Senior Applied AI Engineer with Security Clearance

Black Eagle Defense; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 209,000 - 266,000; Full time

Job summary

Black Eagle Defense in Fort Meade, MD, seeks a Senior Applied AI Engineer to join a fast-moving Tactical AI team. The role focuses on building production AI systems leveraging LLMs, RAG, and modern software practices.

You will collaborate with mission customers to prototype solutions and transition capabilities into production. The ideal candidate has strong Python development skills, experience with AI frameworks, and a knack for translating complex needs into scalable software architectures.

Qualifications

• Production AI software development experience using Python.
• Experience designing LLM-powered workflows and RAG pipelines.
• Ability to translate user needs into deterministic analytical workflows.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement LLM-powered workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and AI agent capabilities to solve core mission problems
• Develop backend services, APIs, and data pipelines supporting AI-enabled applications
• Translate natural language user requests into deterministic analytical workflows through integration with mission data sources, databases, and search platforms
• Collaborate directly with mission stakeholders to analyze operational workflows and rapidly prototype customer-focused AI solutions
• Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources into scalable AI applications

Skills

Python

LLM workflows

RAG pipelines

APIs

Data pipelines

Distributed systems

OO design

Analytical skills

Communication

Mission collaboration

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

React

TypeScript

Gradio

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Elasticsearch

Job description

Job Description SALARY RANGE $209,000 - $266,000/year. DUTIES As a successful candidate for the Senior Applied AI Engineer role, you will join a fast-moving Tactical AI team developing production-quality AI applications that accelerate mission workflows through large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and modern software engineering. In this role, you will design and develop AI-powered systems enabling analysts and operators to interact with complex mission data using natural language and intelligent automation. You will collaborate directly with mission customers to understand operational challenges, rapidly prototype tailored solutions, transition capabilities into production, and shape the team's overarching technical direction. Required Skills SKILLS * Design, develop, and maintain production AI-enabled software applications using Python and modern software engineering practices

• Architect and implement LLM-powered workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and AI agent capabilities to solve core mission problems
• Develop backend services, APIs, and data pipelines supporting AI-enabled applications
• Translate natural language user requests into deterministic analytical workflows through integration with mission data sources, databases, and search platforms
• Collaborate directly with mission stakeholders to analyze operational workflows and rapidly prototype customer-focused AI solutions
• Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources into scalable AI applications
• Evaluate emerging AI frameworks, models, and software engineering techniques for mission applicability
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical architecture, engineering standards, and software design across the team
• Design, develop, and maintain production AI-enabled software applications using Python
• Design and develop distributed or backend software systems
• Build AI-enabled applications leveraging LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI agents, or related technologies
• Develop REST APIs and integrate disparate data sources
• Work with relational databases, Elasticsearch, or other data storage technologies
• Apply a strong understanding of software architecture, object-oriented design, and engineering best practices
• Apply strong analytical and problem-solving skills to complex technical challenges
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Collaborate directly with mission customers to gather requirements and deliver operational solutions Desired Skills NICE-TO-HAVES * Experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP), PydanticAI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar AI frameworks
• Experience deploying applications using Docker, Kubernetes, or containerized environments
• Experience with React, TypeScript, Gradio, or modern web application development
• Experience designing agentic AI workflows or multi-step reasoning systems
• Experience supporting classified mission environments
• Experience leading software engineering teams or technical projects