Senior AI Integration Engineer — Local Models

Peraton; Red Bank (NJ); On-site; USD 112,000 - 179,000; Full time

Job summary

Peraton Labs seeks a Senior AI Integration Developer to lead the design and implementation of an AI assistant capability within a DoD-focused web app. You will build the MCP server, tool interfaces, and integrate locally-hosted models in air-gapped environments while coordinating with the broader engineering team.

The role requires deep domain understanding and strong software engineering skills. You will drive evaluation of model choices, design robust prompts, and ensure reliable AI outputs

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of experience, or 6 years with a Master's, or 3+ years with a PhD in CS/CE/IS.
• Experience deploying locally-hosted models (e.g., Ollama, llama.cpp) in offline or restricted environments
• Strong understanding of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — server design, tool schemas, and client-server communication
• Prompt engineering and system prompt design for local model capabilities
• Experience with agentic AI patterns — multi-step reasoning, tool chaining, error recovery
• Familiarity with model selection tradeoffs — capability, context length, quantization, hardware needs
• Proficiency in Python; familiarity with FastAPI; experience with Docker and containerized services
• Experience with TypeScript/Node.js, React, Git, CI/CD, and automated testing
• Must be a U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain/maintain a Secret clearance
• Candidate should be local and able to work in Red Bank, NJ; Basking Ridge, NJ; or Silver Spring, MD

Responsibilities

• Design and implement MCP server and tool interfaces exposing application data to the AI assistant
• Deploy and configure locally-hosted models for air-gapped or connectivity-constrained environments
• Evaluate and select local models appropriate for specific assistant tasks; assess capability and tradeoffs
• Integrate LLM inference endpoints into the application backend and frontend for local and cloud models where applicable
• Develop and refine system prompts, tool definitions, and context management strategies for local models
• Define and execute evaluation frameworks to assess AI output quality, tool call accuracy, and assistant reliability
• Identify high-value use cases in collaboration with domain experts and translate them into concrete AI tool designs
• Maintain backend Python and TypeScript/Node.js services supporting AI functionality
• Document AI architecture, tool schemas, prompts, model configurations, and evaluation results
• Stay current with the evolving local model and MCP ecosystem landscape

Skills

Python

FastAPI

Docker

React

TypeScript/Node.js

PostgreSQL

Git/CI/CD

Clear communicator

U.S. Citizenship

System prompt design

AI integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/IS

Master's degree in CS/Engineering/IS

PhD in related field

Tools

Ollama

llama.cpp

LangChain

LangGraph

FastMCP

Job description

Peraton Labs seeks a Senior AI Integration Developer to lead the design and implementation of an AI assistant capability within a DoD-focused web app. You will build the MCP server, tool interfaces, and integrate locally-hosted models in air-gapped environments while coordinating with the broader engineering team.

The role requires deep domain understanding and strong software engineering skills. You will drive evaluation of model choices, design robust prompts, and ensure reliable AI outputs