Senior Software Engineer, AI Systems Architect

Aptima; Fairborn (OH); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading national security technology firm in Fairborn, Ohio is looking for an experienced software engineer to architect advanced systems supporting AI research. This role requires a Bachelor's or Master's degree in a related field along with 6+ years in software engineering, strong proficiency in Python, and the ability to thrive in collaborative environments. You will work on innovative AI projects and lead the development of complex research systems, offering an exciting opportunity for those passionate about integrating AI with national security applications.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience developing complex technical systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern software engineering practices.
• Experience building complex research prototypes or experimental systems.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop advanced software systems for AI research.
• Lead the design of software architectures for complex research prototypes.
• Implement machine learning and AI models within experimental testbeds.

Skills

Python

Software Engineering Practices

AI/ML Technologies

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant fields

Tools

Docker

Job description

Who We Are

Aptima is a technological leader in the national security industry. Our mission is to drive the future of national security by engineering scalable solutions that fuse technological innovation with human potential to transform how individuals and teams train, develop, and perform in mission‑critical environments.

Description

Our culture is rooted in our core values, which have evolved over time and our employees have embraced: Integrity, Ingenuity, Excellence, Respect, Engagement, Teamwork. At our core, Aptima researches, develops, and innovates within an area that engineering firms largely ignore, the human component. To impact the world in meaningful ways, you must bring those innovations to light, and that is precisely what we do.

Key Responsibilities

Advanced Research Engineering

• Architect and develop advanced software systems that support cutting‑edge AI research and experimental prototypes.
• Collaborate closely with scientists and researchers to translate novel algorithms, models, and concepts into functional prototype systems.
• Design and implement flexible research platforms that enable rapid experimentation, evaluation, and iteration.
• Contribute to the development of innovative AI‑enabled capabilities across domains such as human–AI teaming, synthetic media analysis, influence modeling, and agent‑based systems.

Prototype System Architecture

• Lead the design and implementation of software architectures for complex research prototypes, including APIs, data pipelines, model integration layers, and evaluation frameworks.
• Build modular and extensible systems that allow Aptima researchers and external collaborators to rapidly integrate new models, analytics, and experimental capabilities.
• Balance rapid research iteration with maintainable and well‑structured engineering practices.
• Support experimentation with emerging AI approaches including agentic systems and multimodal analytics.

AI Systems Development and Deployment

• Implement and integrate machine learning and AI models within experimental systems and research testbeds to support internal evaluation and integration with external systems for large‑scale evaluation experiments and demonstrations.
• Develop workflows that support model training, evaluation, experimentation, and comparative analysis.
• Develop containerized research environments using tools such as Docker to support reproducible experimentation.
• Assist in preparing prototype systems for technology demonstrations with sponsors such as DARPA, DoW laboratories, and operational partners.

Technical Leadership & Collaboration

• Provide technical leadership on R&D projects, helping shape system architectures and technical approaches, and collaborating with engineering leadership across the company.
• Work across multidisciplinary teams including AI researchers, cognitive scientists, and engineers.
• Mentor junior engineers and research staff on software architecture, engineering practices, and scalable research infrastructure.
• Participate in customer engagements, technical reviews, demonstrations, and collaborative research activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, AI/ML, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience developing complex technical systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern software engineering practices.
• Experience building complex research prototypes or experimental systems.
• Familiarity with AI/ML technologies and integrating models into software systems.
• Experience architecting modular software systems and designing APIs or service‑based architectures.
• Hands‑on experience with containerization (e.g., Docker) or reproducible research environments.
• Ability to work in ambiguous, exploratory environments and translate evolving research ideas into working software.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate with researchers, engineers, and external partners.
• Willingness to travel to support integration, demonstration, or customer activities.

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting DARPA, DoW, or other government-sponsored research programs.
• Familiarity with large language models, agentic AI systems, or multimodal machine learning.
• Experience building research testbeds, evaluation frameworks, or simulation environments.
• Background in distributed systems, high-performance computing, or scalable experimentation infrastructure.
• Experience contributing to technical publications, research demonstrations, or conference submissions.
• Exposure to cloud computing platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) or hybrid research infrastructure.
• Interest in working at the intersection of advanced AI research, national security applications, and emerging technologies.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state or local law.