Artificial Intelligence Architect

MANTECH seeks a motivated, career and customer-oriented AI Systems Architect / Senior AI Developer to join our team in Chantilly, VA. The AI Systems Architect / Senior AI Developer will leverage their strong technical background and knowledge to bridge high-level system architecture with hands-on software development, translating complex mission objectives into scalable, secure, and performant AI/ML systems operating within air-gapped and high-security environments.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Architecting end-to-end AI/ML pipelines, MLOps frameworks, and data integration platforms tailored for high-security, classified environments.

• Designing robust, modular software architectures supporting Large Language Models (LLMs), Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and predictive analytics.

• Building scalable REST APIs, microservices, and ETL/data ingestion pipelines for real-time and batch inferencing.

• Implementing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures, vector databases, and agentic workflows tailored to unstructured multi-source data.

• Establishing secure CI/CD pipelines and automated testing protocols for model validation, drift detection, and deployment in isolated environments.

• Serving as the primary Technical Subject Matter Expert on AI/ML capabilities for government stakeholders and program leadership.

• Mentoring mid-level developers and data scientists in secure software design, efficient model optimization, and scalable pipeline development.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a closely related technical field; 6 additional years of software engineering experience may be substituted for a Bachelor's degree.
• 5 or more years of progressive professional software engineering experience, with 2 or more years dedicated to building, deploying, and maintaining AI/ML applications in production.
• Proficiency in Python and hands-on experience with AI/ML toolkits such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face transformers, Scikit-Learn, or OpenCV.
• Experience implementing GenAI solutions, prompt engineering, fine-tuning techniques (e.g., LoRA/QLoRA), or RAG pipeline architectures.
• Experience deploying models using Docker, Kubernetes, MLOps frameworks, or vector databases.
• Knowledge of or experience with Risk Management Framework (RMF) standards and ICD 503 guidelines in air-gapped environments.
• Active Security+ CE or higher certification for privileged user access (or ability to obtain within 60 days of hire).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or Artificial Intelligence.
• Experience integrating AI capabilities within Intelligence Community (IC) data standards, networks, and classified cloud infrastructures (AWS C2S, SC2S, or Azure Secret/Top Secret).
• Familiarity with hardware acceleration techniques (NVIDIA CUDA, TensorRT, Model Quantization/Pruning) and Adversarial Machine Learning / AI safety.
• Relevant industry certifications such as AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), or CISSP.
• Self-starter with excellent people skills - able to work across teams, organize meetings/boards, and drive change throughout an organization.

Clearance Requirements:

• Candidates must possess an active Top Secret / SCI with Polygraph clearance prior to start.

Physical Requirements:

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time.
• Needs to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Frequently communicates with co-workers, management, and customers, which may involve delivering presentations. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.