AI Model Engineer with Security Clearance

Job Description Everforth ECS is seeking an AI Model Engineer to work in a hybrid remote/onsite capacity, with minimum of 3 business days onsite at our Fairfax, VA corporate office and/or our Ashburn, VA customer site. Please note: This position is contingent upon contract award Everforth ECS is seeking an accomplished AI/ML Engineer to provide technical leadership and strategic guidance on the integration of advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions to support mission-critical government and defense objectives.

The ideal candidate is innovative with a track record of evaluating, experimenting with, and transitioning emerging technologies into operational use. This role requires exceptional communication skills, strong technical expertise, and experience collaborating across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other government agencies. The AI Engineer will design, train, implement, and maintain end-to-end machine learning algorithms and their pipelines, automating deployment and monitoring processes while ensuring performance, observability, and security.

This role contributes to building scalable infrastructure, real-time dashboards, and automated pipelines that enable secure, compliant, and efficient AI operations aligned with mission and business goals. Key responsibilities include:

• Design, build, train, and fine tune computer vision models for object detection, tracking, and classification tasks.
• Utilize multimodal architectures for robust retrieval and data fusion.
• Coordinate the planning, development, and execution of cutting-edge research programs designed to experimentally validate novel AI/ML concepts.
• Evaluate emerging technologies from academia and industry for their potential impact on national security.
• Serve as a subject matter expert, providing technical leadership and strategic recommendations to government decision-makers on AI/ML technology, adoption, and implementation.
• Set the technical direction for advanced computer vision and AI capabilities supporting exploitation of remote sensing data, including EO and hyperspectral imagery.
• Conduct rapid feasibility studies and prototype implementations to evaluate emerging algorithms, model architectures, and data exploitation approaches.
• Use prototype-driven demonstrations and technical studies to shape applied research programs and support proposal development for new AI initiatives.
• Advance the application of vision-language and multimodal foundation models for analysis, retrieval, and reasoning over large-scale EO/IR and hyperspectral datasets.
• Work closely with mission partners to refine problem definitions, evaluate prototype systems, and ensure developed capabilities transition rapidly into operational environments.
• Prepare and deliver high-quality technical briefings, documentation, and presentations for both technical and non-technical audiences
• Utilizing data pipelines in Databricks, Apache Spark, and related ETL technologies (e.g., AWS Glue, Apache Airflow).
• Ensuring compliance with DHS security and accreditation standards, including STIGs and Impact Level controls.
• Providing architectural oversight on data ingestion, curation, and storage to produce reliable, high-quality datasets for AI/ML development.
• Supporting DevSecOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and automation to streamline delivery.

Salary Range: $125,000-$150,000

Required Skills

• Must be a US Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust determination
• Minimum Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field
• 6+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, and cloud architecture
• Proficiency with AI/ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, YOLO, ONNX)
• Proficiency in Linux -- system administration, scripting in Bash, troubleshooting
• Strong foundation in AI/ML algorithms and ability to implement agentic workflow, and prompt engineering
• Experience in large language model (LLM) applications
• Strong understanding of model evaluation metrics (e.g., precision, recall, F1) and statistical drift detection methods
• Expertise in containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift) and CI/CD automation (GitHub Actions, Jenkins)
• Proficiency in building and managing ETL pipelines (e.g. AWS Glue, Apache Airflow)
• Strong communication skills with the ability to interface and collaborate with project managers, stakeholders, vendors, and technical staff

Desired Skills

• Master's or PhD degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related technical field
• Prior experience supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, or other U.S. Government programs
• Experience/familiarity with:
• Computer Graphics and Computer Vision AI/ML
• Remote sensing (SAR, EO/IR, MSI, etc.)
• Network and RF Communications
• Signal Processing
• Principle component analysis (PCA)/linear discriminant analysis (LDA)
• Variational Autoencoders (VAEs)
• Bayesian Science/Bayes Naive Network
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with Graph DB and Relational DB
• Kalman Filtering
• Reinforcement Learning (RLHF, PPO, etc.)
• PostgreSQL, Elastic, MongoDB, Graph DB for supporting data engineering workflows
• Data governance, metadata management, and compliance frameworks ECS Federal LLC is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis any characteristic protected by law. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local jurisdiction law. is the federal segment of , a $4B global organization with over 10,000 employees. Our nearly 3,500 professionals deliver advanced technology solutions in data and AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise transformation, serving defense, intelligence, and federal civilian agencies. Our work powers mission-critical outcomes, strengthens technology partnerships, and creates meaningful opportunities for our people. We are defined by a commitment to excellence in delivery, a culture of innovation, and an environment where talent can thrive and grow. We value:
• Attracting and developing top talent and high-performing teams
• Fostering a culture that is engaging, accountable, and mission-driven Meet the challenge. Make a difference with Everforth ECS!