Demo

AI Tooling Engineer

Tential Solutions
Rockville, MD Contractor
POSTED ON 9/18/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 10/17/2026
Overview

Architects and builds the infrastructure and tooling that powers AI agent development across the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Develops production-grade agentic systems, orchestration frameworks, and observability solutions that enable teams to build, deploy, and monitor reliable AI agents at scale. Plays a key role in defining and implementing the next generation of SDLC through AI-first innovation and comprehensive instrumentation.

What We’re Looking For

You demonstrate sharp product sense for high-impact automation opportunities, technical taste in implementation decisions, and the ability to clearly articulate trade-offs. You know when to apply AI agent solutions versus simpler approaches and can explain the “why” behind architectural choices.

You excel at 0-to-1 (and 1-to-100) product development, comfortable operating in ambiguous environments where requirements emerge through experimentation and iteration rather than upfront specification.

Key Responsibilities

AI Agent Development & Automation

  • Develop production-grade AI agents that eliminate manual handoffs across the SDLC
  • Create custom integrations and CLI tools that give agents deep understanding of internal systems and codebases
  • Design comprehensive testing strategies to ensure agent reliability and output quality
  • Implement “Golden Path” scaffolding that embeds organizational standards into new projects
  • Build AI solutions that improve codebase navigation, documentation, and developer workflows
  • Identify workflow bottlenecks and deliver measurable impact through intelligent automation
  • Shape SDLC evolution by identifying AI-first opportunities and proving outcomes through experimentation

Agent Infrastructure & Platform

  • Architect and maintain production infrastructure supporting agent deployment, lifecycle management, and scaling
  • Develop agent frameworks, templates, and SDKs that accelerate agent development
  • Create governed Model Context Protocol (MCP) catalog enabling compliant agent-to-agent and agent-to-MCP communication
  • Implement governance controls for agent behavior, permissions, and system access

Observability & Performance Analytics

  • Design and implement metrics, monitoring, and logging infrastructure for AI agents and development workflows
  • Build dashboards that provide actionable insights into developer productivity, tool adoption, and agent performance
  • Establish KPIs and measurement frameworks to quantify the impact of AI-powered automation
  • Create alerting and anomaly detection systems to ensure reliability of agents and tooling
  • Analyze telemetry data to identify optimization opportunities and guide strategic investment decisions

Collaboration & Impact

  • Partner across teams to drive adoption of AI-powered tooling and process transformation
  • Stay current with LLM technologies and coach colleagues on AI-assisted development and automation best practices
  • Rapidly prototype solutions to validate use cases and prove value quickly
  • Communicate data-driven insights to stakeholders through clear visualizations and reports

Preferred Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of software engineering experience building production systems
  • Proven experience building agentic systems using LLM orchestration frameworks
  • Hands-on expertise with AI-powered development tools (code assistants, AI-enhanced editors)
  • Strong foundation in SDLC, system design, and internal tooling development
  • Experience with observability tools and practices including metrics collection, logging frameworks, and dashboard development
  • Full-stack technical proficiency:
  • Languages: Java, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript
  • Frameworks: Angular, Spring Boot
  • CI/CD platforms and cloud infrastructure (AWS)
  • Monitoring/observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch)
  • Passion for transforming software development through AI innovation and data-driven decision making

Hourly Wage Estimation for AI Tooling Engineer in Rockville, MD
$78.00 to $100.00
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