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NEXTMOVEFDE careers · United States
Carnegie Mellon University

AI Engineer - Mission Innovation Lab

AI summary of the role

This AI Engineer role at Carnegie Mellon University's SEI AI Division Mission Innovation Lab focuses on translating deep-learning research into production-grade, mission-scale AI solutions for defense and national security.

No longer in the current catalog. Last included 2026-09-09. Check the employer’s posting for availability.

What you’ll do

  • Design, develop, and fine-tune AI models including autonomous agents and multi-step pipelines using LangChain, ReAct, and tool-calling.
  • Build Retrieval-Augmented Generation pipelines combining external knowledge bases with LLMs for warfighting applications.
  • Implement end-to-end data pipelines, ETL processes, and back-end services (Python, C/C++, Java).
  • Create CI/CD pipelines for model training, validation, containerized deployment (Docker/Kubernetes), and security scanning.

What you’ll bring

  • Bachelor's degree in CS, ML, Statistics, Applied Math or related field with 8+ years experience, or MS with 5+ years.
  • Proficiency in Python and at least one compiled language (C/C++ or Java); experience with REST/GraphQL APIs and containerization.
  • Hands-on experience fine-tuning LLMs using Hugging Face Transformers, LangChain, or comparable agent tools.
  • Experience building RAG pipelines (vector stores, dense/sparse retrievers) and applying PEFT/LoRA methods.

Technologies

Python · C/C++ · Java · LangChain · Hugging Face Transformers · PyTorch · TensorFlow · JAX · Docker · Kubernetes · RAG · LoRA

Source and classification

Internal deployment & tooling · Evidence for this classification:

At the SEI AI Division, we conduct research in applied artificial intelligence and the engineering questions related to the practical design and implementation of AI technologies and systems. We currently lead a community-wide movement to mature the discipline of AI Engineering for Defense and National Security. As our government customers adopt AI and machine learning to provide leap-ahead mission capabilities, we build real-world, mission-scale AI capabilities through solving practical engineering problems discover and define the processes, practices, and tools to support operationalizing AI for robust, secure, scalable, and human-centered mission capabilities prepare our customers to be ready for the unique challenges of adopting, deploying, using, and maintaining AI capabilities identify and investigate emerging AI and AI-adjacent technologies that are rapidly transforming the
More from the job description

At the SEI AI Division, we conduct research in applied artificial intelligence and the engineering questions related to the practical design and implementation of AI technologies and systems. We currently lead a community-wide movement to mature the discipline of AI Engineering for Defense and National Security. As our government customers adopt AI and machine learning to provide leap-ahead mission capabilities, we build real-world, mission-scale AI capabilities through solving practical engineering problems discover and define the processes, practices, and tools to support operationalizing AI for robust, secure, scalable, and human-centered mission capabilities prepare our customers to be ready for the unique challenges of adopting, deploying, using, and maintaining AI capabilities identify and investigate emerging AI and AI-adjacent technologies that are rapidly transforming the technology landscape Are you creative, curious, energetic, collaborative, technology-focused, and hard-working? Are you interested in making a difference by bringing innovation to government organizations and beyond? Apply to join our team. Overview As an AI Engineer who thrives at the intersection of deep‑learning research and production‑grade software development, you will translate cutting‑edge AI concepts into robust, mission‑scale solutions for the warfighting community. You will work com [... source excerpt omitted ...] y and advance traditional ML research and engineering across domains such as natural language processing, computer vision, time series forecasting, and other predictive analytics. You will collaborate closely with senior researchers, software engineers, and government sponsors to define problem statements, iterate on experimental designs, and deliver secure, reliable AI capabilities that meet stringent mission requirements. The Mission Innovation Lab within the SEI’s AI Division works with the defense and national security community to translate the “recently possible” in AI into reliable mission and warfighting capabilities. Key Responsibilities Design, develop, and fine‑tune [... source excerpt omitted ...] rapid prototypes, run benchmarks, and conduct robustness/adversarial testing in realistic environments. Work closely with senior ML engineers, software developers, and government customers; mentor junior staff and contribute to design reviews and documentation. Stay current with emerging LLM architectures, agentic paradigms, PEFT/LoRA methods, and AI‑safety techniques; translate new research into operational capabilities. Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field with at least eight (8) years of relevant experience, or a MS degree in the same with at least five (5) years of relevant exp

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