Technical AI/ML Engineering Lead

Frontier Technology Inc. (FTI) delivers mission-focused solutions to the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community through advanced engineering, digital transformation, and program execution expertise. We help our customers solve complex challenges and achieve mission success by integrating people, process, and technology.

FTI is seeking an AI/ML Engineering Lead to guide the development and deployment of advanced artificial intelligence solutions for defense and national security missions. This role blends hands-on AI/ML expertise with technical leadership, making it ideal for a player-coach who can architect, build, and mentor simultaneously. The Technical Leader will ensure AI solutions are both innovative and operationally viable, bridging research with real-world delivery. They will partner with engineering teams, product managers, and business development to ensure solutions align with customer missions, technical standards, and DoD AI ethics and assurance frameworks.

Provide technical leadership and direct contributions in AI/ML model design, development, and deployment.
• Architect scalable AI solutions using deep learning, generative AI, and ML Ops pipelines suitable for operational DoD environments.
• Serve as technical hands-on quality control, ensuring AI architectures are sound, secure, and scalable.
• Guide data engineering efforts, including data curation, labeling, and pipeline design.
• Mentor and coach engineers and data scientists, raising team capability and setting standards for model quality, performance, and ethics.
• Stay current with AI advancements, applying cutting-edge techniques while balancing research with mission delivery.
• Collaborate with product and solution management to align technical direction with customer requirements.
• Provide AI technical inputs to proposals, capture activities, and solution roadmaps in partnership with Business Development.

**Preferring candidates close to Dayton OH, Chesapeake VA, Huntsville AL, or Colorado Springs CO. Or willing to travel to these locations and customer sites, as needed.

• Must be a U.S. Citizen and possess an active Secret security clearance; TS or TS/SCI strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related technical field (Master's or PhD preferred).
• 8-12+ years of experience in AI/ML development, with 3-5 years in a technical leadership role.
• Strong coding ability in Python and frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow.
• Experience implementing ML Ops pipelines and integrating AI into production systems.
• Background in data engineering, including curation, labeling, and pipeline development.
• Experience with DoD/IC AI projects and operational deployment of AI systems.
• Knowledge of AI ethics, trust, and assurance frameworks (with DoD relevance).
• Hands-on leader with the ability to architect and code.
• Innovative, research-driven mindset balanced with practical delivery discipline.
• Strong mentoring and coaching skills to develop next-generation AI talent.

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