Lead Applied AI Engineer

Frontdoor Defense; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

STR’s Intelligence Division seeks a Lead Applied AI Engineer in Arlington, VA to drive RF AI/ML toolchains and software integrated with RF hardware and edge compute. You will guide architecture, implementation, and validation across data processing, AI/ML models, and communications services.

You will lead a technical team, translate mission needs into executable plans, and manage interfaces with systems, RF researchers, and DevSecOps to deliver mission-ready capabilities for national security

Qualifications

• PhD/MS/BS in CS, software engineering, or related field with relevant experience.
• Experience leading AI/ML and RF software projects.
• Strong production-grade software development background.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical development and delivery of RF AI/ML tools and software.
• Define tasks, milestones, and acceptance criteria for assigned projects.
• Mentor engineers and coordinate across software, RF, and DevSecOps teams.
• Oversee architecture, integration, verification, and transition of capabilities.
• Ensure quality through design reviews, testing, and demonstrations.
• Contribute to proposals, customer engagements, and transition planning.

Skills

Python

C++

Java

Go

Git

CI/CD

Large codebase

System design

Education

PhD with 2+ years of relevant experience

MS with 6+ years of relevant experience

BS with 8+ years of relevant experience

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Lead Applied AI Engineer

Lead development and delivery of mission-ready RF AI/ML communications capabilities

Location: Arlington, Virginia

Compensation: $180,000 - 230,000 USD / year

About The Role

Lead Applied AI Engineer

STR's Intelligence Division researches, develops, and transitions advanced analytics and machine-learning solutions for challenging national-security problems. Our team includes engineers and researchers with advanced backgrounds in engineering, computer science, mathematics, and data science who apply deep technical expertise and creativity to mission-critical challenges.

Our work spans data analysis, deep learning, and statistical methods across networking, communications, social media, text, time series, geospatial, and imagery data. We develop capabilities under constraints not typically encountered in commercial environments. U.S. Government analysts use our tools and technologies to extract, enrich, and act on intelligence information worldwide.

As a Lead Applied AI Engineer, you will lead the technical development and delivery of RF AI/ML-based tools, algorithms, and software integrated with physical hardware, sensors, and compute, focusing on Radio Frequency (RF) communications, Open RAN, 5G/6G communications, waveform generation/adaptation, and wireless communications and networking infrastructure. You will lead the design, implementation, integration, test, demonstration, and transition of mission-relevant software spanning data processing, AI/ML models, communications services, and edge or on-premises compute environments.

You will own technical delivery for an assigned project or major subsystem, translating mission needs into executable plans and guiding architecture, implementation, integration, verification, and transition. You will work closely with software engineers, systems engineers, RF/communications researchers, DevSecOps personnel, and mission partners to develop scalable, secure, maintainable capabilities for complex customer environments.

This is a technical leadership role. You will define and decompose technical work, lead assigned engineers and contributors, manage technical interfaces and risks, and communicate progress, decisions, and tradeoffs to the Principal Investigator, project team, and mission partners.

Lead project execution: Lead development and delivery of AI/ML, RF sensing, and communications/networking capabilities from requirements definition through implementation, integration, test, demonstration, deployment, and sustainment

Translate mission needs into plans: Convert customer objectives into requirements, architectures, development plans, milestones, performance measures, and acceptance criteria. Architect and evaluate AI/ML-enabled RF, communications, and networking solutions, including 5G/6G AI-RAN capabilities, against mission performance, latency, reliability, spectrum efficiency, security, and deployability needs.

Lead the technical team: Lead and mentor engineers and researchers; collaborate with systems engineers, RF/communications researchers, DevSecOps personnel and mission partners; and communicate technical status, decisions, risks, and tradeoffs

Manage technical work: Decompose complex work into actionable tasks and subtasks; manage dependencies, technical risks, interfaces, and progress toward program objectives

Own project architecture: Design and oversee architectures spanning RF and sensor-data pipelines, AI/ML integrations, services, APIs, databases, user interfaces, Open RAN integrations, and deployment infrastructure. Lead development of RF sensing and communications capabilities such as spectrum sensing, signal classification, interference mitigation, channel estimation, beam management, adaptive links, and passive-radar processing, as applicable to project needs

