AI Research & Engineering Director

Booz Allen Hamilton•McLean, VA

19h•Remote

About The Position

Frontier Research is a division of Booz Allen that operates at the edge of what’s possible to convert breakthrough capabilities into real-world impacts. Frontier Research functions as both a strategic radar and an execution engine, turning frontier AI capabilities into differentiated IP, new product directions, and transformational business opportunities. The Director role is a hands-on builder position for a technical leader who wants to prototype the future. In this role, you will lead a highly technical team responsible for scanning the global AI landscape, rapidly building full-stack prototypes, and demonstrating what’s possible to executive audiences. We’re looking for a leader who is hands-on, technically deep, and comfortable moving from frontier models to multi-agent architectures to C-suite demonstrations in the same week. If you are equally comfortable designing distributed AI systems, building agentic applications, and demoing live prototypes to customers, this role is for you. Due to the nature of work performed within this facility, U.S. citizenship is required.

Requirements

10+ years of experience with technical engineering
Experience leading technical exchanges, conducting evaluations, and developing technical roadmaps with commercial companies and executive leadership
Experience authoring research publications
Knowledge of how to convert research into scalable, revenue-generating businesses
Ability to display high creativity, intellectual curiosity, and enthusiasm for demonstrating the art of the possible
Ability to attract talent and grow excitement for AI
Ability to build advanced AI systems, including existing products, past prototypes, or keynote demonstrations
Doctorate degree

Responsibilities

Continuously evaluate emerging advancements across hyperscalers, leading AI labs, academia, and venture-backed companies.
Distill signal from noise and convert technical breakthroughs into clear business implications for leadership.
Lead rapid development of end-to-end AI systems spanning infrastructure, frontier LLMs, agentic and multi-agent applications and physical AI pipelines and deliver working systems—not slideware.
Work with business units to support hands-on integration of emerging AI technologies in complex customer environments, including cloud, hybrid, edge, or disconnected.
Ensure production rigor without sacrificing innovation speed.
Partner with business unites and commercial industry to mature prototypes into revenue-generating offerings.
Define technical differentiation, roadmap pathways, and competitive positioning.
Recruit and mentor a highly technical team recognized across the company and industry for technical acumen, rigor, and velocity.
Establish Applied Research as the destination for breakthrough AI thinking.