Full Stack AI Engineer

K.L. Scott & Associates (KLSA) is a mission-driven management and technology consulting firm that partners with public-sector organizations to modernize operations, strengthen data and AI capabilities, and deliver measurable impact. KLSA combines strategic advisory services with hands‑on delivery; bringing product leadership, secure data engineering, systems integration, and user‑centered design to help clients translate complex requirements into scalable, high‑quality solutions.

The following position comprises a multidisciplinary delivery team responsible for planning, building, integrating, deploying, and operating an AI‑enabled chatbot capability using an iterative, sprint‑based approach with security and risk management embedded throughout.

KL Scott and Associates is seeking a Full‑Stack AI Engineer
. This role is responsible for building, integrating, deploying, and operating the AI chatbot within a secure enterprise environment. It combines senior software development, AI integration, systems integration, and Dev Sec Ops  responsibilities to ensure reliable production operations. The ideal candidate will reside in or within commutable distance to Washington DC.

• Develop the chatbot application and supporting services using secure coding practices and project standards.
• Implement conversation flows, UI/UX requirements, and functional features aligned to acceptance criteria.
• Integrate knowledge base and retrieval logic in partnership with data and architecture leads; tune for response quality and latency.
• Build instrumentation for logging, metrics, and monitoring to support production operations and continuous improvement.
• Support UAT, defect remediation, and release hardening, including reliability and fail‑safe behaviors.
• Coordinate secure environment setup and readiness across development, staging, and production in partnership with security and IT stakeholders.
• Manage integration points, connectivity, authentication/authorization patterns, and deployment pathways consistent with project standards.
• Lead release management including deployment checklists, verification steps, rollback procedures, and post‑release validation.
• Operationalize monitoring, incident response pathways, and support procedures; maintain runbooks and configuration documentation.
• Support continuous enhancement cycles by integrating new functionality safely and reliably through standardized promotion processes.
• Support the harvesting and refinement of solutions for internal KLSA product portfolio.
• Ability to operate with minimal management oversight and maintain compliance in alignment to project requirements.
• Maintain professional execution of project delivery while engaging with executive presence as all times.

• Required:
  
  Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• Preferred certifications:
  Cloud Developer (AWS/Azure/GCP), Cloud Architect (AWS/Azure/GCP), Kubernetes/Dev Ops certifications, Security+ (or higher), secure coding training, AI/ML certification (vendor, academic, or professional), ITIL, CISSP (preferred for senior roles).
• 10+ years of experience in software development, systems integration, or Dev Sec Ops  (web applications, APIs, or enterprise systems).
• 2+ years building/integrating AI‑enabled applications (chatbots, NLP apps, retrieval/search, knowledge assistants) into secure enterprise environments.
• Strong background in secure coding and deployment practices.
• Ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret clearance eligibility.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401K
• Discretionary PTO
• A dynamic and collaborative work environment

• This position may require travel as needed.
• Some projects may require working extended hours to meet project deadlines.

K.L. Scott & Associates is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.