Director of AI Applications

Overview:

Our client is seeking an experienced Director of AI Applications to lead the development of mission-focused AI software for federal government customers. This role will establish engineering standards and AI-enabled software development practices, oversee the creation of AI applications and reusable solutions, and lead a multidisciplinary engineering team. The position requires hands-on technical leadership, strategic thinking, and experience delivering secure, production-ready software that meets federal requirements.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and adoption of an AI-enabled software development lifecycle (SDLC) across engineering teams and delivery programs, establishing consistent practices, tooling, security controls, and quality standards.
• Define engineering standards covering requirements, architecture, AI-assisted code generation, testing, security, documentation, and accreditation evidence. Ensure consistent implementation across software development teams.
• Collaborate with infrastructure and platform engineering teams to develop secure, shared capabilities for AI agents, including control mechanisms, agent-to-agent (A2A) communication, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, and operational safeguards.
• Direct the development of AI applications, intelligent agents, and reusable solution accelerators supporting federal mission requirements, including the creation and management of proprietary intellectual property.
• Oversee the technical roadmap and lead a multidisciplinary team of engineers with expertise in AI/ML, software engineering, and DevSecOps.
• Establish and monitor engineering performance metrics, including development cycle times, software quality, rework, cost efficiency, authorization readiness, and mission outcomes. Translate results into measurable value for customer discussions and proposals.
• Develop AI-driven applications and solutions supporting defense, intelligence, and federal civilian customers, with consideration for deployment as solutions, managed services, or products.
• Coordinate with platform, cybersecurity, and advanced technology teams to integrate applications with secure cloud infrastructure, MLOps capabilities, secure development pipelines, agent security practices, and emerging technologies.
• Partner with technical, operational, and business development teams to evaluate mission requirements, market opportunities, and technical feasibility. Support testing and evaluation of developed solutions in mission-relevant environments.
• Participate in technical assessments of potential acquisitions involving software engineering and application development. Evaluate engineering practices, intellectual property, and technical talent, and support post-acquisition integration of development processes.
• Serve as a technical leader in engagements with government program offices and senior technology stakeholders, including CIO, CTO, and CDAO organizations. Present technical approaches, solution architectures, and demonstrations.
• Recruit, mentor, and develop engineering talent capable of delivering secure, mission-focused applications from initial concept through production and accreditation.

Required Qualifications:

• 12+ years of experience developing and delivering software, including 5+ years supporting mission applications for defense, intelligence, or federal civilian customers.
• Experience delivering production software at federal scale with applicable accreditation requirements.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in modern software engineering, including cloud-native architecture, DevSecOps, CI/CD, APIs, data integration, and full-stack or machine learning application development.
• Experience leading software architecture, delivery, and operations.
• 2+ years of experience leading teams incorporating AI into software development, including AI coding agents, LLM-powered applications, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and multi-agent systems.
• Experience implementing evaluation methods, safeguards, and governance for production AI systems.
• Experience establishing engineering performance metrics, such as DORA or equivalent measures, and connecting technical performance to business objectives and mission outcomes.
• Experience guiding software through federal authorization processes, from initial development through Authority to Operate (ATO), preferably including continuous ATO within a software factory environment.
• Knowledge of federal software acquisition pathways, Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs), Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), software factories, Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), secure-by-design practices, and evolving federal software modernization initiatives.
• Working knowledge of NIST 800-53, NIST 800-218 (SSDF), FedRAMP, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and OMB M-25-21 and M-25-22 regarding federal AI use and acquisition.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain experienced engineers while establishing technical standards and practices adopted across multiple teams.
• Active Secret clearance required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated expertise in applying AI to the software development lifecycle, supported by technical publications, presentations, established methodologies, or open-source contributions.
• Experience conducting technical due diligence or supporting post-acquisition integration of software development organizations.
• Experience developing mission applications involving command and control, intelligence and surveillance, operational logistics, fraud detection, or federal benefits administration.
• Hands-on software development experience, including writing code, developing reference implementations, and evaluating technology capabilities and vendor solutions.
• Active TS/SCI preferred; strong candidates may be considered for sponsorship.