Senior Software Engineer (9301)

NGPartners; Columbia (MD); Hybrid; USD 137,000 - 178,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Retirement plans

Paid leave

Professional development

Tuition assistance

Dependent care

Job summary

Ngpartners in Columbia, MD seeks a Senior Software Engineer focused on AI integration to design, develop, and deploy an agentic platform for our Data Lake tool. You will build MCP servers, reusable AI skills, and robust guardrails using Python and Kubernetes.

Join a team delivering secure, scalable solutions for IC, DoD, and federal customers. You will mentor engineers, collaborate across teams, and help expose internal APIs to AI agents while maintaining strict security and testing standards.

Qualifications

• Must obtain U.S. Government Security Clearance; U.S. Citizenship required.
• 9 years of software engineering experience with a strong focus on Python backend development; Bachelor’s degree in related field, or 7 years with Masters; or HS diploma with 13 years experience.
• Kubernetes deployment and management experience in production systems.
• Hands-on experience integrating commercial OpenAI/Anthropic APIs or open-source models into backend applications.
• Understanding of prompt engineering, agents, function-calling/tool-use, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Experience designing enterprise APIs, RESTful web services, and microservices architecture.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker; comfortable with Linux CLI.
• Hybrid work in Columbia, MD 1–2 days per week in office.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop Python-based components for the core agentic platform.
• Deploy, manage, and scale applications within Kubernetes environments.
• Build MCP servers and a library of reusable AI skills (functions/tools).
• Collaborate with teams to expose Java-based APIs to AI agents.
• Implement enterprise AI guardrails, data privacy, prompt defences, and output validation.
• Maintain automated testing pipelines for non-deterministic AI outputs.
• Provide mentorship and leadership to engineering teams.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Python backend

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Linux CLI

AI concepts

RESTful APIs

Mentoring/leadership

Java interoperability

OpenAI/Large Language Models

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree in related field

Tools

Git

Docker

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Kubernetes (ops)

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

Columbia, MD, US – Senior - Full-time ID: 29301

Estimated Salary: The estimated salary range for this position is between $137,000 and $178,000 DOE

About our client:

Our client delivers high-quality solutions and services to IC, DoD, Federal, and commercial customers. Their security, software, and systems engineers and architects work at the forefront of national challenges, solving some of the most complex problems in cyber analytics and data science.

Our Client’s Values

Professionalism and a mission-centric mindset are core to how they operate, shaping both their work and the way they conduct themselves.

They take pride in fostering a culture of learning, growth, and excellence — for their employees, their partners, and the customers they serve.

Description

We are currently seeking a talented and experienced Senior Software Engineer to join our team to help build foundational AI integration frameworks and agentic platforms.

As a Software Engineer focused on AI Integration, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing the agentic platform for our proprietary Data Lake tool, JCRSD. This role is primarily focused on Python-based components and requires strong container orchestration skills to ensure seamless deployment.

This role is not focused on training foundational AI models from scratch. Instead, you will take industry best practices, open-source capabilities, and large language models (LLMs), and build a secure, scalable framework that allows our platform to seamlessly leverage AI. You will build Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, reusable AI skills, strict safety guardrails, and coordinate with disparate internal teams to expose their APIs to our autonomous agents. If you are a self-motivated, creative software engineer who loves Python, Kubernetes, and treating AI as a complex software integration problem, we would love to hear from you.

Requirements

• Design and develop Python-based components for our core agentic platform.
• Deploy, manage, and scale applications within Kubernetes (K8s) environments efficiently right out of the gate.
• Build Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and a library of reusable "skills" (function calling/tools) that enable AI agents to safely interact with internal databases, microservices, and external APIs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to help them expose their Java-based APIs to our AI agents.
• Implement strict enterprise AI guardrails, ensuring data privacy, sensitive data scrubbing, prompt injection defenses, and output validation to meet stringent security requirements.
• Maintain an inquisitive nature, responsiveness, and excellent testing skills (including automated testing pipelines for non-deterministic AI outputs).
• Possess strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to work under pressure with multiple deadlines in a fast-paced, small-business environment.
• Seamlessly transition between hands-on execution and team guidance, treating mentorship and team leadership as inherent components of senior-level impact.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Clearance Requirement: Must obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance, but not required on day one; U.S. Citizenship required.
• 9 years of experience in Software Engineering, with a strong focus on Python backend development and a Bachelors in related field; 7 years relevant experience with Masters in related field; or High School Diploma or equivalent and 13 years relevant experience.
• Kubernetes Proficiency: Demonstrated, hands-on experience deploying and managing containerized workloads in Kubernetes (K8s).
• Applied AI Experience: Hands-on experience integrating commercial LLM APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) or open-source models into production backend applications.
• AI Concepts: Demonstrated understanding of modern applied AI concepts such as prompt engineering, agents, function-calling/tool-use, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Experience in designing enterprise APIs, RESTful web services, and Microservices architecture.
• Experience with configuration management tools (e.g., Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker).
• Comfortable working on a Linux command line.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a tech lead, mentor, or manager for engineering teams.
• Must be able to work in a hybrid environment, spending an average of 1-2 days per week at our Columbia, MD office. Flexibility is essential to adapt to schedule changes as needed.

Preferred Requirements

• Current Clearances: Active Secret or Top Secret clearances are a strong plus.
• Java Interoperability (Plus): Familiarity with Java frameworks (e.g., Spring) or Java-based software capabilities to assist disparate teams in connecting their components to the agent platform.
• Familiarity with Python-based AI integration frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, AutoGen).
• Experience with Vector Databases, semantic caching, and AI observability tools.
• Experience with NiFi, Kafka, and cloud-based infrastructure (AWS, Azure).
• Experience in SQL databases (e.g., Postgres, MySQL), distributed databases, or NoSQL databases.
• Prior experience or familiarity with Big Data Platforms or Data Lake architectures.

Compensation

Our client is building a team of like-minded individuals who aren’t afraid to work hard and support one another to achieve exceptional results. Fostering an environment where high-calibre employees can shine means offering meaningful benefits and support both in the office and beyond.

The benefits include health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, financial and retirement plans, paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, and dependent care.

Salary varies based on location, education, skills, experience, and contract-specific affordability. The estimated salary range for this position is $187,000 and $243,000 representing one component of our client’s overall compensation package.