Artificial Intelligence Subject Matter Expert; CBP

Artificial Intelligence Subject Matter Expert (AI SME)

At Agile Defense we know that action defines the outcome and new challenges require new solutions. That's why we always look to the future and embrace change with an unmovable spirit and the courage to build for what comes next. Our vision is to bring adaptive innovation to support our nation's most important missions through the seamless integration of advanced technologies, elite minds, and unparalleled agility—leveraging a foundation of speed, flexibility, and ingenuity to strengthen and protect our nation's vital interests.

Title:

Artificial Intelligence Subject Matter Expert (AI SME) Clearance:
Active Top Secret with SCI eligibility, ability to obtain and maintain a CBP Background Investigation (CBP BI) and EOD, active BI strongly preferred. We can begin processing for candidates who do not hold one. Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship required

Location:

Ashburn, VA Salary Range: $,000 Signing Bonus: $10,000 for candidates with an active CBP BI. Payable after 90 days; standard terms apply.

The Role U.S. Customs and Border Protection runs continuous operations across more than 300 land, air, and sea ports of entry, plus Border Patrol stations and the Air and Marine Operations Center. Applying artificial intelligence in that environment is not the same problem as applying it somewhere the cost of a wrong answer is a bad recommendation. A model that runs against operational data here has to be accurate, explainable, and safe under federal accreditation, or it does not ship, no matter how well it performs in a lab.

You are the technical authority on what that requires. You will design, test, and align AI and machine learning models so they perform reliably in a professional operational setting, working alongside program leadership, engineering teams, and the security staff who have to sign off on what you build before it runs against real data.

Two things are worth knowing before you apply. This role exists to bring rigor, not to chase what is newest. And a meaningful part of the job is being the person in the room who can tell the difference between a model that looks impressive in a demo and one that is actually safe to run.

What Success Looks Like

• Design models that are accurate enough to trust with real decisions
• Keep models safe and aligned once they are running against real data
• Get AI capability through federal review without the review becoming a guessing game for everyone else
• Build technical judgment into the program that outlasts any one model

What You Bring Minimum required experience

• 5+ years in ML, Data Science, or AI engineering
• 2+ years focused on Generative AI and LLMs
• Deep expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and statistical modeling
• Hands-on experience with LLM frameworks, vector databases, and prompt engineering
• Advanced Python proficiency; production-grade software development experience
• MLOps and cloud AI platform experience (Azure AI, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI)
• Proven track record taking AI solutions from PoC to production
• Experience in assessing cyber risk and functionality of AI solutions
• Experience in incorporating automation and artificial intelligence into cyber programs
• Experience with data analytic software such as Splunk, Cribl, Elastic and Sentinel

Preferred Experience

• Open-source contributions or published AI research
• Experience with edge/low-latency model optimization
• Certifications in AI Ethics, Responsible AI, or Cloud AI Architecture
• Familiarity with adversarial AI testing and red-teaming
• You have taken a machine learning model from prototype to a production system that real people depended on.
• You have worked in a regulated or federal environment where a model's decisions had to be explainable and defensible, not only accurate.
• You have caught a model failure before it reached a decision that mattered, and can describe how.
• You are comfortable across the model lifecycle: data, training, validation, deployment, and monitoring, rather than specialized in only one stage.
• You hold an active CBP BI, a fitness determination at another DHS component, or an active DoD clearance. Any of these shortens your start date.
• You can talk…