Senior Applied AI Engineer – Software Engineering

Bitwise • Columbia, MD

10d • Onsite

About The Position

We're looking for a Senior Applied AI Engineer to join a fast-moving Tactical AI team building production-quality AI applications that accelerate mission workflows. This is not a research role — you'll be designing and shipping real software that puts large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and intelligent automation directly in the hands of analysts and operators working with complex mission data. You'll work directly with mission customers to understand their operational challenges, rapidly prototype solutions, and shepherd successful capabilities all the way into production. The team values practical AI, rapid iteration, and tight customer collaboration over lengthy development cycles. If you're an experienced software engineer who wants to build scalable AI systems while having a real say in technical direction, this is the role for you.

Requirements

• 12 years of relevant experience, with a B.S. in a technical discipline — or 16 years of experience in lieu of a degree
• Production software development experience using Python
• Experience designing and developing distributed or backend software systems
• Experience building AI-enabled applications using LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI agents, or similar technologies
• Experience developing REST APIs and integrating multiple data sources
• Experience working with SQL, Elasticsearch, or other data storage technologies
• Strong understanding of software architecture, object-oriented design, and software engineering best practices
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience collaborating directly with mission customers to understand requirements and deliver operational solutions
• An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP), PydanticAI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar AI frameworks
• Experience deploying applications using Docker, Kubernetes, or containerized environments
• Experience with React, TypeScript, Gradio, or modern web application development
• Experience designing agentic AI workflows or multi-step reasoning systems
• Experience supporting classified mission environments
• Experience leading software engineering teams or technical projects

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain production AI-enabled software applications using Python and modern software engineering practices
• Architect and implement LLM-powered workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and AI agent capabilities that solve real mission problems
• Develop backend services, APIs, and data pipelines that power AI-enabled applications
• Translate natural language user requests into deterministic analytical workflows through integration with mission data sources, databases, and search platforms
• Collaborate directly with mission stakeholders to understand operational workflows and rapidly prototype customer-focused solutions
• Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources into scalable AI applications
• Evaluate emerging AI frameworks, models, and software engineering techniques for mission applicability
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical architecture, engineering standards, and software design across the team

Benefits

• 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.
• All 11 federal holidays, paid!
• Up to 2 snow days, paid!
• 4x match on the first 6% of 401(k) contributions, with unclaimed matches returned as extra income.
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. Option to trade health insurance benefit for a salary boost.
• $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and student loan repayments.
• Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and other achievements.

What This Job Offers

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