{"id":712895,"url":"https://alion.io/job/darkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert","title":"AI Software Engineer - Expert","company":{"id":716229,"name":"Dark Wolf Solutions","domain":"darkwolf.io","url":"https://alion.io/company/darkwolf","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":94,"open_postings":12,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.25,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":55,"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"}},"role":"AI/ML","role_family":"AI/ML","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"contractor","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Chantilly, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":165000,"max":200000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":200000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":7,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Knowledge Distillation","optional":false},{"name":"Kubernetes","optional":false},{"name":"LLM","optional":false},{"name":"Machine Learning","optional":false},{"name":"Model Distillation","optional":false},{"name":"Multi-Agent Systems","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Quantization","optional":false},{"name":"RAG","optional":false},{"name":"Scrum","optional":false},{"name":"Service Mesh","optional":false},{"name":"Terraform","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-18T16:51:30Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-24","last_verified_at":"2026-10-18T09:33:36Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":60,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":60},"description":"Dark Wolf constructs and deploys data management and analytics solutions for the defense and intelligence communities. We’re proud to boast a world-class engineering team that thrives on rolling up their sleeves to solve your mission’s biggest challenges.\nDark Wolf is seeking an AI Software Engineer - Expert to lead the technical architecture, optimization, and implementation of high-throughput AI platforms. You will be responsible for building complex agentic LLM workflows, optimizing model performance for resource-constrained environments, managing multi-cloud architecture, and driving software engineering best practices across development pods.\nKey Responsibilities\nLead the architectural execution and implementation of enterprise AI applications and complex agent workflows.\nOptimize model inference speed, memory efficiency, and quantization techniques for air-gapped deployments.\nDesign resilient multi-cloud container infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tooling.\nEstablish security scanning frameworks and lead vulnerability remediation efforts across production systems.\nServe as a technical lead, driving Agile sprint deliverables, managing technical debt, and mentoring engineering teams.\nRequired Qualifications:\nClearance: Must be a US Citizen holding an active TS/SCI security clearance with an active Full-Scope Polygraph.\n Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field (Master’s degree preferred).\nExperience: 7-10+ years of software engineering and systems architecture experience, with demonstrated leadership.\nTechnical Competencies:\nAI Frameworks: Advanced knowledge of RAG architectures, framework customization, and orchestration strategies.\nAI Models: Expertise in model quantization, distillation, and custom multi-agent system design.\nMachine Learning: Extensive experience with MLOps pipeline automation, model inference optimization, and deployment lifecycle.\nProgramming & Scripting: High-level mastery of Python, C++, Go, and asynchronous programming design.\nContainerization: Deep experience with Kubernetes cluster management, service mesh integration, and orchestration.\nAgile Frameworks: Proven experience acting as a Technical Pod Lead or Scrum Master driving development execution.\nMulti-Cloud Architecture: Multi-cloud systems architecture experience using Terraform and cloud-native frameworks.\nSecurity Scanning Tooling: Expert knowledge of DevSecOps security integrations, compliance checks, and remediation strategies.\nDesired Qualifications:\nAdvanced Certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).\nProven track record deploying complex AI models in classified, air-gapped intelligence networks.\n\nPosition Clearance Requirement: \nUS Citizenship with an active TS/SCI security clearance with Full-Scope Polygraph\n\nLocation: Chantilly/Herndon, VA. \nTarget Salary Range: $165,000.00 - $200,000.00 (Commensurate with specialized expertise and technical skillset).\nEqual Opportunity Employer:\nWe are proud to be an EEO/AA employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled and other protected categories. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity, confirm US Citizenship, and complete the required employment eligibility verification upon hire.\nWe are strictly looking for direct, full-time W2 employees. We do not engage with third-party staffing agencies, C2C, or 1099 independent contractors for this role.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3580,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":7,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Information Security","DevSecOps","Managed Security","Custom Software Development"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T05:11:58Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":42,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.758,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":59,"expected_fill_days":55,"reasons":["conf:1","velocity","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":200000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/darkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/darkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-18T10:30:34Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":15544,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-19T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":716229},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=716229"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fdarkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fdarkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fdarkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/darkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fdarkwolfsolutions-ai-software-engineer-expert"}]}