Steampunk

Senior AI Developer

Steampunk$140K — $190K *
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • U.S. government public trust eligibility required.
  • Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or Software Engineering.
  • 5+ years of software engineering experience; 2+ years in AI/ML or generative AI.
  • Strong proficiency in Python and frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow.
  • Experience in designing production-grade AI applications with APIs and back-end services.
  • Familiarity with RAG architectures and multi-agent orchestration frameworks.
  • Understanding of responsible AI principles including safety and fairness.

Responsibilities

  • Develop AI solutions encompassing LLM-powered applications and predictive ML models.
  • Implement reusable AI components and APIs for faster application development.
  • Integrate AI models with enterprise systems and cloud services for scalability.
  • Drive experimentation and model improvement cycles with data scientists.
  • Design advanced prompt strategies and AI orchestration logic.
  • Build scalable inference services and optimize model performance.
  • Mentor junior developers and promote engineering excellence across teams.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance and retirement options.
  • Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning.
  • Flexible work schedules and remote work options available.
  • Collaborative and inclusive work environment that values diversity.
  • Access to cutting-edge AI technologies and tools for project work.
Full Job Description
Overview

We are looking for a highly skilled Senior AI Developer to design, build, and optimize advanced AI solutions across predictive, generative, and autonomous system domains. This role requires strong hands-on engineering capabilities, deep familiarity with modern AI architectures, and the ability to translate mission needs into robust, production-ready AI capabilities. The Senior AI Developer will work across the full stack of AI development, from data ingestion and model experimentation to application integration, orchestration, and deployment, and will collaborate closely with product teams, LLMOps engineers, designers, and mission stakeholders.

Contributions

  • Develop end-to-end AI solutions including LLM-powered applications, predictive ML models, multi-agent workflows, RAG pipelines, and specialized AI microservices.
  • Implement reusable AI components, libraries, and APIs that streamline application development and accelerate delivery across programs.
  • Integrate AI models with enterprise systems, APIs, data platforms, vector databases, and cloud-native services to deliver scalable mission capabilities.
  • Drive iterative experimentation, prototyping, and model improvement cycles in collaboration with Data Scientists and AI Evaluation Scientists.
  • Design and implement advanced prompt strategies, context management layers, retrieval systems, and LLM orchestration logic.
  • Build scalable inference services, optimize model performance, and collaborate with LLMOps to enable robust deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
  • Translate user needs and mission workflows into intuitive, reliable AI-powered features through active partnership with designers and product teams.
  • Implement secure-by-design and trustworthy AI practices, including safety guardrails, input sanitization, content filtering, and integration of evaluation metrics.
  • Contribute to internal AI frameworks, code patterns, and shared accelerators that raise delivery quality across the AI & Data Exploitation Practice.
  • Mentor junior developers, conduct code reviews, and support engineering excellence across multi-disciplinary AI delivery teams.
  • Stay current with emerging AI techniques, libraries, foundation models, and agent frameworks, evaluating their applicability to client missions.
  • You will contribute to the growth of our AI & Data Exploitation Practice!


Qualifications

  • Ability to hold a position of public trust with the U.S. government.
  • Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, or a related field.
  • 5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with at least 2+ years focused on AI/ML, generative AI, or LLM-driven application development.
  • Strong proficiency in Python and modern AI frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face Transformers, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar.
  • Demonstrated ability to design and develop production-grade AI applications, including APIs, back-end services, orchestration logic, and front-end integrations (when needed).
  • Experience implementing RAG architectures, embeddings, vector stores, and context retrieval patterns.
  • Familiarity with multi-agent orchestration frameworks, prompt engineering strategies, and advanced LLM interaction design.
  • Strong understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), including compute, serverless services, and security fundamentals for AI workloads.
  • Working knowledge of containerization (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), and CI/CD pipelines for AI-based systems.
  • Experience with structured and unstructured data, document processing, and application integration with existing enterprise systems.
  • Understanding of responsible AI principles including safety, fairness, privacy, and model risk mitigation.
  • Strong analytical and communication skills with the ability to collaborate across engineering, design, and mission domains.
  • Proven experience mentoring teammates and raising the technical bar of development teams.


About steampunk

Steampunk relies on several factors to determine salary, including but not limited to geographic location, contractual requirements, education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $140,000 to $190,000. The estimate displayed represents a typical annual salary range for this position. Annual salary is just one aspect of Steampunk's total compensation package for employees. Learn more about additional Steampunk benefits here.

Identity Statement

As part of the application process, you are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud.

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