Artificial Intelligence Engineer, Senior

Booz Allen Hamilton•Charleston, SC

About The Position

As a senior machine learning engineer on Booz Allen’s national security team, you will train, test, deploy, and maintain models that learn from data. You will lead the direction of mission-critical solutions by applying appropriate machine learning algorithms and introducing advanced technologies. You will collaborate with machine learning engineers to build agent architectures, advanced retrieval capabilities, and stateful workflows that perform complex tasks while enforcing user permissions and maintaining reliable, controlled execution. You will also advise clients as they navigate machine learning algorithms, tools, and frameworks. The role supports national security and involves developing production agent systems and retrieval solutions. Applicants must hold an active TS/SCI clearance and be willing to take a polygraph exam. Booz Allen describes a broad benefits package that includes health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits, paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, work-life programs, dependent care, and recognition awards. The work model is not specified for this position; the posting gives general descriptions of remote, hybrid, and onsite arrangements.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience working in a professional environment.
Experience with production Model Context Protocol (MCP) server or client implementations, LangGraph, CrewAI, and the Claude Agent SDK.
Experience deploying GraphRAG, including knowledge graphs and vector search, dynamic query routing, and self-correcting retrieval pipelines.
Experience with JSON Schema and Protocol Buffers/Protobuf.
Experience integrating identity and access management (IAM) tokens or claims into AI tool execution layers to enforce zero-trust, per-user data entitlements.
Experience building fault-tolerant distributed systems, including idempotency keys for external API/tool mutations, early-exit stop conditions, automated budget enforcement, and asynchronous human-in-the-loop (HITL) state suspension or resumption.
Knowledge of context compression, state serialization, and session persistence.
Ability to design custom, non-standard cognitive architectures when off-the-shelf patterns are insufficient.
Active TS/SCI clearance and willingness to take a polygraph exam.
Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mathematics, or Computer Science.

Responsibilities

Train, test, deploy, and maintain machine learning models.
Lead the direction of mission-critical solutions by applying best-fit machine learning algorithms and introducing leading-edge technologies.
Collaborate with machine learning engineers to build agent architectures, advanced retrieval capabilities, and stateful workflows for complex tasks.
Ensure solutions enforce user permissions and maintain reliable, controlled execution.
Guide clients as they assess machine learning algorithms, tools, and frameworks.