concepts into working systems, ensures technical excellence across prototypes, and serves as the lab's senior-most hands‑on engineering authority.

If you are passionate about building distributed AI systems, architecting agentic applications, and transforming cutting‑edge research into production‑grade capabilities - this role is for you.

What You’ll Do

• Evaluate emerging advancements across hyperscalers, leading AI labs, academia, and venture‑backed companies.
• Conduct hands‑on technical assessments, benchmarks, and proof‑of‑concepts to validate applicability and performance.
• Own the technical delivery of end‑to‑end AI systems spanning infrastructure, frontier LLMs, agentic and multi‑agent applications and physical AI pipelines.
• Deliver working systems—not slideware.
• Work with business units, to support hands‑on integration of emerging AI technologies in complex customer environments such as cloud, hybrid, edge, or disconnected.
• Ensure production rigor without sacrificing innovation speed.
• Provide day‑to‑day technical leadership to engineers and researchers.
• Conduct design reviews, guide architectural decisions, and raise the overall technical bar of the Applied Research team.
• Convert prototype learnings into reusable frameworks, reference architectures, accelerators, and technical artifacts that scale across programs and business units.

You Have

• 5+ years of experience in deep technical engineering
• Experience designing and building advanced AI systems, including managing them
• Experience developing AI prototypes, products, or high‑visibility technical demonstrations
• Experience leading technical exchanges and evaluations with commercial partners and executive stakeholders
• Experience with translating research into scalable, revenue‑generating solutions
• Experience guiding R&D efforts from concept through implementation
• Ability to create and drive technical roadmaps aligned with organizational goals
• Ability to display high creativity, intellectual curiosity, and enthusiasm for showcasing innovative AI capabilities
• Bachelor's degree

Nice If You Have

• Experience scaling AI systems from prototype to enterprise‑grade product environments
• Experience in a leadership role of multidisciplinary engineering or research teams delivering high‑impact technical outcomes
• Experience building or advising AI‑driven businesses, including monetization strategies and go‑to‑market planning
• Experience with driving innovation programs, incubators, or R&D portfolios
• Experience with cloud‑native AI infrastructure, MLOps, or large‑scale model deployment
• Experience as a thought leader in AI, including speaking at technical keynotes, conferences, or public forums
• Ability to engage and influence senior executives, commercial partners, and external stakeholders
• Ability to display a record of published research, patents, or conference presentations in AI, ML, or emerging technologies
• Ability to maintain a strong network within the AI research or engineering community to support recruiting and partnership development
• Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, AI, or a related technical field preferred; Doctorate degree in the same fields a plus

Compensation

At Booz Allen, we celebrate your contributions, provide you with opportunities and choices, and support your total well‑being. Our offerings include health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits, as well as paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, work‑life programs, and dependent care. Our recognition awards program acknowledges employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of our values. Full‑time and part‑time employees working at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in Booz Allen’s benefit programs. Individuals that do not meet the threshold are only eligible for select offerings, not inclusive of health benefits. We encourage you to learn more about our total benefits by visiting the Resource page on our Careers site and reviewing Our Employee Benefits page.

Salary at Booz Allen is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual's particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract‑specific affordability and organizational requirements. The projected compensation range for this position is $128,700.00 to $292,000.00 (annualized USD). The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of Booz Allen’s total compensation package for employees. This posting will close within 90 days from the Posting Date.

Work Model

Our people‑first culture prioritizes the benefits of collaboration, whether it occurs in person or virtually. To support engagement and effective communication, employees working virtually are generally expected to have their cameras on during meetings.

• Remote: If this position is listed as remote, there may still be occasions when you are required to work in person at a Booz Allen or customer facility.
• Hybrid: If this position is listed as hybrid, you will be expected to work from a Booz Allen facility frequently, in alignment with leadership expectations and the needs of the role. You may also be required to work from or visit a customer facility.
• Onsite: If this position is listed as onsite, work will primarily be performed at a Booz Allen office or customer facility, where employees will collaborate directly with colleagues and customers as required by the role.

Commitment to Non‑Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.