Principal Cognitive Systems Engineer IV

Bct Llc; Glen Burnie (MD); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k Plan

Health Coverage

PTO & Holidays

Tuition Reimbursement

Wellness Membership

Job summary

BCT LLC is seeking a Principal Cognitive Systems Engineer IV to lead the architectural design development and deployment of the NerveCenter platform. This senior role combines human cognitive processes with AI, guiding a multidisciplinary team to integrate LLMs, deep learning, and multi-agent systems into secure ITAR environments.

The ideal candidate will drive architecture, oversee RAG pipelines, and ensure high-speed, stateful interactions while mentoring Level I–III engineers and data

Qualifications

• 10+ years in systems engineering AI/ML with 3+ years leading enterprise AI
• Expert-level Python proficiency
• Strong capability in Java Go or C++ and AI/ML frameworks

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement core cognitive models powering NerveCenter
• Design multi-agent orchestrations for secure enterprise data access and coordination
• Lead development of advanced RAG pipelines grounded in verified enterprise data
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship across engineers, data scientists and cloud architects

Skills

Python

LLM deployment

C/C++/Java/Go

TensorFlow/PyTorch

RLHF & semantic mapping

Tools

LangChain

Pinecone/Milvus

Google Cloud Platform

Azure Government

Job description

A career at BCT LLC means being part of something bigger than yourself. Our success comes from the dedication of our people and their commitment to delivering meaningful solutions for our customers and their missions. If youre looking for a supportive team oriented workplace where collaboration and shared success matter we invite you to explore a career with BCT LLC.

About the job

BCT LLC is seeking a Principal Cognitive Systems Engineer IV to lead the architectural design development and deployment of the NerveCenter platform. This senior technical role bridges the gap between human cognitive processes and advanced artificial intelligence ensuring that NerveCenter functions as a highly intuitive adaptive and scalable mission enabling system. The Level IV Engineer will serve as the primary technical authority on cognitive architectures directing a multidisciplinary team to integrate Large Language Models LLMs deep learning frameworks and stateful multi agent systems into secure ITAR compliant enterprise environments.

Core Responsibilities

• Cognitive Architecture Design Architect and implement the core cognitive models powering NerveCenter focusing on human machine teaming natural language understanding and automated reasoning capabilities
• Multi Agent Orchestration Design protocols for multi agent workflows enabling specialized AI agents within NerveCenter to securely share context execute complex multi step plans and interact with internal enterprise APIs and data stores
• Retrieval Augmented Generation RAG Optimization Lead the development of advanced RAG pipelines ensuring the system accurately grounds outputs in verified enterprise data while navigating complex access control lists ACLs and zero trust security boundaries
• Systems Integration Seamlessly embed cognitive capabilities into existing government and defense architectures prioritizing high speed multi turn stateful interactions
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship Serve as the Subject Matter Expert SME for cognitive systems across BCT providing strategic technical direction to Level I III engineers data scientists and cloud architects
• Performance & Safety Tuning Establish rigorous testing frameworks to monitor model latency token consumption hallucination rates and prompt injection vulnerabilities ensuring continuous optimization of the NerveCenter platform

Technical and Professional Requirements

• 10 years of applied experience in systems engineering artificial intelligence or machine learning with at least 3 years leading enterprise scale AI Programming & Scripting
• Expert level proficiency in Python
• Strong capability in Java Go or C AIML Frameworks
• Deep expertise with PyTorch TensorFlow LangChain and advanced vector databases eg Pinecone Milvus Azure AI Search Cloud Infrastructure
• Proven experience deploying AI models in highly secure cloud environments specifically Google Cloud Platform Vertex AI Assured Workloads or Microsoft Azure Government GCC High
• Cognitive Modeling Demonstrated capability in translating human decision making processes into computational models including reinforcement learning from human feedback RLHF and semantic mapping

What We Offer

• Competitive 401k Plan with Matching Contributions
• Independent 401k and Investment Advisory Services
• Health Coverage with Employer Funded Health Savings Account HSA DentalVision
• Competitive PTO & Federal Holiday package
• LifeAD&DDisability Coverage paid 100 by BCT
• Generous Employee Referral Program
• TuitionTraining Reimbursement
• Wellness Membership Program
• Box Seats to Orioles Games
• Pet Adoption Program
• Several Scholarship Opportunities available to BCT family membersdependents

Our Story

Founded in 2006 BCT LLC is a small business built on a strong foundation of core values Humility Respect Integrity Loyalty Kindness Gratitude Innovation and Initiative These principles guide everything we do and drive our commitment to delivering exceptional service to every customer Headquartered in Annapolis Junction Maryland BCT proudly supports clients throughout the DMV region and beyond With more than 70 years of combined experience supporting National Security missions our leadership brings deep expertise insight and dedication to the work we do At BCT our employees are at the heart of our success Team members benefit from a highly supportive hands on home office staff and leadership that is genuinely invested in their growth well being and long term success Simply put BCT delivers the small business experience unlike any othercome see the difference.

BCT LLC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer All facets of employment including the decision to hire promote discipline or discharge will be based solely on merit & business need Candidates and Employees will never be subject to discrimination on the basis of race color religion age genetic information or any other status protected under federal state or local law.