Senior Python Developer

OSC Global

About The Position

OSC EdgeTech, LLC is seeking a Senior Python Developer (AI/ML) to continue development of Optica Security, its DISA APL-listed STIG compliance and CORA readiness platform. The role combines Python-based security automation with production AI-enabled software engineering. The developer will build scalable scanner capabilities for large, segmented, and federated network environments, including restricted government settings, and integrate local and cloud AI models to automate cybersecurity content processing and other labor-intensive product workflows. The position also expands Optica’s cybersecurity coverage beyond operating systems to applications, databases, application servers, middleware, and other software layers. The successful candidate will own work from planning through deployment and stabilization, contribute to architecture and engineering practices, provide technical leadership and mentorship, and collaborate with architecture, dashboard, cybersecurity content, product, and customer-facing teams. Candidates under consideration may be asked to complete a standardized, job-related programming assignment. Completing the assignment does not guarantee an interview. The role requires U.S. citizenship, the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, passing pre-employment background screening, and willingness to travel up to 10%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, data science, AI/ML, or a related field; additional relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Eight or more years of relevant experience, including at least four years of professional Python software development experience.
Demonstrated design and delivery of production Python software.
Demonstrated design, development, and deployment of production AI-enabled software, including architecture, integration, testing, validation, and operations.
Experience integrating local, self-hosted AI or LLM models and/or cloud-hosted AI services or model APIs.
Experience applying AI/ML techniques, such as data preparation, model training, validation, evaluation, inference, model selection, and model adaptation.
Experience using AI to automate complex business, engineering, or analytical workflows with measurable operational impact.
Experience developing distributed data-collection or similar systems, including performance, reliability, concurrency, and deployment at scale across segmented or federated network environments.
Knowledge of software engineering principles, Python development, network architectures, cybersecurity technologies, and regulatory or compliance requirements.
Strong understanding of prompting, retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuning, or other approaches, including evaluating a model’s fitness for production use.
Knowledge of workflow automation, intelligent document processing, data extraction, validation methodologies, and human-in-the-loop review processes.
Knowledge of operational trade-offs among local inference, managed cloud models, security boundaries, latency, cost, model capability, and disconnected or restricted deployment environments.
Ability to deliver reliable, high-performance cybersecurity solutions in connected and disconnected operational environments.
Ability to analyze existing codebases, make sound technical and architectural decisions, and work independently with minimal supervision.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, sound business judgment, and ability to assess customer needs, market conditions, and competitive factors.
Ability to build and maintain effective customer relationships, support business objectives, and ensure customer satisfaction.
Ability to develop business cases and identify opportunities that drive future growth.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and competing deadlines efficiently and effectively.
Initiative and commitment to exceeding expectations and achieving business objectives.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work cooperatively with management, staff, affiliated-company employees, and outside business associates.
Strong organizational, follow-up, and detail-oriented skills; self-motivated and goal-oriented, with ability to work independently and collaboratively.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including grammar, vocabulary, spelling, editing, and proofreading.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and industry-standard computer software and databases.
High degree of sensitivity regarding confidential information.
Must pass pre-employment background screening.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Must be a U.S. citizen.
Ability to travel up to 10%.
Sufficient fine motor skills to use computers and calculators and withstand repetitive keyboarding for extended periods.
Ability to work in confined rack spaces.
Adequate visual and communication abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
Ability to kneel, bend, and twist at the waist occasionally; reach below shoulder height regularly and at or above shoulder height occasionally; and push, pull, carry, and lift objects up to 10 pounds regularly and greater weights occasionally.

Nice To Haves

Active Secret or Top-Secret security clearance.
Experience applying DISA STIGs, SCAP content, or comparable cybersecurity compliance frameworks, including structuring, interpreting, validating, and maintaining compliance requirements.
Experience developing and deploying software in DoD or other federal operating environments, including restricted, air-gapped, disconnected, or accreditation-controlled networks.
Experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings, vector databases, structured outputs, tool or function calling, document parsing, information extraction, agentic or multi-step workflows, and evaluation frameworks.
Experience deploying and optimizing local or self-hosted models in disconnected, restricted, or resource-constrained environments, including model serving, quantization, GPU/CPU trade-offs, or comparable inference optimization.
Hands-on experience with cloud AI platforms or hosted model services, such as Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, OpenAI APIs, or Google Vertex AI.
Experience with model and version management, evaluation pipelines, experiment tracking, monitoring, quality controls, and production governance for AI-enabled software.
Experience leading development teams, including task assignment, architecture and code reviews, mentoring, and stakeholder coordination.
Experience contributing to enterprise dashboards and related full-stack web applications, including usability, reporting, visualization, workflow and evidence management, role-based access, and performance at scale.
Familiarity with RMF, CORA, and DoW cybersecurity assessment and authorization processes.
Experience supporting commercial or GOTS products through government evaluation, APL listing, accreditation, or comparable authorization activities.
Production experience using Go for endpoint agents, scanners, network services, security tooling, or distributed systems.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, test, and optimize Python-based scanning capabilities for reliable, high-performance operation at scale across large, segmented, and federated network environments, including restricted government environments.
Design and implement production AI capabilities in Optica using local or self-hosted models and cloud-hosted AI services, selecting models and deployment patterns to meet security, connectivity, performance, accuracy, and cost requirements.
Develop and operationalize AI-assisted ingestion and interpretation of new and revised DISA STIGs; structure requirements for Optica; identify and manage organizationally defined parameters; and validate cybersecurity content and mappings.
Identify and automate complex manual product and cybersecurity workflows, including document ingestion, structured data extraction, classification, transformation, validation, exception handling, and human-in-the-loop review.
Establish measurable quality, throughput, accuracy, and cycle-time outcomes for automated workflows.
Integrate and manage local or self-hosted models for disconnected or air-gapped environments, as well as cloud model APIs and managed AI platforms; build maintainable model-selection and orchestration abstractions.
Support the AI/ML model lifecycle, including dataset preparation, model selection, evaluation, prompt and retrieval design, fine-tuning or other adaptation, inference optimization, validation, and production monitoring.
Expand Optica’s cybersecurity content coverage beyond operating systems to installed applications, databases, application servers, middleware, and other software layers.
Plan and execute development through deployment and stabilization, resolve customer findings, and clearly communicate status, risks, technical trade-offs, and dependencies to product leadership.
Contribute to architecture, code review, automated testing, documentation, observability, secure development practices, and production support in accordance with the platform’s DISA APL listing and government compliance requirements.
Exercise independent technical judgment, inform architecture and prioritization decisions, mentor developers, and raise engineering standards as the team grows.
Collaborate with Optica architecture, dashboard, cybersecurity content, product, and customer-facing teams to align scanner output, AI-generated or ingested content, validation workflows, and end-user reporting.
Perform other duties as appropriate and assigned.