Director of AI Applications

Responsibilities: Lead the development and adoption of an AI-enabled software development lifecycle (SDLC) across engineering teams and delivery programs, establishing consistent practices, tooling, security controls, and quality standards. Define engineering standards covering requirements, architecture, AI-assisted code generation, testing, security, documentation, and accreditation evidence. Ensure consistent implementation across software development teams. Collaborate with infrastructure and platform engineering teams to develop secure, shared capabilities for AI agents, including control mechanisms, agent-to-agent (A2A) communication, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, and operational safeguards. Direct the development of AI applications, intelligent agents, and reusable solution accelerators supporting federal mission requirements, including the creation and management of proprietary intellectual property. Oversee the technical roadmap and lead a multidisciplinary team of engineers with expertise in AI/ML, software engineering, and DevSecOps. Establish and monitor engineering performance metrics, including development cycle times, software quality, rework, cost efficiency, authorization readiness, and mission outcomes. Translate results into measurable value for customer discussions and proposals. Develop AI-driven applications and solutions supporting defense, intelligence, and federal civilian customers, with consideration for deployment as solutions, managed services, or products. Coordinate with platform, cybersecurity, and advanced technology teams to integrate applications with secure cloud infrastructure, MLOps capabilities, secure development pipelines, agent security practices, and emerging technologies. Partner with technical, operational, and business development teams to evaluate mission requirements, market opportunities, and technical feasibility. Support testing and evaluation of developed solutions in mission-relevant environments. Participate in technical assessments of potential acquisitions involving software engineering and application development. Evaluate engineering practices, intellectual property, and technical talent, and support post-acquisition integration of development processes. Serve as a technical leader in engagements with government program offices and senior technology stakeholders, including CIO, CTO, and CDAO organizations. Present technical approaches, solution architectures, and demonstrations. Recruit, mentor, and develop engineering talent capable of delivering secure, mission-focused applications from initial concept through production and accreditation.

Required Qualifications: 12+ years of experience developing and delivering software, including 5+ years supporting mission applications for defense, intelligence, or federal civilian customers. Experience delivering production software at federal scale with applicable accreditation requirements. 8+ years of hands-on experience in modern software engineering, including cloud-native architecture, DevSecOps, CI/CD, APIs, data integration, and full-stack or machine learning application development. Experience leading software architecture, delivery, and operations. 2+ years of experience leading teams incorporating AI into software development, including AI coding agents, LLM-powered applications, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and multi-agent systems. Experience implementing evaluation methods, safeguards, and governance for production AI systems. Experience establishing engineering performance metrics, such as DORA or equivalent measures, and connecting technical performance to business objectives and mission outcomes. Experience guiding software through federal authorization processes, from initial development through Authority to Operate (ATO), preferably including continuous ATO within a software factory environment. Knowledge of federal software acquisition pathways, Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs), Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), software factories, Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), secure-by-design practices, and evolving federal software modernization initiatives. Working knowledge of NIST 800-53, NIST 800-218 (SSDF), FedRAMP, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and OMB M-25-21 and M-25-22 regarding federal AI use and acquisition. Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain experienced engineers while establishing technical standards and practices adopted across multiple teams. Active Secret clearance required.

Preferred Qualifications: Demonstrated expertise in applying AI to the software development lifecycle, supported by technical publications, presentations, established methodologies, or open-source contributions. Experience conducting technical due diligence or supporting post-acquisition integration of software development organizations. Experience developing mission applications involving command and control, intelligence and surveillance, operational logistics, fraud detection, or federal benefits administration. Hands-on software development experience, including writing code, developing reference implementations, and evaluating technology capabilities and vendor solutions. Active TS/SCI preferred; strong candidates may be considered for sponsorship.