Senior UX Operational Engineer

Harmattan AI; United States; Remote; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A next-generation defense firm is seeking a Senior UX Operational Engineer to bridge AI research with real-world deployment. You will architect infrastructure for ML models, ensuring reliability in high-stakes environments. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in applied ML/MLOps and an educational background in AI or related fields. A commitment to the mission and eligibility for DoD clearance is essential.

Benefits

Equity

Benefits

Qualifications

• 7–12 years in applied ML / MLOps roles with production-grade systems.
• Experience in defense, aerospace, autonomous systems, or mission-critical environments.
• Eligible for U.S. DoD Security Clearance (Secret or above preferred).

Responsibilities

• Translate research models into production-ready services with low-latency performance.
• Design scalable inference frameworks using best practices.
• Mentor engineers and set technical direction.

Skills

Model deployment at scale

ML pipeline orchestration

Monitoring tools

Education

M.S. or Ph.D. in AI, Robotics, Applied Math

Tools

MLflow

Kubeflow

Airflow

Job description

About Us

At Harmattan AI, we are a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Driven by rigorous engineering developments of new defense products based on recent robotics and AI developments, we are on a steep growth trajectory. If you are interested in a career in a highly technical environment, thrive on pushing boundaries, and want to achieve ambitious goals, we would love to hear from you.

About the Role

As Senior UX Operational Engineer, you will lead the technical bridge between AI research and real-world mission deployment. You’ll ensure that advanced ML models are productionized, monitored, and interpretable for operators in high-stakes environments.

You will architect the infrastructure that makes AI reliable, defining inference pipelines, MLOps standards, and monitoring frameworks that survive austere, contested conditions.

Responsibilities

Applied ML & Infrastructure

• Translate research models into production-ready services with low-latency performance.

• Architect and operate ML pipelines for data ingestion, training, validation, deployment, and monitoring.

• Define model instrumentation to track drift, bias, and reliability in real-time.

MLOps Framework

• Design scalable inference frameworks using tools such as MLflow, Kubeflow, Airflow, or equivalents.

• Implement best practices for versioning, reproducibility, and compliance with ITAR and DoD constraints.

• Partner with backend and security teams to ensure robustness across on-prem and GovCloud environments.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Work cross-functionally with Algorithm, Product, and UX teams to ensure AI outputs enhance, not overwhelm, operator decision-making.

• Mentor engineers and set the technical direction for Harmattan’s AI backbone.

Candidate Requirements

• Educational Background: M.S. or Ph.D. in AI, Robotics, Applied Math, or related field.

• Experience: 7–12 years in applied ML / MLOps roles with production-grade systems.

• Technical Skills: Deep understanding of model deployment at scale, ML pipeline orchestration, and monitoring tools.

• Domain Knowledge: Experience in defense, aerospace, autonomous systems, or other mission-critical environments.

• Mindset: Systems thinker with technical rigor and an operator-centered approach.

• Clearance: Eligible for U.S. DoD Security Clearance (Secret or above preferred).

• Commitment: 100% dedication to Harmattan AI’s mission, vision, and ambitious growth plans, ready to go the extra mile to ensure operational excellence.

Location and Commitments

• Contract Type: Full-time / Permanent

• Work Schedule: Washington DC (on-site preferred)

• Compensation: $170K-$200K + equity + benefits

• Start Date: November 2025

We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.