The Lead AI Engineer / Architect will serve as the senior technical authority for an enterprise Artificial Intelligence engineering program. This individual will lead AI solution architecture, engineering direction, hands-on technical delivery, security and compliance alignment, technical quality, and delivery oversight across the full AI system lifecycle.

The Lead AI Engineer will establish and maintain architecture standards, reusable engineering patterns, Responsible AI practices, and security controls for enterprise AI solutions, including Generative AI, Large Language Models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, agentic AI, Model Context Protocol, AI-enabled automation, data pipelines, and MLOps capabilities.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML, software, cloud, data engineering, or enterprise architecture.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with Generative AI, LLMs, RAG, agentic AI, model evaluation, or production AI systems.
• Prior federal technology experience involving AI, software engineering, cloud, data, cybersecurity, or application modernization.
• Experience architecting and delivering secure enterprise or federal AI solutions.
• Hands-on experience with APIs, data pipelines, vector databases, AI orchestration, MCP, and MLOps.
• Experience with Federal ATO, NIST RMF, NIST SP 800-53, FISMA Moderate, and FedRAMP environments.
• Experience with Responsible AI, AI security testing, Zero Trust, and Section 508/WCAG accessibility.
• Current verifiable AI, ML, data engineering, or cloud AI certification.
• U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• Eligible for a federal background investigation.
• Able to work onsite in Washington, DC three days per week.
• Mandatory Certification: Must hold at least one current and verifiable AI, Generative AI, machine learning, data engineering, or cloud AI certification from Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, Databricks, Snowflake, NVIDIA, CAIP, or an equivalent recognized provider. Official certificate, public badge, or verifiable credential ID required.

Responsibilities

• Lead secure AI solution architecture, engineering, integration, testing, deployment, and production readiness.
• Architect Generative AI, LLM/RAG, agentic AI, MCP, vector-search, and MLOps solutions.
• Lead AI governance, model evaluation, adversarial testing, Responsible AI, and Federal ATO activities.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership and guidance to engineering teams and stakeholders.

Please apply only if you meet all required qualifications and can provide a current resume and verifiable certification.

Work Location and Schedule

• Primary location: Washington, DC
• Work arrangement: Hybrid
• Three days per week on-site
• Two days per week remote
• Candidates must be available on-site for designated sprint events, program reviews, demonstrations, governance activities, release-readiness meetings, and stakeholder engagements.
• Core availability f is 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
• After-hours availability may be required for critical incident escalation.
• Remote work must be performed within the continental United States.

Citizenship and Suitability

• Must be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a favorable Tier 1 background investigation, formerly NACI.
• Certain privileged or higher-risk duties may require a Moderate- or High-Risk background investigation.
• Must complete required security documentation, confidentiality agreements, Rules of Behavior, mandatory training, and onboarding requirements before receiving system or facility access.

Summary of Benefits

• 15 PTO days
• 11 paid holidays
• Medical Insurance with – 3 options (HSA with $600 Employer Contribution).
• Dental Insurance with no age limit orthodonture.
• Vision Insurance through EyeMed in and out of network coverage.
• Short Term and Long-Term Disability coverage with 100% premium support,
• Life insurance and AD&D with 100% premium support
• Supplemental Life Insurance
• Critical Care and Accident Insurance availability
• Pet Insurance through Nationwide
• Employee Assistance Program
• 401k with enrollment from day one. 4% deferral by company.
• $1500 Annual Training Budget
• $1500 Referral bonus
• Eligibility for annual merit and discretionary bonus
• Flexible work arrangements

Equal Opportunity Employer Minority/Female/Veterans/Disabled

About Swingtech

Swingtech delivers innovative Information Technology and Professional Support services to a diverse range of clients across the federal and intelligence communities. With over 15 years of trusted experience as a systems integrator, we apply agile methodologies and deep industry insight to help our customers achieve greater efficiency, compliance, and cost savings. At Swingtech, we’re committed to excellence and long-term success for our clients and our team.