Senior AI Engineer

Thales Defense & Security • Clarksburg, WV

34d • Hybrid

About The Position

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) is seeking a Senior AI Engineer to join their team in Clarksburg, MD. This role will lead the architecture, development, training, and deployment of AI/ML models, including traditional ML, deep learning, computer vision, NLP, and generative AI. The engineer will design and manage end-to-end MLOps pipelines, define and enforce MLOps standards, and integrate AI solutions into various environments with a focus on security and scalability. Responsibilities include implementing secure and responsible AI controls, optimizing model performance, collaborating with cross-functional teams, ensuring compliant data handling, and building automation tools. The position also involves leading proofs-of-concept, maintaining documentation, guiding monitoring, and mentoring engineering teams.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Applicants selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in software engineering, DevOps, platform engineering, data engineering, or infrastructure, including at least 4 years hands-on AI/ML engineering and MLOps (designing, deploying, monitoring, and operating production AI/ML systems).
• Strong transferable experience from software, DevOps, SRE, or data platform roles is highly valued given the relative newness of pure AI careers.
• Strong Python skills and experience with major ML frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow, scikit‑learn, Hugging Face).
• Hands‑on experience building and maintaining MLOps pipelines (MLflow, DVC, Kubeflow, Airflow, Azure ML, SageMaker).
• Proficiency deploying AI models using Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm, including GPU workloads.
• Knowledge of AI security, adversarial ML, explainability, and responsible AI principles.
• Experience working with secure data handling and controlled environments.
• Proficiency with Git, CI/CD, IaC, and collaborative development practices.
• Experience with ticketing/ITSM tools (e.g., Jira Service Management).
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and organizational skills.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and work independently across cross‑functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical and non‑technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in CS, AI, ML, or related fields.
• Experience with generative AI, LLMs, RAG, vector databases, and LLMOps.
• Experience with on‑prem GPU clusters, HPC environments, or schedulers (Slurm, Run:ai).
• Model optimization and edge deployment experience (quantization, pruning, TensorRT, ONNX).
• Experience in defense or other highly regulated environments with DoD/NIST/CMMC frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, development, training, and deployment of AI/ML models, including traditional ML, deep learning, computer vision, NLP, and generative AI.
• Design and manage end‑to‑end MLOps pipelines for data prep, training, model versioning, deployment, monitoring, and continuous retraining.
• Define and enforce MLOps standards, governance, and responsible AI best practices across the enterprise.
• Integrate AI solutions into on‑prem, cloud (Azure/AWS), and hybrid environments with strong focus on security and scalability.
• Implement secure and responsible AI controls such as model hardening, privacy protections, explainability, and bias/fairness testing aligned with DoD/NIST frameworks.
• Optimize model and inference performance for GPUs, on‑prem clusters, and edge environments.
• Collaborate with security, cloud, DevOps, and application teams to productionize AI systems and resolve complex technical issues.
• Ensure compliant handling of sensitive/classified data according to CMMC, NIST, DoD, and FedRAMP requirements.
• Build Python tooling, reusable components, and CI/CD integrations to support automation and platform maturity.
• Lead proofs‑of‑concept, maintain documentation, guide monitoring and incident response, and mentor engineering teams.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• Generous 401(k) program- up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• 9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday off)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior