Associate AI Engineer

About The Role Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT), provider of cutting‑edge cloud‑based integration, automated testing and data analysis for complex, mission‑critical systems in the US Department of Defense (DOD), is seeking an Associate AI Engineer to be part of our Warfare Systems team and based out of our Arlington, VA or Mt. Laurel, NJ location. Clearance & Location Requirements All applicants must be able to obtain/maintain an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance. This is an on‑site position. Requires at least 3 days in office, based out of our Arlington, VA or Mt. Laurel, NJ location. What You Will Do Design and implement end‑to‑end agentic AI systems that support planning, reasoning, tool use, and multi‑step execution in real‑world environments. Build modular, testable components that move from prototype to operational capability. Develop integrations across LLMs, APIs, data sources, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) interfaces to enable intelligent agents to interact with external systems, retrieve context, and take action safely and reliably. Build and optimize Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines that connect models to live knowledge sources, structured data, and enterprise content to improve factual grounding, contextual relevance, and response quality. Create conversational systems and intelligent agents with memory, contextual awareness, adaptive decision‑making, and support for multi‑turn user and system interactions. Translate technical objectives into working pipelines, run experiments, evaluate agent behavior, and iterate on prompts, orchestration logic, retrieval quality, and system performance to improve reliability and usability. Gather, document, and validate technical and functional requirements from project artifacts, stakeholders, and mission needs to ensure feasibility, completeness, and alignment with operational goals. Work closely with engineers, technical leads, and mission stakeholders to integrate AI capabilities into broader software and system architectures. Participate in technical reviews, design discussions, and delivery planning. Contribute to testing, debugging, and performance optimization of AI‑enabled applications, including edge cases involving context management, retrieval failures, tool execution, and orchestration logic. Stay current on advances in LLMs, agent frameworks, orchestration methods, and applied AI engineering practices, and bring that knowledge into practical system design and implementation. Clearly document architectures, workflows, assumptions, and implementation decisions so that solutions are maintainable, explainable, and transferable across teams. Who You Are (Required) Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related technical field, or equivalent full‑time professional experience. 0‑3 years of full‑time professional experience in software engineering, machine learning engineering, AI engineering, or related technical roles. Ability to travel up to 10% of the time as needed. Proficiency in Python, including experience with core libraries such as NumPy and Pandas. Experience building software with one or more modern AI/ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, LangGraph, Semantic Kernel, or AutoGen. Familiarity with Large Language Models (LLMs), prompt engineering, agent orchestration, or conversational AI systems. Familiarity with retrieval systems, vector databases, embeddings, or RAG‑based application design. Understanding of software engineering fundamentals, including version control, testing, debugging, and writing maintainable code. Ability to work independently on technical tasks while collaborating effectively in a team environment. Strong problem‑solving skills, curiosity, and a builder mindset focused on turning ideas into working systems. What Makes You Stand Out Experience building agentic AI systems that use tools, memory, planning, or multi‑step execution. Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations or similar model‑to‑tool integration patterns. Experience deploying AI services, APIs, or workflows in cloud or production environments. Experience with vector databases, retrieval infrastructure, knowledge graph integration, or enterprise search. Exposure to evaluation methods for LLMs and agents, including reasoning quality, hallucination reduction, tool‑use reliability, and retrieval performance. Experience with Docker, REST APIs, Git‑based development workflows, or CI/CD pipelines. Experience working on defense, government, or other mission‑oriented technical programs. Strong interest in building practical AI systems that must operate reliably in complex, real‑world environments. Pay Range Pay Range: $74,000 – $116,000 or $90,000 – $150,000. The posted range does not include bonuses, commissions, tips, or other benefits and may vary based on experience, skills, and education. Job Benefits Generous benefits package Competitive PTO Paid holidays 401(k) with immediate vesting and matching 9/80 optional schedule (2nd and 4th Friday off every month) Tuition Assistance Reimbursement Program Professional Development Resources Pre‑Tax Commuter Benefits Organization‑Wide Monthly Tech Connect Events Annual Employee Recognition Awards Regular Social Events and Catered Lunches EEO Statement IDT is an Equal Opportunity employer. #J-18808-Ljbffr