Senior Agentic AI Technical Lead

Agile Defense•McLean, VA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Agile Defense we know that action defines the outcome and new challenges require new solutions. Thatâs why we always look to the future and embrace change with an unmovable spirit and the courage to build for what comes next. Our vision is to bring adaptive innovation to support our nation's most important missions through the seamless integration of advanced technologies, elite minds, and unparalleled agilityâleveraging a foundation of speed, flexibility, and ingenuity to strengthen and protect our nationâs vital interests. We are seeking a Senior Technical Lead to serve as the Technical Lead and Delivery Manager for a high-impact Agentic AI Prototype program with the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO). This essential role will function as the most senior full-stack engineer and architect on the agreement, translating Government-defined mission outcomes into secure, production-ready AI agent capabilities delivered within DoD IL5+ cloud environments. You will lead internal implementation, coordinate multiple non-traditional subcontractor teams, partner closely with the Government Product Owner, and be accountable for delivering accepted, operationally useful capabilities against fixed-price milestones. Employees of Agile Defense are our number one priority, and the importance we place on our culture here is fundamental. Our culture is alive and evolving, but it always stays true to its roots. Here, you are valued as a family member, and we believe that we can accomplish great things together. Agile Defense has been highly successful in the past few years due to our employees and the culture we create together.

Requirements

10+ years of software engineering experience, with 5+ years in technical leadership roles delivering production AI systems in secure or regulated environments
Proven track record designing, building, and fielding agentic AI systems, including: o Agent frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph) and multi-agent orchestration o Advanced prompt engineering, system prompts, and agent persona libraries o Tool use/function calling, logical branching, and state management
Strong cloud expertise in IL5+ environments: o Azure IL5 and/or Google GovCloud; Kubernetes/containers; serverless; VNET/governance; Key Vault/Secrets; identity and access control o Model inference platforms: Google Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock; SDK integration with Gemini Enterprise, Anthropic for Gov, and Grok Enterprise
Data engineering and integration: o Designing secure API integrations and data ingestion pipelines (ETL/ELT) for structured/unstructured sources o Experience with RAG pipelines, embeddings, and vector databases (e.g., pgvector, Pinecone, Weaviate) o Building or integrating metadata catalogs/platforms (MCP) and search APIs (e.g., DataHub, OpenMetadata, Custom MCP)
DevSecOps and compliance: o Implementing CI/CD, automated testing, observability, and secure software supply chain (SBOM, signing) o Familiarity with DoD SRG IL5, FedRAMP High, RMF, and ATO-ready standards; experience preparing ATO packages and security documentation
Agile delivery: o Leading multiple agile teams in short, outcome-focused sprints; driving acceptance of fixed-price milestones and demonstrable prototypes
Programming and tooling: o Expert-level Python and TypeScript/JavaScript; REST/gRPC; OpenAPI; microservices; eventing/queues (Kafka/SQS); relational and NoSQL databases o Strong hands-on ability to produce high-quality code, conduct code reviews, and mentor senior engineers
Communication and leadership: o Exceptional ability to partner with Government stakeholders, synthesize mission needs, and present technical solutions and demos o Experience managing non-traditional subcontractors, small businesses, or academic teams and coordinating multi-party delivery
Active Secret clearance required (TS/SCI eligible preferred)
U.S. Citizenship required
Ability to work within DoD IL5+ environments (e.g., Azure IL5, Google GovCloud), including support for expedited credentialing/facility clearance processes

Nice To Haves

Prior experience delivering AI capabilities for DoD or IC missions within IL5/IL6 enclaves
Hands-on experience with Azure OpenAI Service in Gov environments; Anthropic Gov offerings and enterprise agentic development platforms
Background in cybersecurity engineering or cloud security architecture; experience with Zero Trust patterns in DoD environments
Experience with red teaming, model evaluation, and AI safety testing for mission-critical workflows