Senior AI/ML Engineer

Colvin Run; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Colvin Run Networks seeks a Senior AI/ML Engineer to join a federal civilian modernization program. This full-time role, based in Northern Virginia with a hybrid work model, requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance.

The position offers a salary range of $160,000 to $210,000 per year, dependent on experience, within a mission-driven environment. You will design and deploy ML and generative AI capabilities, bring prototypes to production in secure environments,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/engineering/math/data science or related field.
• 8+ years of relevant experience, including at least 3 years working with AI technologies.
• Hands-on production experience designing, training, and deploying machine learning models.
• Strong Python programming, plus working knowledge of Java or R.
• Experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Keras, and libraries such as scikit-learn.
• Working knowledge of statistics, data modeling, and software architecture as they apply to ML systems.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines, containers (Docker or Kubernetes), and SQL.
• Must be a U.S. citizen with the capability of obtaining a Top Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Build models people use: Design, train, and retrain ML and generative AI capabilities, including retrieval-augmented generation and agent-based workflows, to solve real operational problems.
• Take prototypes to production: Move models into secure production environments using Git, CI/CD, and containers, and support the security authorization the agency requires before anything goes live.
• Measure and monitor: Build evaluation, drift detection, and explainability checks that catch a bad output before an end user does.
• Integrate with the program's systems: Connect models to applications, dashboards, and repositories through APIs and services.
• Work with the people who will use it: Sit with analysts and operators to define the question, the data, and what a model is allowed to decide versus what needs human review.
• Document the system: Record assumptions, limitations, evaluation results, and operating procedures clearly enough that someone other than you could run the system.

Skills

Python

Java

R

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Keras

scikit-learn

Git

CI/CD

Docker

Kubernetes

SQL

Statistics

ML deployment

ML systems architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, data science, or a related field

Tools

Databricks

AWS

Azure

Power BI

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD tools

Job description

Senior AI/ML Engineer

Location: Northern Virginia, Hybrid.

Position: Full-time, reporting to Program leadership.

Access: U.S. citizenship required, with the ability to obtain a Top Secret security clearance.

The likely salary range for this position is $160,000 to $210,000 per year. Salary is set based on experience, and this range is not a guarantee of compensation.

Start Date: Confirmed in the first conversation.

Colvin Run Networks builds mission-driven intelligent systems for national security and other high-stakes government missions. We apply commercial innovation to operational missions, an approach we call reverse dual use. As mission timelines outpace the acquisition system, we work at startup velocity with enterprise credibility. We build solutions that a program office can stand behind, and that operators want to use.

This role supports a federal civilian agency modernization program that applies AI and modern data tools to 24/7 operations, readiness, and crisis response.

About the job

This program is changing how operational information is collected, triaged, and escalated across teams that work around the clock. The program opens with a discovery phase, so before anything is built, you help decide what to build alongside the people who will use it.

What you'll do

• Build models people use: Design, train, and retrain machine learning and generative AI capabilities, including retrieval-augmented generation and agent-based workflows, to solve real operational problems.
• Take prototypes to production: Move models into secure production environments using Git, CI/CD, and containers, and support the security authorization the agency requires before anything goes live.
• Measure and monitor: Build evaluation, drift detection, and explainability checks that catch a bad output before an end user does.
• Integrate with the program's systems: Connect models to applications, dashboards, and repositories through APIs and services.
• Work with the people who will use it: Sit with analysts and operators to define the question, the data, and what a model is allowed to decide versus what needs human review.
• Document the system: Record assumptions, limitations, evaluation results, and operating procedures clearly enough that someone other than you could run the system.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, data science, or a related field.
• 8 or more years of relevant experience, including at least 3 years working with AI technologies.
• Hands-on production experience designing, training, and deploying machine learning models.
• Strong Python programming, plus working knowledge of Java or R.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Keras, and libraries such as scikit-learn.
• Working knowledge of statistics, data modeling, and software architecture as they apply to ML systems.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines, containers (Docker or Kubernetes), and SQL.
• Must be a U.S. citizen with the capability of obtaining a Top Secret security clearance.

Desired Experience

• Use of LLM frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, or MCP.
• MLOps practices, including model versioning, monitoring, and automated retraining.
• Delivery under federal authorization requirements such as ATO, RMF, or FISMA.
• Work with Databricks or a comparable data platform, and with AWS or Azure.
• Use of a business intelligence or dashboard tool such as Power BI.
• Explaining a model's limits to people who do not build models.

How we work

We hire and review against REACH.

• Rigor: We think deeply and act decisively. Sound judgment, data, and critical thought separate signal from noise. We ask "what needs to be true?" and stay grounded in facts, not assumptions.
• Excellence: We deliver results that are fast, intuitive, and impactful. We focus on what the client truly needs and take pride in solutions people want to adopt. Quality is how we earn trust.
• Agility: "That's not my job" is not part of our vocabulary. We take ownership, adapt quickly, and find solutions rather than roadblocks, flexible under pressure, whatever the role.
• Commitment: We believe in the mission we serve and never stop improving. We are our own biggest critics because we care about the outcome. Our ethics are non-negotiable.
• Humility: Egos low, standards high. We listen, stay curious, and seek feedback. We speak with radical candor, assume good intent, and put the team's success over individual credit.

Veterans and military spouses are encouraged to apply.

Colvin Run Networks is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status.