AI/ML Engineer

Location: Sterling, Virginia, United States

Salary: $175,000–$225,000 USD annually

Company

hirify.global delivers technical and mission expertise for national security, technology, and defense challenges.

What you will do

• Implement and maintain RAG pipelines, including document processing, embedding generation, retrieval configuration, and prompt assembly.
• Integrate LLMs into applications through APIs and modern frameworks.
• Develop and maintain REST API interactions for data retrieval and system integration.
• Deploy and maintain self-hosted LLMs.
• Conduct red teaming of LLM alignment and support evolving national security mission requirements.

Requirements

• Active TS/SCI clearance and ability to obtain a polygraph clearance.
• At least 8 years of experience with a bachelor's degree, 7 years with a master's degree, or 6 years with a doctorate.
• Independent technical research and advanced analytical problem-solving comparable to a PhD-level research environment.
• Experience developing AI/ML applications focused on RAG, semantic retrieval, LLM integration, or related workflows.
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern AI/ML libraries, frameworks, and API integrations.
• Ability to rapidly learn and apply new AI/ML methodologies, tools, and frameworks.

Nice to have

• Advanced research experience in machine learning, deep learning, NLP, generative AI, reinforcement learning, computer vision, or related disciplines.
• Research publications, open-source AI/ML contributions, or experience leading experimental and prototype development.
• Experience with model evaluation, fine-tuning, inference optimization, AI observability, vector databases, AWS, Docker, and containerized AI/ML workflows.
• Experience designing REST APIs and scalable data architectures.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Health Savings Account with company contribution.
• Paid time off, paid holidays, and paid parental leave.
• 401(k) with company match and financial wellness support.
• Training and development opportunities, award programs, and company-sponsored events.