Associate Software & AI Engineer Security Clearance

Position: Associate Software & AI Engineer with Security Clearance
About Us:

VT-ARC, a technical services and applied research company, has built an organizational culture marked by four primary values:
Teamwork, Integrity, Excellence, and Service. Integral to our success is our staffs enthusiasm for solving tough problems by working together in teams to get the job done. We foster a culture where every employees contribution is valued and performed with integrity while maintaining a fun work environment. VT-ARC strives for excellence in all that is done for our clients, and such achievement is recognized through service/merit awards.

Moreover, we promote a sense of community larger than VT-ARC alone, where staff and institutional resources can be applied in service to our country. We are proud to be the recipient of the Best Workplace in Defense Award by Emergent Magazine, an honor that recognizes companies with positive cultures that not only impact their people but also make a meaningful difference in the community.

About You:

You are an early-career software engineer with hands-on experience building full-stack applications, front-end workflows, backend APIs, and AI-enabled analysis tools for mission-focused users. You bring practical experience with modern web development, including React, JavaScript or Type Script, REST APIs, Python, SQL, and cloud-based deployment workflows. You are comfortable learning new frameworks, working in Agile teams, contributing to production systems, writing clear documentation, and using Git-based collaboration practices.

You are curious, adaptable, and mission-focused. You take pride in building usable software, learning from senior engineers, improving team practices, and applying emerging AI tools responsibly to help users explore, interpret, and act on complex data.

Position Overview:

VT-ARC is seeking an Associate Software & AI Engineer to support full-stack software development, AI-enabled analysis capabilities, and mission engineering applications for federal and defense-oriented clients. This role is focused on building and maintaining practical software systems across the full application lifecycle, including user interface development, backend API implementation, database integration, cloud deployment support, CI/CD workflows, testing, documentation, and operational sustainment.

The role includes opportunities to contribute to LLM-powered applications, federal wargaming and simulation data analysis workflows, and mission planning tools. The Associate Software & AI Engineer will work closely with programmatic staff, software engineers, AI/ML practitioners, and technical leads to deliver reliable, secure, and mission-aligned applications. This is an entry-level to early-career role designed for a hands-on engineer who can contribute independently while continuing to grow technical depth across software engineering, cloud, Dev Ops, and applied AI.

Offer of employment is contingent upon final contract award. Start date is similarly contingent upon final contract award and program direction, with a notional planned start date of July 6, 2026. No active security clearance is required at the time of application or employment start; however, the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance is required as a condition of employment.

Duties/Responsibilities:
* Build and maintain full-stack web applications from concept through production for federal clients within Agile, cross-functional teams.
* Develop reusable front-end interfaces, components, and workflows using React, Angular, or comparable modern web frameworks to improve consistency, usability, and implementation efficiency.
* Implement and maintain RESTful APIs and backend services using technologies such as Python, Node.js, Flask, FastAPI, SQL, and PostgreSQL.
* Integrate application logic, databases, user interfaces, and external services into reliable, maintainable software products.
* Contribute to LLM-powered analysis capabilities that help users explore, interpret, and analyze federal wargaming, simulation, mission, or operational data.
* Support full-stack mission engineering applications that digitize, automate, and improve mission planning and analysis workflows.
* Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot CI/CD pipelines, deployment workflows, and cloud services across environments such as AWS, AWS Gov Cloud, Azure, or GCP.
* Use Git-based version control, branching, pull requests, code reviews, and repository management practices to support team collaboration and software quality.
* Participate in Agile ceremonies, requirements discussions, design reviews, sprint planning, demos, and technical integration activities.
* Write and maintain technical documentation, implementation notes, API documentation, user workflow descriptions, and operational support materials.
* Support software testing, debugging, performance tuning, security-minded development, cloud cost awareness, and production sustainment activities.
* Stay current with emerging software…