Principal AI / ML Engineer

Duties:

Location Englewood, Colorado

Hybrid opportunity

Will need to be able to obtain a clearance

This is a Contract opportunity

In this role, you will help shape the long-term AI/ML technical vision for the organization, guide high-impact R&D initiatives, and lead the development of advanced autonomy, perception, analytics, and generative AI capabilities.

You will be responsible for setting technical direction across multiple simultaneous efforts, defining architectural standards, and ensuring that prototypes and initiatives represent industry-leading innovation.

This role requires exceptional technical depth, the ability to operate with extreme autonomy, and the leadership presence to influence engineering culture, collaborate with program leadership, mentor staff, and represent the team to senior executives, customers, and external partners.

Role Expectations Specific to This Team

• Translate broad mission objectives into program-level AI/ML architectures, strategies, staffing needs, data plans, and technical frameworks
• Drive system-level AI/ML decision-making, establishing technical standards and guiding engineering trade studies that shape platform-level autonomy and perception capabilities
• Identify and champion high-value R&D opportunities, emerging technologies, and cross-organizational partnerships that accelerate SNC s AI/ML advancements
• Provide deep technical consultation across adjacent Business Units product lines, ensuring architectural coherence and technical excellence
• Ensure AI/ML solutions are architected for scalability and integration with enterprise-wide platforms, collaborating with IT and infrastructure teams to define and implement the necessary tools. Data pipeline, and computing resources for sustainable AI/ML operations across the organization.
• Balance program-specific AI/ML solution development with strategic focus on establishing reusable frameworks, common data assets, and infrastructure that support cross-program and enterprise-wide AI/ML adoption

Skills:

• Lead design and technical direction for next-generation architectures spanning deep learning, reinforcement learning, multimodal generative AI, and advanced perception/decision systems
• Architect and oversee end-to-end multi-program AI/ML systems across platforms and embedded systems
• Assist with development of long-term technical strategies, roadmaps, and requirements for emerging AI/ML initiatives
• Identify, define, and advocate for the foundational data, compute, MLOps, and cloud/on-prem infrastructure necessary to support sustainable and secure AI/ML development and deployment across related business units.
• Establish and promote best practices for the full AI/ML lifecycle including data management, model versioning, CI/CD for ML, monitoring, and continuous improvement to ensure reliable deployment and operation of AI/ML models in production.
• Oversee multiple development streams, providing technical reviews, risk assessments, and mitigations plans
• Shape system-level behavior and engineering tradeoffs when requirements are ambiguous
• Lead development of simulations, sensor fusion models, vision models, and planning/decision algorithms
• Represent JTF to leadership, customers, and partners (assist in developing and presenting briefings, demos, high-level technical presentations, etc)
• Establish adaptive, agile AI/ML validation, verification, and safety frameworks for proof-of-concept level mission-critical systems
• Evaluate and introduce emerging technologies (examples: transformers, RLHF, edge AI, XAI, GPU acceleration)
• Partner with Program Manager and Project Engineer to define staffing, data, schedules, and resources required to execute JTF technical initiatives
• Coach and develop engineering talent, raising JTF overall AI/ML capabilities

Education:

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, Statistics, or related STEM field
• 14+ years of experience in AI/ML or related fields, or 16+ years without a degree
• Demonstrated mastery of deep learning, reinforcement learning, generative models, and large-scale AI/ML system architecture
• Proven experience architecting and deploying mission-critical and/or large-scale AI/ML systems
• Strong proficiency in Python, C++, C#, and/or Java with experience building scalable Machine Learning systems
• Experience providing technical leadership across teams, projects, or programs
• Ability to define technical strategies, influence senior stakeholders, and make organization-level architecture decisions
• In-depth experience with aerospace/defense-relevant regulatory and cybersecurity considerations
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and grow engineering talent within an organization

Qualifications We Prefer

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in AI/ML or related field
• Experience applying AI/ML to autonomy, multimodal sensor fusion, or embedded/real-time platforms
• Experience establishing or scaling ML engineering standard (MLOps, validation frameworks, data management)
• Expertise with GPU acceleration, CUDA/TensorRT, or parallel computing
• Publications, patents, or thought leadership in AI/ML
• Familiarity with edge AI, explainable AI (XAI), or emerging/advanced ML topics
• Experience translating high-level mission objectives into complex AI/ML system architectures (HMI scenarios, autonomy stacks)