Software Data Engineer (AI/ML, LLMs, RAG), Intelligence Community Mission Program, Fort Meade, MD

Software Data Engineer (AI/ML, LLMs, RAG), Intelligence Community Mission Program, Fort Meade, MD

Summary:

• Job Title: Software Data Engineer, Level 3 (AI/ML, LLMs, RAG)
  
• Openings: 1
  
• Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph (FSP) required.
  
• Work Type: Onsite at Fort George G. Meade, MD, in a secure government facility
  
• Job Type: Full-time
  
• Benefits: Our client provides full benefits.
  
• Program Name: Enterprise engineering program for SIGINT mission systems, covering cloud infrastructure, AI/ML software, and data dissemination process modernization
  
• Agency name: Intelligence Community (IC) customer, Fort George G. Meade, MD
  
• Start Date: Immediate, upon offer acceptance and clearance transfer
  

BizFirst is assisting our client with recruiting a skilled and experienced Software Data Engineer. This position supports the following program: an enterprise engineering program that supports signals intelligence (SIGINT) mission systems through cloud infrastructure, AI/ML-driven software, and modernization of data dissemination processes for an Intelligence Community customer. The position is onsite at Fort Meade, MD, and the role is open now for an immediate start.

Our client is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business that has supported U.S. defense and intelligence missions since 2012. Its systems, software, and data science engineers work side by side with government teams to model, design, integrate, and deploy complex mission systems, and the company also builds rugged RF hardware for specialized SIGINT applications. Led by a U.S. Navy veteran with more than 30 years of DoD mission experience, the company supports programs alongside many of the largest national security integrators and has a long-established presence in Maryland near Fort Meade.

What will you do

Build AI-driven software that makes mission teams faster and more effective. You will design, develop, and deploy scalable AI/ML models and tools tailored to the customer's operational needs, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions and large language models (LLMs) that you design, fine-tune, and deploy. You will develop and enhance software systems based on AI-related requirements, analyze data structures and data objects, and apply prompt engineering to get reliable results. This role suits a software engineer who has delivered real LLM and RAG work and wants to apply it to mission problems.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, maintain, and enhance complex software systems based on AI-related requirements.
  
• Build software solutions that use AI to automate work and improve efficiency for mission users.
  
• Design, develop, and deploy scalable AI/ML models and tools tailored to the customer's operational needs.
  
• Build retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions.
  
• Design, fine-tune, and deploy large language models (LLMs).
  
• Apply prompt engineering techniques to improve the quality and consistency of model output.
  
• Analyze data structures and data objects to support model and application design.
  
• Script and automate workflows on Linux using Bash, shell, or Python.
  

Requirements:

• Active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph.
  
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Prompt Engineering and five (5) years of software engineering experience. Nine (9) years of software engineering experience may substitute for the degree.
  
• Experience developing software for AI-driven automation and efficiency gains.
  
• Experience designing, developing, and deploying scalable AI/ML models and tools.
  
• Experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
  
• Experience designing, fine-tuning, and deploying large language models (LLMs).
  
• Prompt engineering skills.
  
• Experience with open-source AI/ML frameworks and platforms, such as PyTorch or Hugging Face.
  
• Ability to analyze data structures and data objects.
  
• Proficiency with the Linux/Unix command line and scripting (Bash, shell, and/or Python).
  
• Ability to work onsite at Fort Meade, MD.
  

Desired Skills

• Experience with vector databases and embedding pipelines.
  
• Experience deploying models in on-premises or air-gapped environments.
  
• Experience working with Intelligence Community or DoD mission data.
  

Benefits (provided by our client):

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for the employee and family, 100% employer-paid (HMO HSA Silver plan), plus a Health Savings Account
  
• Five weeks (200 hours) of paid leave per year
  
• Eleven (11) paid federal holidays per year
  
• 401k with an employer contribution equal to 10% of salary
  
• Reimbursement for approved training, up to three days (24 hours) per year, including books and related conference or class travel
  
• Reimbursement of professional fees, such as IEEE membership and licenses
  
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
  
• Term life insurance equal to annual salary, up to $100K
  
• Referral matching bonus program