Senior ML Engineer

Forward Deployed Senior Machine Learning Engineer

I'm working with an AI company building technology for some of the most important and technically demanding environments in the world.

They're looking for a Forward Deployed Senior Machine Learning Engineer to work directly with defense and intelligence customers, taking AI systems from early prototype to production deployment.

This is not a traditional ML engineering role. You'll work across the full LLM stack, build agentic systems on top of frontier models, and solve real problems in environments where security, reliability and performance genuinely matter.

• Own end-to-end delivery of agentic AI systems from prototype through production
• Build and deploy applications using LLMs, embeddings, RAG and agent orchestration
• Work directly with customers to understand problems, define solutions and ship quickly
• Deploy AI systems into production environments, including classified and air-gapped environments
• Work across the stack, from operating systems, storage and networking through to APIs and application layers
• Build reusable tools and frameworks that make it easier to deliver AI applications at scale
• Help shape how an AI-native engineering team builds, evaluates and operates agentic systems

• Strong experience in Machine Learning Engineering, AI Engineering or a similar role
• Experience working in the defense or intelligence sector is required
• Experience building and deploying production ML or AI systems
• Strong understanding of LLMs, embeddings, RAG and agentic architectures
• Experience with modern agent frameworks and SDKs
• Comfortable working across software, infrastructure and security
• Experience working directly with customers to scope problems and deliver solutions
• Someone who already uses AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor or Copilot as part of their daily workflow

• You're comfortable with ambiguity. You like being close to the customer and solving problems that don't have a playbook.
• You can move from a conversation with a customer to designing a system, building a prototype and getting it into production.
• You also understand that deploying AI into high-security environments requires judgment. You know when to move fast, when to verify, and where AI-generated output needs to be treated with caution.

• Work directly on AI systems with real-world mission impact
• Build agentic applications using the latest frontier models and tooling
• Own projects from first idea to production deployment
• Work closely with defense and intelligence customers
• Join an AI-native team where modern AI tooling is part of the engineering workflow
• Competitive salary, equity and strong benefits

Based in the DC / Metro area, with remote candidates considered. Expect approximately 25% travel.

An active U.S. Government clearance is strongly preferred, but clearance-eligible candidates will be considered.