AI Engineer

The AI Engineer role at Embedded Alliance focuses on implementing LLM models inside an analytic environment for a classified enterprise setting. The position involves building agent-based components, retrieval pipelines, and production-ready integrations that support end-to-end orchestration on the platform.

Location and Compensation

• Location: Herndon, VA (onsite)
• Salary: USD 120,000 - 210,000 per year
• Minimum experience: 8 years
• Education: Bachelor’s in computer science or a related field

Core Responsibilities

• Implement orchestration logic, tool integrations, and memory handling within agent-based applications
• Support document processing, including embedding generation, retrieval configuration, and prompt assembly
• Build Python REST APIs to enable data retrieval, system integration, and agent workflow support
• Process and transform structured and unstructured data for AI workflows, including working with Postgres schemas and addressing query performance
• Handle testing, deployment, and the constraints of a classified enterprise environment
• Design and lead the team to deliver end-to-end orchestration within the platform

Required Qualifications

• Active TS Clearance (Top Secret required)
• Solid Python with production-level code experience
• Experience building or consuming REST APIs
• Comfort with databases and SQL
• Some hands-on exposure to LLMs or a RAG prototype, including work such as an agent you built or a course/side project
• Curiosity demonstrated through practical learning and experimentation
• Bachelor’s in computer science or a related field, with additional experience considered in lieu
• Hands-on experience building LLM-integrated applications, RAG workflows, or retrieval-based systems
• Working familiarity with agent concepts for at least one AI framework
• Understanding of transformer behavior, why context windows matter, and where retrieval can fail
• Enough production experience to make informed opinions about reliability and maintainability
• 8+ years of software engineering experience overall, including recent hands-on work in AI/ML application development
• Strong Python and fluency with common data and AI libraries
• Demonstrated experience with LLM-integrated applications, RAG workflows, or similar retrieval-based systems
• Working knowledge of agent-based programming
• Solid grounding in fundamentals such as transformers, LLM behavior, data processing, and model integration patterns
• Experience designing or integrating REST APIs
• Production engineering habits including testing, reliability, and deployment

Technologies

• Python
• REST APIs
• Postgres
• SQL
• LLMs
• RAG
• FastAPI
• Flask
• Vector databases
• Embedding models
• Semantic search
• Docker
• AWS
• MCP

Clearance Requirements

• Top Secret (Required)

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Level Indicators

• Junior-level: Working software engineer seeking to move into AI
• Mid-level: Shipped AI-enabled work in addition to an established foundation
• Senior-level: Design and lead the team to provide end to end orchestration within the platform

Nice to Have

• FastAPI or Flask
• Vector databases, embedding models, semantic search
• Docker and containerized development
• AWS or comparable cloud environments
• MCP or similar agent-to-tool protocols
• Anything built independently that can be discussed