Digital Innovation Division Lead of AI Operations

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation's space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space- delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you'll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators. Join us and take your place in space.

The Digital Innovation Division (DID) is accountable for generating and executing integrated strategies, providing governance, and managing internal investments that form the foundation of Aerospace's digital transformation.

The Digital Innovation Division is seeking an experienced Operations Lead who can work for the corporation's leading voice on AI, the AI corporate technical fellow, to deliver an AI first digital transformation of the enterprise. This individual would, help manage the on time, on budget delivery of value fo r the company's largest AI internal investments. In this role, you will ground requirements from the Aerospace's customers and engineers to help develop and drive product roadmaps that accelerate the delivery of solutions to the country's most challenging problems in the space enterprise . Y ou will oversee the full lifecycle of AI Engineering and Integration - from data exploitation, modeling, orchestration, and delivery of enterprise scale derivative data products and AI platforms at multiple classification levels . You will be responsible for establishing a modern AI /ML -focused ecosystem that enables teams to reliably build, test, and deploy AI/ML solutions that power mission-critical applications.

You will lead efforts to define AI architecture standards, drive interoperability across platforms, and ensure data quality, security, and compliance at scale. By enabling efficient, automated, and governed d erivative data product delivery pipelines, you will ensure Aerospace's digital initiatives are supported by trusted, high-quality data that can be rapidly transformed into actionable insights.

Work Model : 100% onsite; Chantilly, Colorado Springs, El Segundo, Huntsville.

What You'll Be Doing

AI/ML Platform Development

• Integrate enterprise AI/ML data standards, pipelines, and best practices for automated data ingestion, transformation, validation, and delivery with end user workflows , applications , and data .

• Work with cross-functional teams to design and implement scalable, secure, and interoperable ML O ps architectures aligned with organizational goals.

• Deploy and extend AI/ML platforms across multiple environments, including classified networks, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures.

• Manage cost and schedule for numerous technical teams across platform development.

AI Governance

• Establish processes to ensure AI/ML data quality, lineage, and compliance throughout the AI/ML c ycle (ingest → curate → consume).

• Collaborate with InfoSec and compliance teams to maintain adherence to AI/ML data governance and regulatory frameworks (e.g., NIST, ISO, FedRAMP).

Partnering & Infrastructure Management

• Collaboration to select, configure, and maintain tools for developing Agentic AI architectures that leverage Modeling and Simulation, data pipelines, and orchestration layers.

• Collaboration to d rive adoption of modern cloud-native and integrate Machine Learning services where appropriate .

• Collaboration to i ntegrate the enterprise data management platform to enable seamless data access, feature engineering, and model training at scale.

Governance & Process Improvement

• Develop and track key AI/ML data metrics and KPIs (e.g., data quality scores, pipeline reliability, data delivery SLAs).

• Integrate MLOps processes with corporate governance standards to ensure transparency, repeatability, and efficiency.

• Establish feedback loops with AI consumers to continuously improve performance, trust, and usability of AI products.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Leverage Agile methodologies to manage priorities, sprint planning, and cross-team collaboration.

• Promote ML Ops and Agile best practices and work with data stewards across the organization through demonstrations, workshops, and training.

Innovation & Continuous Learning

• Stay current with emerging tools, architectures, industry trends and standards to ensure the organization remains at the forefront of AI engineering and frontier AI tools .

• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and innovation in data architecture and operations.

What You Need to be Successful

Minimum Requirements: (Senior Project Engineer)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Scien ce , Statistics, Operations, Data Science , Computer Engineering, SW Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).

• 10+ years in enterprise AI/ML engineering or digital transformation roles , including significant experience with data pipelines, MLOps , and platform integration in regulated environments, with at least 2 years in leadership or management demonstrating a proven track record in overseeing complex projects and guiding cross-functional teams.

• Proficiency with AI/ML and orchestration concepts (e.g., Apache Airflow, dbt , NiFi , Talend, Kafka, Spark, Kubernetes).

• Strong understanding of cloud-based data platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) , most importantly the Azure suite of data management tools (Azure Data Factory, Synapse, Purview, etc.)

• Familiarity with AI governance frameworks, compliance standards, and security requirements integrated into data pipelines (e.g., NIST AI RMF ).

• Strong problem-solving skills, with a strategic mindset and the ability to design and evolve enterprise-scale data ecosystems.

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to bridge technical and mission-focused stakeholders across multiple constituencies.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven track record of fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing across diverse teams.

• Position requires ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Advance d degree in STEM or other technical discipline

• 12+ years of experience in AI engineering, AI architecture s , applied AI/ML, or data operations, with at least 2 years in a leadership or management role.

• Direct mission experience in the national space domain, missile defense, and/or remote sensing

• Ability to convey the value of applied AI work in mission relevant terms and stories

• Current DoD TS and SSBI/SCI Clearance

We offer a competitive compensation package where you'll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. The grade-based pay range for this job is listed below. Individual salaries within that range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge and skills.

(Min - Max)
$151,300 - $226,900

Pay Basis: Annual

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change
• Engage with Impact
• Foster Innovation
• Deliver Results

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type. A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan - Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from various backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other-the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you're an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at peoplemangmnt.mailbox@aero.org . You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal .