GridironIT is seeking a Generative AI Technical Lead local to the Bethesda, MD area. 
Hybrid work is required. 
Ability to obtain a clearance is required. 

The Opportunity: 

Our Digital Battlespace team is seeking an experienced Technical Lead to develop next-gen Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities for the DoD. Our team combines expertise in AI development and mission landscape to create GenAI products that advance the DoD's critical missions.

This role will be responsible for driving the design and implementation of Defense products across our Digital Battlespace portfolio including establishing technical vision, defining architecture and design, executing and guiding technical delivery activities, and collaborating with product stakeholders to deliver high-impact pilots and maturing them into mature products. You'll work with warfighters across command and control (C2), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Special Missions to deliver GenAI-based products that support DoD mission goals.

What you’ll do:

• Own technical vision: Establish and own the technical vision for product development efforts across the Digital Battlespace portfolio including solution architecture, delivery practices and processes, technical implementation approach, and technology selection.

• Deliver production systems: Deliver technical implementations into live, operational environments through both technical leadership and hands on development.

• Collaborate with stakeholders: Work directly with Product partners and Digital Battlespace leadership to influence the trajectory of product efforts, and engage with clients to ensure products are meeting desired mission objectives.

• Establish delivery processes: Define robust software development practices that lead to the successful delivery of resilient customer facing solutions.

• Enforce quality standards: Establish high standards for software implementation and ensure compliance through robust processes, feedback, and mentorship.

• Evaluate performance: Leverage metrics, KPIs, and OKRs to evaluate the performance, effectiveness, and impact of delivery processes, iterating and optimizing based on feedback and results.

• Mentor engineers: Provide career development and coaching to technical staff by establishing trusted relationships, engaging directly with junior staff, contributing to a culture of learning, documenting lessons learned, and championing the adoption of best practices.

You Have:

• 5 years of experience building scalable, production Machine Learning systems spanning requirements analysis, design, planning, implementation, testing, and deployment

• 5 years of experience writing production software in Java, Scala, or Python and deploying production workloads using cloud managed services including AWS, GCP, or Azure

• 2 years of experience with DevOps, containerization, and orchestration tools including CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and Kubernetes

• Experience writing data processing pipelines using SQL, Spark, Kafka, or Flink

• Knowledge of software development best practices and design patterns

• Knowledge of Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) processes and associated technical concerns

• Ability to produce high quality narrative documents

• Ability to balance technical tradeoffs

• Ability to obtain a security clearance

• Bachelor’s degree

Nice to Have:

• Experience managing engineering teams and growing technical staff

• Experience with Generative AI

• Experience with developing products for the DoD, specifically in the domains of ISR and electronic warfare, Special Operations/Missions, and Command and Control

• Experience bringing products into the federal market, specifically bringing products to the DoD or the IC

• Possession of excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Secret clearance

• Master’s degree

• Solutions Architecture certification, such as AWS CSA or Azure Solutions Architect), Cloud Machine Learning certification, such as AWS Machine Learning, Azure Data Scientist Associate, or Databricks Certified Machine Learning Professional

Clearance:

Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.