Lead Federal Software Engineer, AI/SaaS

AutogenAI • Washington, DC

17h • $180,000 - $250,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

AutogenAI is a leader in generative AI SaaS, transforming how organizations draft and optimize winning proposals through cutting-edge natural language processing technology. We are one of the fastest-growing AI companies in the world, expanding rapidly to meet the increasing demand for AI-driven solutions across industries. Our innovation stems from a belief that language AI technology will revolutionize business communication over the next decade. We empower our clients to grow faster and more efficiently by delivering AI language engines customized to their needs that save time, improve content quality, and increase win rates in highly competitive markets. AutogenAI is a company where everyone can have a career-defining experience and success is achieved by fostering a culture where innovation and ambition thrive. As we scale, passionate professionals are invited to join our journey of innovation, helping shape the future of AI-powered business solutions.

Requirements

• 7+ years in technical roles, including direct experience in federal/GovCon environments (compliance, procurement, or delivery)
• Proven track record representing engineering in enterprise-level sales or customer conversations with federal/GovCon personas
• Experience leading or managing a small technical team (direct reports or strong informal leadership)
• Comfort with our TypeScript stack (Express, NestJS, React); Python a bonus
• Familiarity with Kubernetes, helmcharts, Docker, aws commands (or equivalent in the cloud provider you have used), and scripting - enough to contribute hands-on when the team needs it
• US Citizens or Green card holders

Nice To Haves

• Experience working directly and iteratively with enterprise or federal customers on-site or in close collaboration
• Hands-on experience building and shipping LLM-powered features in production.
• Practical grasp of prompt engineering, RAG, and related techniques for getting reliable behaviour out of LLMs.
• Experience with security-focused DevOps practices in regulated environments
• Understanding of US public-sector procurement, GovCon workflows, or regulated-environment requirements (FedRAMP, GSA, and similar).

Responsibilities

• Representing Engineering in the room: Act as the technical counterpart to our sales team in enterprise-level discussions with federal and GovCon stakeholders - pre-sales calls, technical due diligence, procurement conversations, and ongoing account relationships.
• Rapid Prototyping: Build small, high-impact, demoable features fast - against direct sales, CS, or customer pain - so the team can validate an idea in front of a prospect rather than promise it.
• Leading US product-facing technical delivery: Collaborate with Global Leadership to build the technical roadmap and execution for work that touches our US customers, from initial scoping through delivery.
• Leading a small team: Manage and grow a DevSecOps Engineer and a Forward Deployed Engineer. Set priorities, unblock them, and make sure the team is delivering for customers while also developing as engineers.
• Staying hands-on: As a lean, fast-moving team, you and your reports will pitch in on platform, DevOps, and infrastructure work as needed - this isn't a purely product or people managmenet role. You're comfortable rolling up your sleeves and building.
• Bridging US and global engineering: Much of our broader engineering organization sits in the UK. You'll be the connective tissue ensuring US-specific requirements (FedRAMP High, GovCon compliance needs, customer-specific constraints) are understood and reflected in the wider product.
• Building trust with customers on the ground: Work directly and iteratively with federal customers to understand their environment and deliver solutions that fit real-world constraints - a true forward-deployed mindset.
• Federal Support: As one of a small US-based group cleared to work inside the FedRAMP environment, contribute to federal deployment support and the on-call rota alongside our DevSecOps and FDE engineer.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary: $180,000 - $250,000 depending on specific experience and qualifications relevant to the role.
• Stock Options: Meaningful equity in the company.
• Comprehensive medical/dental/life insurance: Insurance coverage for individuals and families partially paid by the company as well as opportunity to participate in pre-tax health Flexible Spending Account.
• Retirement Plan: Ability to invest your pre-tax dollars in a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions.
• Paid Time Off: Unlimited vacation (Yes, you read right!)
• Flexible Work Options: This role will be based in Washington DC, the DC beltway, or NYC - periodic visits to our Midtown NYC office are required for collaboration.
• Paid parental leave: 12 weeks if you’ve just given birth, 4 weeks if your partner has just given birth (after one year of year of service)
• Additional Perks: Your choice of laptop (Mac or Windows), regular company events to connect with teammates, and opportunities for continued professional development.

What This Job Offers

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