AI (ML) Engineer - Colorado Springs, CO

About the Role

Davidson is seeking an AI (ML) Engineer in Colorado Springs, CO. This position is an integral part of a fast-paced, innovative program for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) involving the creation of advanced M&S, Optimization, and AI capabilities in support of the Guam Defense System (GDS). The program works cross-functionally with innovative team members skilled in Modeling & Simulation (M&S), Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), DevSecOps, and Cybersecurity.

Work will be performed at a contractor facility in Colorado Springs, CO and at Schriever SFB.

About You

The ideal candidate will possess a fundamental understanding of AI/ML principles, experience supporting AI/ML projects from conception to deployment, and strong communication skills. You must be able to work with little direct supervision, work as an integral member of a product delivery team and meet time critical delivery schedules.

All team members should be able to:

• Experiment with innovative theories, ideas, and concepts to expand the realm of the possible
• Self-organize and participate in an Agile development lifecycle
• Ask questions and build consensus within a cross-functional team
• Provide design inputs and collaborate to decompose, estimate, and refine backlog requirements

Responsibilities

• Serve as an AI Engineer for a team creating multiple AI/ML projects and the development and training environment in which they are created
• Collaborate closely with data team members, functional SMEs, and develop advanced optimization models for customer product enhancement
• Train models and algorithms within a software product across a cross-functional team to provide value to the customer
• Support the full lifecycle of AI/ML projects, from problem definition and data collection to model development, deployment, and monitoring
• Design, develop, and implement AI/ML models and algorithms using appropriate tools and techniques
• Ensure the quality and accuracy of AI/ML models through rigorous testing and validation
• Collaborate with software engineers, network security, and DevOps teams to deploy AI/ML models into production environments
• Monitor model performance of AI/ML models in production and identify areas for improvement
• Communicate AI/ML concepts and results effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Work in close coordination with multiple teams that will use AI/ML products
• Work with AI/ML Lead to define problem statements and success metrics for AI/ML products

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline with 4 to 6+ years of relevant experience, OR a Master's degree and 3 years experience

AI Experience

• Familiarity in a variety of AI/ML techniques, including deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and reinforcement learning
• Experience with Large Language Models/Generative AI and Prompt Engineering. Also, using LLM/GAI solutions for usage in human-machine teaming for Software Development
• Algorithmic understanding of heuristic and black box approaches for optimization, such as Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing, Bayesian Optimization, and Particle Swarm Optimization
• Familiarity with ML algorithms, such as Decision Tree, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, Neural Network, Convolutional Neural Network, Long Short-Term Memory
• Experience evaluating models using common AI/ML concepts (e.g. cross-validation, drift monitoring, model cards, bias/fairness testing)
• Familiarity with AI/model governance

AI Development Experience

• Proficient in building optimization models with one of the following languages: Python, C, C++
• Understanding of Python's common data stack (NumPy, Pandas, SciPy)
• Experience with common ML frameworks for Python (scikit-learn, Tensorflow, PyTorch)

Development Environment Experience

• Experience with collaborative programming tools (Git, Gitlab)
• Familiarity with Linux operating systems

Team Environment and Communication

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; including presentation skills
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Self-motivated, able to work effectively in a dynamic and collaborative team environment
• Ability for some limited travel (less than 10% time) to support program meetings
• Excellent communication skills

Clearance Requirements

• Holds active DoD Secret clearance at time of application and able to obtain Top Secret Security clearance

Desired Competencies/Experience/Certifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in Operations Research/Machine Learning
• Demonstrable experience building ML models in Python
• Experience with data manipulation and ML for big datasets
• Experience with MLOps tools (Kubeflow, MLflow, DVC)
• Knowledge of modern application development to include containerization (Docker/K8S)
• Demonstrable experience applying analytical and programming skills to solve optimization problems
• Strong algorithmic understanding of classical optimization techniques (e.g., linear programming, gradient descent)
• Familiarity with Agile processes/development methodology
• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP