Senior Software Engineer – AI Infrastructure

Bitwise • Laurel, MD

4d • Onsite

About The Position

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us — you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here! Remember, Bitwise is not a cult. We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to help build the next generation of AI infrastructure — the kind that powers real innovation at scale and actually matters. You'll join an integrated AI platform team as a technical lead, taking ownership of critical platform components including scalable inference services, retrieval augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and autonomous agent frameworks. This isn't a purely heads-down engineering role. You'll blend hands-on technical work with genuine leadership — running one-on-ones, coaching teammates, setting technical direction, and serving as a point of contact for contract administration functions. You'll be the person who walks into ambiguity and walks out with a plan. You'll establish governance where none exists, drive adoption of new tools and practices, and communicate clearly with stakeholders across organizational levels. If you're the kind of engineer who gets energized by solving hard, underspecified problems and who also finds meaning in helping a team grow — this is your role.

Requirements

• 12 years of experience in software engineering, or 16 years in lieu of a B.S. in a technical discipline
• Extensive experience designing, building, and operating large-scale production systems
• Deep expertise in systems integration across diverse technologies and platforms
• Hands-on experience with cloud engineering in AWS
• Advanced proficiency with Kubernetes administration and deployment patterns
• Strong Python programming skills
• Experience implementing and scaling observability solutions (APM, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Prometheus)
• Proven ability to lead technical initiatives and influence organizational change
• Experience developing technical policies and governance frameworks
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills
• Ability to balance hands-on engineering with leadership and coordination responsibilities
• Active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph

Nice To Haves

• Experience with AI inference serving technologies such as vLLM or LiteLLM
• Previous experience with agentic frameworks such as LangChain
• Knowledge of vector databases and embedding systems
• Experience with high-performance computing or distributed systems
• Track record of successfully driving technical and cultural change within engineering organizations

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize infrastructure for AI model inference at scale
• Lead the development and maintenance of production AI services and applications, including RAG systems, autonomous agents, and emerging technologies
• Serve as technical lead for AI infrastructure initiatives, coordinating work across integrated teams
• Conduct regular one-on-ones and provide coaching, feedback, and support for assigned team members
• Act as the team point of contact for contract administration functions
• Navigate ambiguity and define solutions for complex, underspecified systems and requirements
• Establish new technical policies, standards, and governance frameworks where gaps exist
• Drive adoption of new technologies and practices across engineering teams
• Implement and oversee monitoring, logging, and observability solutions for AI services
• Ensure high availability, reliability, performance, and security of AI platform components
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders at multiple organizational levels

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.
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances.
• $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments.
• Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go "Hot damn!".

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree