Senior AI Engineer - On-Prem & Government Cloud Lead

General Dynamics Information Technology; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Growth opportunities

Internal mobility support

Comprehensive benefits & 401K

Military-friendly workplace

Job summary

General Dynamics Information Technology seeks a senior AI Engineer to lead design, development, and secure integration of AI/ML into mission systems on classified networks. You will set architectural patterns, governance, and engineering standards while growing a small team.

You will collaborate with program leadership, government stakeholders, and security authorities to deliver auditable AI capabilities that meet RMF and AO requirements in restricted environments.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI with polygraph to start.
• Security+CE or other IAT Level II or higher certification required to start
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of professional software development experience (or 6+ with a relevant advanced degree), including 3+ years building or integrating ML/AI capabilities
• Expert-level Python; working proficiency in at least one additional language (JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, or similar)
• Demonstrated experience deploying or serving LLMs or ML models in disconnected, on-premises, or government cloud environments (Azure Government, AWS GovCloud, or equivalent)
• Practical experience with model inference, embeddings, vector search, and prompt engineering in production systems
• Experience with containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) and CI/CD in restricted environments
• Strong understanding of data security, classification handling, and responsible AI practices
• Proven ability to work directly with government customers and translate mission requirements into technical solutions

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and maintain AI-enabled applications and services within air-gapped and government cloud environments
• Deploy, serve, and tune large language models and ML models on-premises or in accredited cloud enclaves (no external API dependency)
• Design retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and embedding workflows over controlled data sets, with appropriate data handling and classification controls
• Operationalize the program's AI governance framework: model capability tiering, use-case approval workflow, rules of engagement, and audit/logging requirements
• Support security accreditation activities, including AO engagement, RMF documentation inputs, and responsible AI evidence
• Build and optimize data pipelines feeding AI-driven features; integrate with existing program systems and workflows
• Establish code quality, testing, and documentation standards for the AI engineering function; mentor mid-level developers as the team grows
• Brief technical approach and results to program leadership and government customers

Skills

Active TS/SCI

Security+CE

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

Java

LLM deployment

Docker/Kubernetes

Distributed systems

Data security

Govt customers

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Azure Government

AWS GovCloud

CI/CD

Job description

General Dynamics Information Technology seeks a senior AI Engineer to lead design, development, and secure integration of AI/ML into mission systems on classified networks. You will set architectural patterns, governance, and engineering standards while growing a small team.

You will collaborate with program leadership, government stakeholders, and security authorities to deliver auditable AI capabilities that meet RMF and AO requirements in restricted environments.