Principal AI Software Engineer (TS/SCI + Poly)

Aperio Global; Fort Meade (FL); On-site; USD 207,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Care Plan

Retirement Plan (401k)

Life Insurance

Paid Time Off

Disability Insurance

Professional Development

Job summary

Aperio Global is seeking a Principal AI Software Engineer to lead AI/ML initiatives for the Corporate Directory Services mission. You will design, prototype, and deploy AI-enabled applications that automate intelligence workflows and accelerate mission outcomes.

Collaborate with stakeholders across software engineering, data science, and LLM integration, applying techniques from classification to transformers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree plus 11+ years of relevant experience or equivalent.
• Proficiency in Java and Python; experience with Jupyter Notebooks.
• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of AI/ML solutions and analytics capabilities for mission objectives.
• Collaborate with software engineering, data science, ML and LLM integration teams to deliver AI-enabled applications.
• Design, develop, prototype and deploy AI-enabled applications that automate intelligence processes.

Skills

Java

Python

Jupyter Notebooks

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

How We’re Different

We believe the highest-impact work in national security and technology is a team sport. At Aperio Global, we operate as a single, cohesive force aligned on a handful of mission-critical efforts where our work truly moves the needle. We don’t chase small wins. We solve for next.

We view the intersection of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data analytics as an empirical discipline as rigorous and consequential as any field in science or engineering. That means we bring intellectual honesty, accountability, and transparency to every problem we take on. Our team includes tech innovators, Intelligence Community veterans, and security professionals who know that the best solutions come from diverse minds working toward a common mission. We value our people, those working quietly behind the scenes, doing the hard work that keeps our nation secure.

The best way to understand how we think is to see what we’ve built. From full-spectrum cyber operations and de-biased AI platforms to quantum networking and cloud-native software systems, our work speaks for itself.

Come solve with us

We offer competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package — including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, generous paid time off, short and long-term disability, professional development, and much more. We invest in our people because they are our most important asset — and because the mission demands the best.

We are seeking a Principal AI Software Engineer to support the exciting Corporate Directory Services mission. You will work closely with mission stakeholders to lead the development of advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) solutions, intelligence mission workflows, and emerging analytic capabilities. This role is responsible for designing, developing, prototyping, and operationalizing AI-enabled applications that automate complex intelligence processes, discover emergent intelligence value, and accelerate mission outcomes. You will also work across multiple technical domains including software engineering, data science, machine learning, and large language model (LLM) integration to deliver innovative capabilities from proof-of-concept through operational deployment.

Mission Focus:

Collaborate closely with customers to drive the rapid development, evaluation, and transition of AI/ML-enabled mission capabilities that enhance operational analysis and intelligence workflows. Leverage emerging technologies, scalable software architectures, and advanced analytics to automate discovery, accelerate insight generation, and deliver production-ready solutions across diverse mission domains. Shape technical strategy and best practices to ensure effective deployment, sustainment, and evolution of AI-enabled mission systems

Technical Proficiency:

Proficient in current AI/ML technologies such as classification, clustering, collaborative filtering, search, and retrieval using techniques such as but not limited to deep neutral networks (DNN), recurrent neural networks (RNN), attention-based transformers, etc. Experience in current large language models (LLM) for representative and generative tasks.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree plus 11-years of relevant experience or equivalent. Proficiency with object-oriented languages (JAVA, Python) and experience with Jupyter Notebooks

Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI with Polygraph required (CCA)

Nice To Have:

Proficiency in approaches to retrieval augmented generation (RAG), model context protocol (MCP) and other recent technologies supporting agentic AI. Foundational knowledge of statistics related to parametric probability distributions, nonparametric probability distributions, Bayesian analysis, and covariance matrices. Proficiency in agentic systems that can automatically carry out mission goals with limited supervision.

Salary Range: 207,000-227,000

The salary range for this role represents Aperio’s good-faith estimate of compensation at the time of posting. Placement within the range is based on multiple factors, including but not limited to an individual’s qualifications, relevant experience, education, certifications, technical skills, contract labor categories and/or rates, work location, market conditions, and business needs.

Benefits

At Aperio Global, we understand the value of investing in our most important asset—our employees. That’s why we have crafted a comprehensive benefits package designed to help you make the best decision for yourself, your family and your lifestyle. For additional details, contact our talent acquisition team.

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA) with 100% employer match up to 6%
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Professional Development
• (and much more)

Aperio Global is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive workforce where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and fairness. Employment decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs — never on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, pregnancy/childbirth, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, ethnicity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.