$120,000–$180,000
AI Innovation Engineer
Published · Updated
$120,000–$180,000Mclean, VA
Build and demonstrate practical generative AI solutions for public-sector client missions, spanning education, prototyping, and integration with cloud platforms and delivery teams.
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At a glance
Posted base pay
$120K–$180KLevel with the median
Median $150K
This job$120K–$180KTypical mid FDE payMiddle 50% of 99 postings$120K–$162KThe work
Builds what the customer runs
Balance
- Mostly building
- Mixed
- Mostly pre-sales or support
Project stages
- Pre-sales (not covered)
- Proof of concept
- Implementation (not covered)
- Operations (not covered)
- Coding
- Prototypes and scripts
- Builds for
- External customers
- Level
- Mid
- Role
- Individual contributor
What they ask for
Experience
Background
Tools
Less common in FDE jobs
- Coding work: Prototypes and scripts5%
- Responsibility level: Mid5%
- Covers proofs of concept38%
Share of US FDE postings that state each fact.
What you’ll do
- Design and implement AI prototypes and proofs of concept for mission use cases.
- Develop client-specific AI education materials and lead enablement sessions.
- Integrate prototypes with cloud platforms and use RAG frameworks to deliver demos.
- Coordinate with data, platform, architecture, and cybersecurity teams to support adoption.
What you’ll bring
- 3+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, or applied AI/ML.
- Bachelor’s or Master's degree in computer science, AI, ML, or a related field.
- Hands-on experience with GenAI models, RAG frameworks, cloud AI services, and vector databases.
- Strong Python skills for data pipelines, API wrappers, and lightweight demo front-ends.
About Steampunk
Federal technology contractor delivering human-centered digital transformation, cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and data services to government clients.
Unknown
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