Job Description
Senior Software Engineer Columbia, MD, US – Senior Level - Full-time Estimated Salary: The estimated salary range for this position is between $188,000 and $243,000 DOE About our client: Our client delivers high‑quality solutions and services to IC, DoD, Federal, and commercial customers. Their security, software, and systems engineers and architects work at the forefront of national challenges, solving some of the most complex problems in cyber analytics and data science. Our Client’s Values Professionalism and a mission‑centric mindset are core to how they operate, shaping both their work and the way they conduct themselves. They take pride in fostering a culture of learning, growth, and excellence — for their employees, their partners, and the customers they serve. Description We are currently seeking a talented and experienced Software Engineer to join our team to help build foundational AI integration frameworks. As a Software Engineer focused on AI Integration, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing the "paved road" for AI at our company. Note: This role is not focused on training foundational AI models from scratch. Instead, you will take industry best practices, open-source capabilities, and large language models (LLMs), and build a secure framework that allows our other software capabilities to seamlessly leverage AI. You will work closely with other talented engineers to create secure, enterprise-grade AI software solutions, including Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, reusable AI skills, strict safety guardrails, and other AI framework capabilities that meet the complex needs of our clients. In this role, you will have the opportunity to work with modern tools and technologies at the intersection of complex backend engineering and applied AI, and you will be encouraged to stay up to date with the latest developments in the field. You will be part of a dynamic and collaborative team that is committed to delivering high-quality, secure software solutions. If you are a self-motivated, creative, and detail-oriented software engineer who is passionate about treating AI as a complex software integration problem, we would love to hear from you. Requirements Essential Job Responsibilities · Must have a strong working knowledge and experience developing Java based software capabilities. · Design and develop foundational AI frameworks, including internal APIs, middleware, and routing layers that allow other systems to securely utilize AI capabilities. · Build Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and a library of reusable "skills" (function calling/tools) that enable AI models to safely interact with our internal databases, microservices, and external APIs. · Implement strict enterprise AI guardrails, ensuring data privacy, sensitive data scrubbing, prompt injection defenses, and output validation to meet stringent security requirements. · Should have an inquisitive nature, responsiveness, and excellent testing skills (including an interest in automated testing pipelines for non-deterministic AI outputs). · Seamlessly transition between hands-on execution and team guidance, treating mentorship and team leadership as inherent components of senior-level impact. · Must also possess strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to work under pressure with multiple deadlines. · Will work in a fast-paced, small business environment with our talented team. · Other duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications · Security Clearance - A current U.S. Government Security clearance is not required Security Clearance: A current U.S. Government Security Clearance is desired but not required; U.S. Citizenship required. Can also consider candidates with a current Secret or TS level clearance. · 9 years experience in Software Engineering, Modern Java Frameworks and Libraries (e.g. Spring, Guava) Bachelors in related field; 7 years relevant experience with Masters in related field; or High School Diploma or equivalent and 13 years relevant experience. · Applied AI Experience: Hands-on experience or a strong aptitude for integrating commercial LLM APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) or open-source models into backend applications. · Demonstrated understanding of modern applied AI concepts such as prompt engineering, function-calling/tool-use, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). · Experience in designing enterprise APIs. · Experience in RESTful web services. · Experience in M