AI Engineer (TS/SCI with Polygraph is REQUIRED)

AI Engineers (SWE2 and SWE3)  

U.S. Citizenship is REQUIRED for this position due to federal government contract and security clearance requirements.

TS SCI + Polygraph is REQUIRED to be considered for this positions.

LOCATION: Fort Meade MD

Please Note:  This role requires an active TS SCI with POLYGRAPH.  You must have this clearance prior to applying to be considered.

Aperio Global is seeking an AI Engineers across multiple experience levels to support our AI & Emerging Technologies (AI&ET) mission. Engineers at all levels will work closely with mission stakeholders to capture requirements, aid in structured planning, and improve the certification process by introducing AI/ML tooling.

You will use AI/ML to develop tools and techniques — including fine-tuning Large Language Models (LLMs) — that assist in enhanced vulnerability identification and mitigation capabilities. This role sits at the intersection of applied AI research and national security, deploying cutting-edge tooling within classified secure enclaves.

Mission Focus:
•    Design, develop, and maintain LLM orchestration frameworks that coordinate static analyzers, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, and automated testing pipelines
•    Develop and optimize data preprocessing pipelines to ingest, clean, transform, and vectorize product documentation, source code, and test results for LLM consumption
•    Design and implement database solutions to support RAG architectures, artifact storage, audit trails, and metadata management

Technical Proficiency:
•    Collaborate with systems engineers to architect and deploy networked AI tools within secure enclaves
•    Conduct performance profiling, optimization, and scalability analysis of mission systems
•    Support security assessments and Authority to Operate (ATO) processes
•    Collaborate closely with technical leadership on system design decisions and roadmap planning

What We're Looking For:
All candidates must meet the following requirements:

•    Bachelor's degree plus 5 years (SWE2) or 8 years (SWE3) of relevant experience, or equivalent
•    Proficiency in Python, LLM integration, and data engineering
•    Experience with static analyzers and RAG frameworks
•    Experience with both relational and vector databases
•    Familiarity with Agile methodologies, Git, Jira, and Confluence
•  Active TS/SCI +  Polygraph

Nice to Have:
•    Familiarity with Rust
•    Experience with Claude Code or OpenAI Codex
•    CI/CD pipeline design and maintenance
•    Hands-on experience deploying AI tools within classified or air-gapped environments
•    Performance profiling and scalability optimization in networked AI systems

About the Mission:
The AI & Emerging Technologies (AI&ET) team is at the forefront of applying artificial intelligence to national security challenges. Our engineers work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment on problems that directly impact mission outcomes. We value intellectual curiosity, technical depth, and a commitment to responsible AI development.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.

Salary:  $127,000 - $200,000
Level-Experience:
  AI Engineer (SWE2) — Mid-level    Bachelor's + 5 years
  Senior AI Engineer (SWE3) — Senior    Bachelor's + 8 years