AI Systems Architect

Bitwise • Columbia, MD

7h

About The Position

As an AI Systems Architect, you will design and operationalize production-grade AI systems that support mission-critical workflows. You will help shape how AI capabilities are integrated into secure environments, ensuring solutions are scalable, reliable, and aligned with real-world operational needs. This role goes beyond prototyping. You will architect full AI-enabled systems — from data ingestion and retrieval pipelines to model orchestration, API layers, observability, and failure handling. You will collaborate closely with AI engineers, DevOps teams, software developers, and mission stakeholders to design systems that balance innovation with operational reliability. Depending on experience level, you may contribute as a technical lead, mentor other engineers, and help define AI engineering standards and best practices across programs.

Requirements

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph.
• Strong software engineering background with expertise in Python or similar languages
• Experience building and deploying AI-enabled systems in production environments
• Deep understanding of modern AI system architectures (RAG, agents, tool calling, orchestration patterns)
• Experience integrating multiple services, APIs, and data sources into cohesive systems
• Familiarity with distributed systems and reliability engineering principles
• Experience working in Linux-based environments
• Proficiency with Git-based workflows
• Ability to operate in technically ambiguous and rapidly evolving domains

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing AI systems for cybersecurity, intelligence, or high-security environments
• Experience integrating multiple AI providers or managing model routing strategies
• Familiarity with model serving infrastructure and scalable inference systems
• Experience building evaluation frameworks and observability for AI applications
• Knowledge of vector databases, embeddings, and semantic search
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical initiatives
• Familiarity with containerized and cloud-based deployments (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, etc.)
• Experience supporting production CNO capabilities and operations
• Knowledge of end-to-end SIGINT collection and analysis systems
• Familiarity with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence)

Responsibilities

• Maintain an active TS/SCI with Polygraph. Candidates without a current clearance will not be considered.
• Architect and implement production-grade AI systems and services
• Design retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and agent-based architectures
• Develop scalable API layers for AI model access and orchestration
• Implement fault-tolerant patterns to handle model variability and service failures
• Design infrastructure patterns for secure AI deployment in mission environments
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and assess operational viability
• Establish observability, logging, and monitoring standards for AI systems
• Guide technical decision-making across AI-enabled projects
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate mission needs into scalable AI architectures
• Document architectural patterns, trade-offs, and reusable design components

Benefits

• Top salaries because we're top performers
• Pick your PTO – Everyone values time and money differently, so we give you the flexibility to choose between 3 and 5 weeks of PTO with a corresponding adjustment to your pay. Your choice, your balance.
• All 11 federal holidays, paid!
• Up to 2 snow days, paid!
• We’ll quadruple (4x!) the first 6% you contribute to your 401(k), giving you up to a 24% company match. Contributing less than 6%? Unclaimed matches come right back to you as extra income, giving you a guaranteed 24% that goes to your retirement, to your paycheck, or both. C’mon now! 🚀
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. That’s a lot. Already covered on health insurance? No problem – we’ll trade you this benefit for a boost to your salary instead.
• $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments.
• Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go "Hot damn!". We hope to say that many times about you. 🔥

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed