Technology Architect – AI

Jobtailor; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

IQT is seeking a seasoned AI/ML security and technical diligence leader to collaborate with government partners, scout startup innovations, and shape investment strategies across short- and long-term horizons.

You'll oversee SOW negotiations, architect AI solutions, and provide risk-aware recommendations while communicating complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. A strong background in AI, security, and government programs is essential.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required.
• Active top-secret clearance preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in tech development within business/intelligence environments.
• Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML.
• Experience negotiating milestone-based Statements of Work contracts.
• Expertise in applied AI/ML, generative and multimodal AI, NLP, or production AI engineering.
• Experience with AI architectures, evaluation, red teaming, and security.
• Startup or entrepreneurial experience in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication for diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with government partners to understand technology challenges.
• Investigate and recommend potential startup ecosystem solutions.
• Identify new AI/ML technology areas for investment.
• Provide technical diligence on multiple investments.
• Develop and negotiate Statements of Work contracts with startups.
• Provide thought leadership in AI/ML subject areas.
• Oversee engagement strategies across short- and long-term horizons.
• Provide technical oversight of work programs and assess deliverables.
• Communicate issue-resolution paths to stakeholders and leadership.
• Oversee architectures and solutions for AI government-partner problems.
• Coordinate with customers on AI adoption strategies across programs.

Skills

AI/ML expertise

SOW contracts

Technical diligence

Leadership

Public speaking

Startup experience

Non-technical communication

Policy/IC experience

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

Go

Rust

Education

Advanced degree in science or engineering

Tools

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

Go

Rust

Job description

• Work closely with IQT’s government partners to understand technology challenges
• Investigate and recommend potential solutions from the venture-backed startup ecosystem
• Identify new AI/ML technology areas for investment
• Provide technical diligence on multiple complementary investments
• Develop and negotiate Statements of Work contracts with startup companies
• Provide thought leadership in AI/ML subject-matter areas
• Identify topics for and oversee technical engagement strategies across short- and long-term horizons
• Provide technical oversight of work programs and assess deliverables
• Identify and communicate issue-resolution paths to stakeholders and IQT Leadership
• Oversee development of technology architectures and solutions for AI-related government-partner problems
• Coordinate with customers on AI technology adoption strategies across multiple work programs

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required
• Must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information; active top-secret clearance preferred
• Advanced degree in a science or engineering discipline, or equivalent experience, preferred
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience, including time overseeing a technology development effort in a business and/or intelligence environment
• Demonstrated expertise in artificial intelligence or machine learning
• Previous experience negotiating milestone-based Statements of Work contracts
• Expertise in applied AI/ML, generative and multimodal AI, enterprise search, agentic systems, workflow automation, NLP, or production AI engineering
• Experience designing, evaluating, deploying, or securing LLMs, multimodal models, RAG systems, AI agents, or human-AI decision-support tools
• Knowledge of AI-enabled threat intelligence and cyber defense
• Understanding of AI security across data, models, prompts, retrieval, memory, tools, APIs, infrastructure, and third-party components
• Familiarity with AI threats including prompt injection, jailbreaks, unsafe tool use, data/model poisoning, evasion, model extraction, and sensitive-data leakage
• Knowledge of agent security, including identity, authorization, least privilege, sandboxing, containment, MCP security, and supply-chain integrity
• Experience with AI evaluation, assurance, and red teaming
• Knowledge of AI-enabled security operations
• Familiarity with privacy-preserving AI
• Understanding of explainable and auditable AI
• Experience using generative AI, world models, digital twins, or multi-agent simulations
• Familiarity with embodied AI, robotics, autonomous systems, reinforcement learning, and human-machine teaming
• Working knowledge of modern AI architectures
• Understanding of the AI lifecycle
• Experience with MLOps, LLMOps, or AgentOps and production infrastructure
• Hands-on experience with Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, or Rust and cloud, GPU, API, container, or production data environments
• Ability to assess emerging AI technologies and evaluate mission value, limitations, risks, and adoption barriers
• Commitment to continued understanding of new AI technologies
• Ability to analyze complex problems, identify root causes, summarize analysis, and present recommendations to non-technical audiences
• Startup or entrepreneurial experience and ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment
• Comfortable presenting complex technology subjects to technical and non-technical audiences
• Prior experience working with the U.S. Intelligence Community
• Strong writing skills; technical writing and proposal/contract writing preferred

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, with a strong focus on applied AI technologies, technical diligence, and contract negotiation. Capable of providing thought leadership and technical oversight in AI-related government partnerships while effectively communicating complex technology concepts to diverse audiences.