SME AI Engineer (Columbia)

Columbia, MDDescriptionAssured Information Security (AIS) has an opening for a SMEAI Engineer with our Mission Services team. In this role you will provide technical advisory support for the design, evaluation, and advancement of AI-enabled applications, tools and workflows. This role is intended for a hands-on technical professional who understands how modern AI systems are built and can help guide teams developing practical solutions using large language models, agentic workflows, orchestration frameworks, and supporting software infrastructure. *This is an onsite position located in Columbia, MD and requires a TS/SCI w/CI Poly*What You'll Do:Provide SETA support to government teams developing or assessing AI-enabled applications and tools.Advise on technical approaches for AI application design, prototyping, integration and evaluation.Assess solutions involving LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, tool use, agentic workflows, orchestration layers, prompt pipelines and evaluation harnesses. Familiarity with modern Al application patterns, including LLM-based applications, RAG, prompt engineering, agentic systems, and Al­ assisted workflows.Support the review of architecture, development approaches, model usage patterns, and technical risk areas.Advise on Al engineering considerations such as latency, reliability, observability, testability, guardrails, data flow, and system integration.Evaluate and compare modern Al frameworks, agentic libraries, and experimentation harnesses for suitability in mission use cases.Assist with the development of technical guidance, prototypes, engineering recommendations, and briefings for government stakeholders.Support test and evaluation activities for Al tools, including performance assessment, qualitative review, and workflow validation.Collaborate with platform engineers, product leads, mission users, and government leadership to ensure Al efforts remain technically grounded and operationally relevant and provide guidance and technical requirements to product managers Stay current on rapid changes in the Al ecosystem and provide informed recommendations on emerging tools and practices.Education/Experience/Skillset Required:Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field with 18 years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 15 years of relevant experience.Experience designing, building, integrating, or evaluating Al/ML-enabled applications or software tools.Working knowledge of one or more agentic or orchestration frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, Semantic Kernel, AutoGen, CrewAI, Haystack, Llamalndex, or similar ecosystems.Experience with software development fundamentals, APls, data handling, and system integration.Ability to assess technical tradeoffs and communicate them clearly to both engineers and government stakeholders .What Sets You Apart:Experience with Python, JavaScript/Typescript, or similar languages commonly used in Al application development.Familiarity with vector databases, embeddings, model APls, evaluation frameworks, and agent testing harnesses.Exposure to model hosting, inference pipelines, or cloud-based Al development environments.Understanding of secure Al development practices, data protection, and operational constraints in government settings.Experience supporting defense, cyber, intelligence, or mission application development.Familiarity with human-in-the-loop workflows, Al assurance, and evaluation methodologies .Clearance Required: TS/SCI w/CI Poly 
AA / Disability / VeteranUS Salary Range: $225,000 - $247,000 The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on several factors including location, skills, and experience. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package which includes employer paid health insurance and a 7% contribution to your 401k, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation.AIS is a leading cyber and information security company supporting mission critical operations across the DoD, intelligence community, commerce and beyond. Founded in 2001, AIS is a privately-owned company committed to excellence in all facets. We pride ourselves on offering some of the best benefits seen in the industry. We celebrate the unique backgrounds and experiences of our people and encourage new ideas, innovation, and the autonomy to create the future and career they want with our support.#CJ