Drive integration and quality: Lead design reviews, code reviews, integration, testing, customer demonstrations, and release readiness. Ensure systems meet reliability, security, maintainability, and performance requirements, including high-throughput, low-latency edge AI workflows (e.g., Layer 1/Layer 2 functions) where applicable

Support growth and transition: Contribute technical content to proposals, customer engagements, and transition planning while ensuring delivered capabilities are reusable and mission relevant

Education and experience: PhD with 2+ years, MS with 6+ years, or BS with 8+ years of relevant experience in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Clearance eligibility: Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance, for which U.S citizenship is needed by the U.S government

Technical delivery leadership: Experience leading software development efforts, major workstreams, or complex subsystems. Ability to define tasks and subtasks, coordinate contributors, manage technical interfaces and risks, and communicate progress and tradeoffs to stakeholders

Systems engineering: Experience translating customer needs into requirements, designs, development and test plans, and integrated capabilities. Experience managing interfaces among software, AI/ML, RF, communications, hardware, data, and deployment components

AI/ML and Communications experience: Experience applying AI/ML to operational problems involving sensor, time-series, RF, communications, or other non-textual data. Experience with RF signal processing, wireless communications, 5G/6G RAN, O-RAN/AI-RAN, waveform generation/adaptation, or edge AI is strongly preferred

Software development: Proficiency in Python, C++, Java, Go, or a similar language, with experience developing and maintaining production-quality software

Engineering practices: Experience with Git, code review, automated testing, CI/CD, containers, issue tracking, documentation, and secure software-development practices

Communication and collaboration: Ability to lead technical discussions, communicate risks and tradeoffs, and work effectively with customers and multidisciplinary teams

Active clearance: Active Secret, Top Secret, or TS/SCI security clearance

Architecture experience: Experience designing system or software architectures for distributed, data-intensive, real-time, cloud, on-premises, edge, RF sensing, or communications systems

RF and wireless systems: Experience with digital signal processing, software-defined radios, PHY/MAC processing, or RF sensing

AI-RAN and edge deployment: Familiarity with 5G/6G or Open RAN architectures and deployment of optimized models to edge AI/ML accelerators

Real-time communications software: Experience developing high-throughput, latency-sensitive software for PHY, MAC, scheduling, or radio-resource management

DevSecOps experience: Experience with CI/CD, infrastructure automation, container orchestration, cloud platforms, monitoring, logging, and security tooling

Large codebase experience: Experience developing software in large, multi-team codebases using collaborative engineering practices

Decentralized systems: Familiarity with message queues, stream processing, distributed computing, or microservices

Customer and capture support: Experience supporting technical proposals, customer demonstrations, technical briefings, or capture activities with DoW or IC customers

Modern development tools: Experience using LLM-enabled development tools, such as Cursor or Codex, in a secure and effective engineering workflow

Full-Time Salary Range: $180,000 - $230,000

The salary range listed is based on external market data. Offers are based on factors, such as but not limited to, the candidate's experience, education, training, key skills/critical skills, security clearances, and prevailing market and business conditions.

STR is a growing technology company with locations near Boston, MA, Arlington, VA, near Dayton, OH, Melbourne, FL, Carlsbad, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Denver, CO. We specialize in advanced research and development for defense, intelligence, and national security in: cyber; next generation sensors, radar, sonar, communications, and electronic warfare; and artificial intelligence algorithms and analytics to make sense of the complexity that is exploding around us.

STR is committed to creating a collaborative learning environment that supports deep technical understanding and recognizes the contributions and achievements of all team members. Our work is challenging, and we go home at night knowing that we pushed the envelope of technology and made the world safer.

STR is not just any company. Our people, culture, and attitude along with their unique set of skills, experiences, and perspectives put us on a trajectory to change the world. We can't do it alone, though - we need fellow trailblazers. If you are one, join our team and help to keep our society safe! Visit us at www.str.us for more info.

STR is an equal opportunity employer. We are fully dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidate regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the employment process, email us at [e-mail] and provide your contact info.

Pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations, positions at STR require employees to obtain national security clearances and satisfy the requirements for compliance with export control and other applicable laws.