Applied AI Engineer (SWE1) D.26.0238

Applicants must already hold a TS/SCI clearance with a current Full Scope Polygraph before applying. We are not sponsoring or processing clearances for this position. Candidates who are seeking to obtain a clearance do not meet the minimum requirements.

Salary Range: $163k-$178k per year with an additional $41k-$44k in immediately vested company 401(k) contributions

Description: As an Applied AI Engineer, you will join a forward-deployed team that works directly with a mission customer, building and improving the agents, Skills, and tools they use every day. You will work under the guidance of senior engineers, learn CNO tradecraft from the operators and analysts you support, and see the results of your work firsthand. This role suits an engineer with a solid software foundation who wants to grow quickly in applied AI.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and test components of agentic AI solutions in Python, including MCP servers, Skills, and integrations with mission data sources and tools.
• Participate in requirements discussions with operators and analysts, and learn their workflows and tradecraft.
• Build scripts and tools that convert, normalize, and extract information from customer data.
• Write test cases and evaluation examples that check whether AI capabilities return correct and reliable results.
• Use AI coding agents in daily development, and understand and review generated code before committing it.
• Collaborate with other engineers to test workflows, identify issues, and recommend fixes.
• Create documentation and user guides that help mission users adopt new AI tools.

Skills Requirements:

• Proficiency in Python, including working with JSON, REST APIs, and data manipulation.
• Understanding of software engineering fundamentals, including version control (Git), testing, and debugging.
• Familiarity with LLM concepts such as prompt engineering, structured outputs, and tool/function calling.
• Experience using AI coding assistants (e.g., Claude Code, Copilot) to write, debug, or test code.
• Familiarity with Linux environments and the command line.
• Strong communication skills and willingness to learn from senior engineers and mission subject matter experts.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience building agentic workflows, MCP servers, or Skills.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, or GitLab CI/CD.
• Experience with retrieval systems (RAG, vector databases, Elasticsearch).
• Experience building web interfaces with React or TypeScript.
• Background in cybersecurity, or knowledge of CNO operations and SIGINT collection and analysis systems.

YOE Requirement: 3 yrs., B.S. in a technical discipline or 4 additional yrs. in place of B.S.