AI Ontology Engineer

Standard Job Description

We are seeking a Senior AI Ontology Engineer to support mission-critical programs. This role involves designing, building, and maintaining semantic knowledge frameworks that enable advanced AI/ML reasoning capabilities in highly controlled environments. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in ontology engineering, knowledge graphs, semantic web technologies, and understands the unique constraints of secure data engineering, including semantic data modeling.

• Design and develop formal ontologies (OWL, RDF/RDFS) to represent complex domain knowledge for defense and intelligence applications
• Build and maintain knowledge graphs that integrate heterogeneous data sources across secure, air-gapped environments
• Implement semantic reasoning engines and inference rules to support AI/ML decision-making and mission planning
• Develop and maintain ontology governance frameworks, including versioning, validation, and quality assurance processes
• Collaborate with data scientists, AI/ML engineers, and mission stakeholders to translate domain requirements into formal semantic models
• Design semantic data integration pipelines that ensure consistency, traceability, and compliance with security standards
• Develop SPARQL queries and semantic APIs to enable knowledge discovery and retrieval across graph databases
• Implement ontology alignment and mapping strategies to ensure interoperability across multiple knowledge systems
• Support the deployment and monitoring of semantic technologies in secure production environments
• Establish and enforce ontology design patterns and best practices in compliance with security requirements
• Mentor junior engineers and promote semantic technology adoption across the organization
• Document ontology architectures, design decisions, and semantic data flows for technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Analyze source data, identify common entities and relationships, and map data across disparate systems

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Knowledge Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in ontology engineering, knowledge graphs, or semantic data modeling, data engineering, data analysis, or related disciplines
• Hands-on experience with semantic technologies including OWL, RDF, RDFS, SPARQL, and ontology development tools (e.g., Protégé)
• Experience designing and building knowledge graphs, taxonomies, or ontology-driven systems
• Strong understanding of graph databases (e.g., Neo4j, Neptune, Stardog, Blaze graph, GraphDB)
• Proficiency in Python or another programming language used for data processing and integration.
• Knowledge of data security principles, including access control, encryption, and auditing
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to semantic precision and logical consistency
• Experience with data modeling, ETL, data integration, or mapping data across multiple source systems.

• Master's degree or PhD in Knowledge Engineering, Semantic Web, Computer Science, or related technical field
• Experience with upper ontologies and domain-specific ontology frameworks (e.g., BFO, DOLCE, CCO)
• Experience with ontology alignment, matching, integration, modularization, or reuse strategies
• Familiarity with semantic data validation frameworks (e.g., SHACL, ShEx)
• Familiarity with ontology governance, versioning, and lifecycle management.
• Knowledge of DoD/IC data standards and compliance frameworks (e.g., RMF, NIST 800-53)
• Experience integrating semantic layers with AI/LLM pipelines for enhanced reasoning
• Experience with semantic web libraries such as RDFLib, OWL API, or Apache Jena.
• Experience with semantic reasoning engines or inference technologies
• Familiarity with Docker,…