Sr. AI Engineer

Analytica; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Health care

Training funds

401k match

Job summary

Analytica in Bethesda, MD is seeking a Senior AI Engineer to build retrieval, semantic search, summarization, and source-traceable AI capabilities for a federal data analytics modernization initiative. You will work on secure, scalable platforms interfacing structured and unstructured data with centralized search, review and decision support tools.

Join a team delivering advanced AI applications with strong emphasis on security, governance and compliance.

Qualifications

• Hando‑on experience developing apps with LLMs, RAG, semantic search or generative AI.
• Experience building AI services for search, summarization, document analysis, QA or decision support.
• Strong Python and API development skills.
• Experience with embeddings, vector search, retrieval, orchestration, and LLM evaluation.
• Experience implementing source citation, grounding, traceability and output validation.
• Experience with AI guardrails, access controls, logging, monitoring and error handling.
• Experience integrating AI/LLM services with databases, APIs, search platforms and data pipelines.
• Strong technical communication, documentation, problem solving and collaboration.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain Top Secret eligibility.
• Active Top Secret clearance preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop LLM-powered applications for retrieval, semantic search, summarization, document analysis, and decision support.
• Build and integrate RAG pipelines, embeddings, vector search, and semantic retrieval capabilities.
• Develop Python-based APIs and AI application services for production environments.
• Implement prompt orchestration, context management, evaluation, source citation, and output grounding.
• Implement guardrails, access controls, authentication, logging, error handling and monitoring.
• Evaluate and optimize AI applications for accuracy, relevance, groundedness, latency and reliability.
• Integrate AI services with databases, search platforms, APIs and existing data pipelines.
• Troubleshoot and optimize LLM, retrieval, API and AI workflow performance.
• Develop technical documentation for AI architecture, retrieval workflows, APIs, evaluation methods and operations.
• Collaborate with AI/ML, data engineering, data science and software engineering teams throughout development and testing.
• Apply security, privacy, accessibility, data governance and records-management requirements to AI applications.

Skills

LLMs / RAG / semantic search

AI services for search

Python API development

embeddings and vector search

source citation & grounding

AI guardrails & logging

databases & data pipelines

cross-functional teamwork

U.S. citizenship

Top Secret clearance

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior AI Engineer to build retrieval, semantic search, summarization, and source-traceable AI application capabilities for a Federal data analytics and AI modernization initiative.

The team will deliver a secure, scalable platform that integrates structured and unstructured data, provides data visualization and traceable AI-assisted analytics, and gives examiners centralized tools for search, review, monitoring, and decision support. The platform will support professional judgment and will not replace authoritative agency financial or grants-management systems or execute financial transactions.

Analytica has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as the fastest-growing private US small business. We work with U.S. government customers in health, civilian, and national security missions. As a core member you'll work with a diverse team of professionals to solve matters, architect nuisances, and come up with alternatives. We offer competitive compensation with opportunities for bonuses, employer paid health care, training and development funds, and 401k match.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop LLM-powered applications for retrieval, semantic search, summarization, document analysis, and decision support.
• Build and integrate RAG pipelines, embeddings, vector search, and semantic retrieval capabilities.
• Develop Python-based APIs and AI application services for production environments.
• Implement prompt orchestration, context management, evaluation, source citation, and output grounding.
• Implement guardrails, access controls, authentication, logging, error handling, and output validation.
• Evaluate and optimize AI applications for accuracy, relevance, groundedness, latency, and reliability.
• Integrate AI services with databases, search platforms, APIs, and existing data pipelines.
• Troubleshoot and optimize LLM, retrieval, API, and AI application workflows.
• Develop technical documentation for AI architecture, retrieval workflows, APIs, evaluation methods, and operational procedures.
• Collaborate with AI/ML, data engineering, data science, and software engineering teams throughout development and testing.
• Apply security, privacy, accessibility, data governance, and records-management requirements to AI applications.

Required Qualifications

• Hands‑on experience developing applications using LLMs, RAG, semantic search, or generative AI.
• Experience building AI services for search, summarization, document analysis, question answering, or decision support.
• Strong Python and API development skills.
• Experience with embeddings, vector search, retrieval, prompt orchestration, and LLM evaluation.
• Experience implementing source citation, grounding, traceability, and output validation.
• Experience implementing AI guardrails, access controls, logging, monitoring, and error handling.
• Experience integrating AI/LLM services with databases, APIs, search platforms, and data pipelines.
• Strong technical communication, documentation, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret eligibility.
• Active Top Secret clearance highly preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing AI/LLM solutions for Federal financial, grants, budget, payment, award oversight, or financial reporting data.
• Experience deploying AI applications in secure Federal, on‑premises, cloud, or hybrid environments.
• Experience with open‑source LLMs and AI/ML frameworks.
• Experience with vector databases, semantic search engines, or hybrid search architectures.
• Experience with Linux.
• Familiarity with PostgreSQL and/or Microsoft SQL Server.
• Experience with Kubernetes and/or Rancher.
• Familiarity with Jenkins, self‑hosted Azure DevOps, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Familiarity with Java and/or .NET applications and API integrations.
• Experience with LLM observability, evaluation frameworks, prompt/version management, and AI application lifecycle management.
• Familiarity with AI security, model governance, responsible AI, and data protection practices.

About ANALYTICA: Analytica is a leading consulting and information technology solutions provider to public sector organizations supporting health, civilian, and national security missions. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Bethesda, MD, the company is an established SBA small business that has been recognized by Inc. Magazine each of the past three years as one of the 250 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Analytica specializes in providing software and systems engineering, information management, analytics & visualization, agile project management, and management consulting services. The company is appraised by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at CMMI® Maturity Level 3 and is an ISO 9001:2008 certified provider.

Analytica LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. As a federal contractor, we comply with the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans. We ensure that all employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. Analytica LLC also provides reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

To enhance efficiency, fairness, and accuracy, Analytica may use AI-assisted tools to support certain aspects of our hiring process.

• Application Review: AI tools may help identify skills and experiences relevant to the role.
• Interview Support: AI-powered notetaking tools may be used during interviews to document discussions and summarize key points.

These tools are used to assist our team. All hiring decisions are made by Analytica recruiters and hiring managers.

By submitting an application, you acknowledge that AI-assisted tools may be used to support parts of the application and interview process.

When receiving email communication from Analytica, please ensure that the email domain is analytica.net to verify its authenticity.