Senior Applied AI Engineer 3 - (Python, LLMs, RAG)Clearance: TS/SCI - Polygraph required
Position ID: 20-16-033-SWE3
Location: Annapolis Junction, Maryland
Description:Join a fast-moving Tactical AI team developing production-quality AI applications that accelerate mission workflows through large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and modern software engineering. As a Senior Applied AI Engineer - Software Engineering, you will design and develop AI-powered applications that enable analysts and operators to interact with complex mission data using natural language and intelligent automation. You will work directly with mission customers to understand operational challenges, rapidly prototype solutions, and transition successful capabilities into production. Our team emphasizes practical AI, rapid iteration, and customer collaboration over lengthy development cycles. This position is ideal for an experienced software engineer who enjoys building scalable AI systems while shaping technical direction across the team.
- Design, develop, and maintain production AI-enabled software applications using Python and modern software engineering practices.
- Architect and implement LLM-powered workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and AI agent capabilities that solve mission problems.
- Develop backend services, APIs, and data pipelines supporting AI-enabled applications.
- Translate natural language user requests into deterministic analytical workflows through integration with mission data sources, databases, and search platforms.
- Collaborate directly with mission stakeholders to understand operational workflows and rapidly prototype customer-focused AI solutions.
- Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources into scalable AI applications.
- Evaluate emerging AI frameworks, models, and software engineering techniques for mission applicability.
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical architecture, engineering standards, and software design across the team.
Position Required Skills:- Production software development experience using Python.
- Experience designing and developing distributed or backend software systems.
- Experience building AI-enabled applications using LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI agents, or similar technologies.
- Experience developing REST APIs and integrating multiple data sources.
- Experience working with SQL, Elasticsearch, or other data storage technologies.
- Strong understanding of software architecture, object-oriented design, and software engineering best practices.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience collaborating directly with mission customers to understand requirements and deliver operational solutions.
Nice to Haves- Experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP), PydanticAI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar AI frameworks.
- Experience deploying applications using Docker, Kubernetes, or containerized environments.
- Experience with React, TypeScript, Gradio, or modern web application development.
- Experience designing agentic AI workflows or multi-step reasoning systems.
- Experience supporting classified mission environments.
- Experience leading software engineering teams or technical projects.
SWE3 Qualifications:YOE Requirement: 12 yrs., B.S. in a technical discipline or 4 additional yrs. in place of B.S.
Salary Range: $232k-$283k (Annually)
The range displayed above is a likely salary range for this position. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possible contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.
Akina is a Woman Owned, Service Disabled, Veteran Owned, Small Business, looking for talented and ambitious individuals to join our team. We offer a generous compensation package that includes 24 days PTO accrued annually and 11 federal holidays. Our 401k is 100% vested on your start date and the company makes a direct contribution worth 10% of your salary. Akina covers 100% of healthcare costs for employees and 50% toward dependents. We offer educational assistance towards college classes and will cover costs associated with job related training and certifications.Akina is committed to excellence and creating innovative and flexible solutions for our clients. We are a small company with an open ear to our employees' needs in order to attract and retain quality talent that enables our customer's mission.We are an equal employment opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. 
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