AI Engineer - SME

Job Description

Job Description

The Opportunity:

Illuminate Technologies (ILT) is seeking an AI Engineer at the Subject Matter Expert (SME) level to support a federal customer on the SCOR 55 Adaptive Engineering & Machine Learning Operations mission. This role focuses on production AI and GenAI systems, secure model operations, and data-to-model integrations.

Responsibilities:

• Build scalable, production-ready AI/ML/GenAI models, pipelines, and microservices.

• Develop training, evaluation, and inference pipelines in Python using PyTorch, TensorFlow, or scikit-learn. • Deploy and manage models with MLOps, CI/CD, containerization, and monitoring frameworks.

• Implement vector databases, embeddings, LLM applications, agentic AI, and tool calling workflows.

• Optimize models for accuracy, latency, cost, and scalability across distributed environments.

• Ensure AI governance, documentation, ethical compliance, and secure posture alignment.

• Provide technical mentorship and drive cross-team engineering standardization.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience performing the duties described above.

• Bachelor's degree required.

• Advanced Python skills and strong understanding of algorithms, data structures, and distributed systems. • Hands-on experience deploying production GenAI/LLM systems, embeddings, and vector databases.

• Proficiency with PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).

• Practical experience with MLOps tools such as MLflow, Azure ML, or Vertex AI.

• Background in NLP, computer vision, or reinforcement learning.

• Experience working in agile engineering environments.

Mission-Specific Technical Environment:

The following technologies and capabilities are drawn from the customer role description. Specific platform assignments vary by team and position.

• In-house custom developed application

• Advanced AI, GenAI & Multi-Model Engineering

• Multi-model and multi-modality orchestration (reasoning, perception, memory, tool execution)

• Temporal, spatial, geographic, quantitative, and computer vision AI implementation

• Named Entity Recognition (NER), contextual entity extraction, and resolution

• Multi-step retrieval and structured output generation

• Complex data parsing and streamlined ingestion

• Deep source citation and traceable analytic outputs

• Data Architecture & ETL

• Vector, graph, and multi database orchestration

• Automated ETL pipeline creation, scheduling, and optimization

• Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) at the data layer Illuminate Technologies LLC · CAGE 85G56 · accelerating informed decisions Page 1 of 3

• Provenance and end-to-end data lineage tracking

• Schema aligned ingestion and normalization of diverse structured and unstructured data

• Enterprise Infrastructure & Cross-Domain Solutions

• Air gapped, hybrid, and on-premises operational environments

• Container orchestration and distributed systems management (Kubernetes)

• Locally hosted GPU servers and hyperconverged nodes

• Multitenant Cross-Domain Solutions (CDS)

• Application Development & Integration

• UI, backend, and middleware engineering (TypeScript, React, Python, FastAPI, LanceDB, lance graph, PostgreSQL, Temporal.io, Docker, Kubernetes)

• Integration of reasoning components, retrieval systems, databases, and AI / GenAI services

• Use of modern programming languages and frameworks

Preferred:

• Experience in federal, defense, or highly regulated environments.

• Knowledge of ethical AI, governance frameworks, and secure development practices.

• Skills in large-scale optimization, GPU acceleration, or distributed training.

• Experience building APIs, microservices, and automated ML workflows.

Eligibility Requirements:

• United States citizenship is required for all contractor personnel associated with this SCOR 55 effort.

• Active Top Secret clearance and eligibility for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI); active, transferable TS clearance is required before assignment to government-facility work.

• Compliance with FBI security vetting, criminal and credit checks, and required polygraph screening for Cyber Division (CyD) and Counterterrorism Division (CTD) assignments; final access adjudication is performed by the Government.

Additional Information:

This is an onsite position supporting government facilities in the Chantilly, Virginia / Washington, DC metropolitan area, with alternate sites if assigned. Telework is not represented as an entitlement.

The program generally observes core operating hours of 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Eastern within a weekday scheduling window of 6:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Eastern. Individual schedules, team assignments, onsite requirements, and travel are set by the customer and may change with mission need.

The Government may adjust qualification requirements and require role-specific skills assessments. Clearance eligibility, polygraph requirements, and access to facilities or systems are determined by the customer, not ILT.

What You Can Expect:

A small, focused team. At Illuminate Technologies, you will join a small team focused on placing the best personnel in the right positions.

A mission-driven culture with balance. We carry a Special Operations Forces (SOF) culture dedicated to national security. We hold that superior mission execution and a good quality of life go together, and we work to protect both.

Room to grow. Your growth is not limited to your job description. You will have the opportunity to develop and take on work beyond your specified position.

Pay Range:

There are a host of factors that can influence final salary including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications. At Illuminate Technologies, you will receive comprehensive benefits such as: healthcare, retirement, and time off benefits. Illuminate Technologies LLC · CAGE 85G56 · accelerating informed decisions Page 2 of 3 The proposed annual base salary range for this position is: $155,000 - $200,000

Compensation is based on the specific level, skills, experience, work location, and applicable customer requirements; final range requires ILT review and approval.

Illuminate Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants are evaluated on the qualifications stated above, without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Illuminate provides government agencies, commercial enterprises, and network operators with the data, services, and technology that helps them protect the information that surrounds us all and extract real value from it. We combine decades of cyber, intelligence and telecommunications expertise with innovative collection and analysis tools to deliver timely, actionable insight that our customers use to make fast, informed decisions.

Company Description

Illuminate provides government agencies, commercial enterprises, and network operators with the data, services, and technology that helps them protect the information that surrounds us all and extract real value from it. We combine decades of cyber, intelligence and telecommunications expertise with innovative collection and analysis tools to deliver timely, actionable insight that our customers use to make fast, informed decisions.