Software Engineer (AI Infrastructure)

BigBear.ai; Columbia (MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

BigBear.ai is seeking a Software Engineer to support our AI infrastructure team, focusing on inference services and scalable AI platform components. You will help design, implement, and operate critical infrastructure and production systems across the AI stack.

8+ years of experience or a technical degree with 4+ years, plus TS/SCI w/Poly clearance, are valued. You will collaborate with multiple teams, improve observability, and guide junior engineers in a fast-evolving environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant experience or a technical Bachelor's with 4+ years experience.
• Clearance: TS/SCI w/Poly
• Proven experience building and maintaining production systems at scale.
• Experience with high-volume web application architecture and performance optimization.
• Strong background in systems integration across diverse technologies and platforms.
• Hands-on experience with cloud engineering in AWS.
• Proficiency with Kubernetes administration and deployment patterns.
• Strong Python programming skills.
• Experience implementing observability solutions (APM, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Prometheus).
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Strong change management and organizational influence skills.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments and create structure where needed.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize infrastructure for AI model inference at scale.
• Support the development and maintenance of production AI services and applications, including retrieval augmented generation (RAG), autonomous agents, and emerging technologies.
• Navigate ambiguity and define solutions for underspecified systems and requirements.
• Drive adoption of new technologies and practices across engineering teams.
• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability solutions for AI services.
• Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) principles.
• Ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of AI platform components.
• Contribute to security best practices for AI systems and data.
• Provide technical guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers.

Skills

Python

Kubernetes

AWS

Observability

CI/CD

IaC

Security best practices

Systems integration

Production systems

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline

Tools

LangChain

OpenTelemetry

Grafana

Prometheus

vLLM/LiteLLM

Job description

Overview

BigBear.ai is seeking a Software Engineer to support our AI infrastructure team. In this role, you'll help build and maintain the platform that provides the foundation for the customer's AI capabilities, focusing on inference services while supporting the broader ecosystem of AI-enabled applications.

This role is intended for experienced engineers who can independently design, implement, and operate scalable AI infrastructure components.

What you will do

• Design, implement, and optimize infrastructure for AI model inference at scale
• Support the development and maintenance of production AI services and applications, including retrieval augmented generation (RAG), autonomous agents, and emerging technologies
• Navigate ambiguity and define solutions for underspecified systems and requirements
• Drive adoption of new technologies and practices across engineering teams
• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability solutions for AI services
• Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) principles
• Ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of AI platform components
• Contribute to security best practices for AI systems and data
• Provide technical guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers

What you need to have

• 8+ years of relevant experience, or Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline + 4+ years of experience
• Clearance: TS/SCI w/Poly
• Proven experience building and maintaining production systems at scale
• Experience with high-volume web application architecture and performance optimization
• Strong background in systems integration across diverse technologies and platforms
• Hands‑on experience with cloud engineering in AWS
• Proficiency with Kubernetes administration and deployment patterns
• Strong Python programming skills
• Experience implementing observability solutions (APM, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Prometheus)
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
• Strong change management and organizational influence skills
• Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments and create structure where needed
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

What we'd like you to have

• Experience with AI inference serving technologies (vLLM, LiteLLM, etc.)
• Previous experience with agentic frameworks (LangChain)
• Knowledge of vector databases and embedding systems
• Experience with high-performance computing or distributed systems

About BigBear.ai

BigBear.ai is a leading provider of AI-powered decision intelligence solutions for national security, supply chain management, and digital identity. Customers and partners rely on BigBear.ai’s predictive analytics capabilities in highly complex, distributed, mission-based operating environments. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, BigBear.ai is a public company traded on the NYSE under the symbol BBAI. For more information, visit https://bigbear.ai/ and follow BigBear.ai on LinkedIn: @BigBear.ai and X: @BigBearai.

BigBear.ai is an Equal opportunity employer all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.