Senior AI Applications Engineer

An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us - you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture.

We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult.

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country's national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.

We ask that every new hire be able to:

• Contribute meaningful thought leadership - if not right away, over time
• Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities
• Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right
• Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company
• Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together

We're seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our AI infrastructure team and help build the next generation of AI tools and applications powering innovation across the customer organization. In this role, you'll develop and maintain the foundation for customer AI capabilities while supporting a broader ecosystem of AI-enabled applications. Your focus will be on creating high-quality, production-grade tools that enable our customer base to leverage AI seamlessly and efficiently.

You'll navigate a dynamic environment where requirements shift rapidly as mission needs evolve and new technologies emerge. This means you'll continuously grow your skills and learn to transform loosely defined problems into elegant solutions. You'll serve as a technical leader for AI Tools and Applications initiatives, coordinating work across integrated teams and providing coaching and support to junior developers.

In this role, you will:

• Develop high-quality AI tools and applications designed for customer workforce adoption
• Ensure high availability, reliability, performance, and security of AI tools and infrastructure
• Modify Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) to accommodate customer use cases and requirements
• Conduct requirements elicitation with customers and develop solutions to address their evolving needs
• Maintain existing customer-facing infrastructure and applications, ensuring reliable, resilient services
• Serve as a technical lead for AI Tools and Applications initiatives, coordinating work across integrated teams
• Conduct regular one-on-ones and provide coaching, feedback, and support to assigned team members
• Act as the team point of contact (POC) for contract administration functions
• Navigate ambiguity and define solutions for complex, under specified systems and requirements
• Establish new technical policies, standards, and governance frameworks where gaps exist
• Drive adoption of new technologies and practices across engineering teams
• Implement and oversee monitoring, logging, and observability solutions for AI services
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders at multiple organizational levels

• 12 years of experience as a software engineer, OR a B.S. in a technical discipline plus 8 years of experience
• Mastery of Python and expertise in UI/UX principles
• Significant production software development and maintenance experience
• Significant, hands-on experience with Large Language Models (LLMs) as part of code solution workflows
• Strong familiarity with AWS or other cloud service providers
• Solid experience with Kubernetes and Helm
• Working knowledge of Argo CD and/or other CI/CD frameworks
• Experience with Docker and containerization
• Experience supporting production software using Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) best practices
• Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies quickly
• Strong communication skills and willingness to ask clarifying questions
• Demonstrated willingness to lead a team and manage multiple junior developers
• Experience with LLM UI…