Lead DevOps Engineer (AI/ML Ops)

Description

Drive the future of secure, scalable, mission-critical AI/ML systems.

Prime Solutions Group (PSG), Inc. is seeking a Lead DevOps Engineer (AI/ML Ops) to architect, automate, and operate advanced ML pipelines and platforms that power next-generation defense and national security AI systems. In this hybrid leadership role, you will serve as both a senior technical expert and a hands-on engineering lead—guiding MLOps strategy, mentoring engineers, and driving execution across high-impact AI/ML programs.

You will integrate ML engineering, data engineering, and DevSecOps practices to build secure, scalable, fully automated ML ecosystems for both cloud and on-premise environments. This role extends PSG’s DevSecOps foundation with ML-specific tooling and governance, including experiment tracking, model registries, monitoring, drift detection, automated retraining, and performance optimization.

This is a high-visibility opportunity to deliver enterprise-scale AI/ML platforms and directly contribute to U.S. national security while shaping PSG’s long-term MLOps capabilities.

Responsibilities Include

• Lead the design, implementation, and management of ML-focused CI/CD pipelines across development, test, staging, and production environments.
• Integrate MLOps best practices into existing DevSecOps workflows, including:
  • Data quality and schema validation
  • Model validation and promotion gates
  • Drift and performance monitoring
• Oversee secure Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP) for ML and data workloads.
• Architect and maintain ML training and inference platforms, including experiment tracking, model registries, and automated retraining pipelines.
• Mentor and guide engineers in automation, observability, and security-first MLOps and DevSecOps practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (data science, software, cybersecurity, IT, systems) to ensure ML systems are reliable, secure, and high-performing.
• Lead technical risk assessments and incident response efforts for ML and data platforms.
• Stay current on emerging MLOps, data engineering, and AI platform technologies; recommend new tools and methods.
• Serve in a hybrid role as:
  • Senior technical contributor on MLOps architecture and implementation
  • Team lead for MLOps initiatives and platform development efforts
• Contribute hands-on to pipeline/orchestration code, infrastructure definitions, and monitoring/alerting configuration.
• Apply engineering principles to resolve complex issues across ML, data, security, and operations.
• Evaluate ethical, operational, and mission considerations when deploying AI/ML systems.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship (Required).
• Active Top-Secret Clearance or higher.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
• 5–9 years experience in:
  • MLOps / ML platform engineering
  • DevOps/DevSecOps/SRE supporting ML workloads
  • Data engineering integrating ML pipelines
  • Applied ML in production environments
• Strong proficiency with CI/CD tools (GitLab CI, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, etc.).
• Hands-on experience with IaC (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation).
• Expertise with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Strong experience with Python and ML frameworks (NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Experience with orchestration tools (Airflow, Kubeflow, Prefect, Dagster).
• Experience integrating security scanning, governance, and compliance frameworks into ML workflows.
• Strong scripting skills (Python, Bash, Go, or similar).
• Demonstrated leadership experience—technical mentorship, leading projects, or team oversight.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey ML system behavior and trade-offs to diverse stakeholders.
  

Preferred Skills / Experience

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Additional security or cloud certifications (CISSP, AWS ML Specialty, CKA/CKS, etc.).
• Experience implementing Zero Trust, advanced observability (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/EFK), or OpenTelemetry.
• Experience with:
  • Feature stores
  • Data validation frameworks (Great Expectations)
  • Data governance and lineage tooling
  • Policy-as-code (OPA, Kyverno)
• Prior experience supporting defense, aerospace, or government-secured AI/ML programs.
• Experience designing/operating mission-critical AI/ML systems with high throughput, high availability, and rigorous monitoring.
  

Why You’ll Want to Join PSG

At PSG, you’re not just taking on a role—you’re shaping the future of AI/ML-enabled digital engineering. You will work in a small-company environment where your ideas matter, while supporting some of the most advanced national security programs in the country. We offer:

• Competitive compensation & benefits
• Professional development & tuition assistance
• Collaborative, mission-driven culture
• Direct impact on high-visibility AI/ML government programs

Bring your AI/MLOps leadership to PSG and help build the next generation of secure, intelligent, data-driven enterprise and mission platforms.

Salary Description

Salary range starts at $116,806 with the potential for higher compensation based on experience, skills, and mission needs.

Salary : $116,806 - $158,664