The Senior Principal Software Engineer/Developer – AI serves as a senior, hands-on full-stack AI engineer and technical authority, leading the technical strategy, design, and delivery of large-scale mission-critical AI systems supporting federal programs (e.g., HUD, AIR platform). This role combines senior technical leadership, hands-on expertise in Python-based AI/ML systems (including large language models), and ownership of enterprise architecture, governance, and innovation.

• Serve as the primary technical authority, defining AI and application architecture across multiple programs
• Establish enterprise modernization roadmaps aligned to mission outcomes, compliance, and scalability
• Lead architecture for distributed, cloud-native, and hybrid AI systems
• Define and enforce reference architectures, standards, and reusable frameworks
• Drive cross-program technical decision-making to ensure interoperability, security, and long-term sustainability
• Advise senior federal stakeholders (SES-level and above) on AI adoption, modernization, and risk management
• Lead design, development, and deployment of advanced AI solutions using Python as the primary development language, including large language models (LLMs) and foundation models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, agentic workflows, and orchestration frameworks
• Architect and implement scalable ML systems and services built on Python-based frameworks and APIs
• Build full-stack AI applications end to end, from user-facing interfaces to back-end services, APIs, and data layers
• Integrate AI and LLM capabilities into existing enterprise applications and legacy platforms (e.g., content management, case management, and records systems) via APIs, middleware, and event-driven patterns
• Define and implement distributed training strategies (GPU/TPU clusters, parallelization, optimization)
• Oversee full ML lifecycle in partnership with the Senior Data Scientist: data pipelines, feature engineering, training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring
• Drive model optimization techniques (quantization, distillation, caching) to improve performance and cost
• Establish robust MLOps practices leveraging Python-driven automation, pipelines, and tooling
• Stand up the enterprise CI/CD-to-AI/MLOps pipeline, beginning with time-boxed proofs of concept and MVP implementations that mature into production systems
• Serve as subject matter expert in federal AI policy (e.g., NIST AI RMF, OMB M-25-21 and M-25-22, Executive Order 14179)
• Define and operationalize Responsible AI frameworks, including model validation and evaluation, bias mitigation and fairness, and explainability, auditability, and safety
• Ensure compliance with FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, privacy, and Section 508 requirements
• Lead large-scale modernization initiatives (e.g., legacy-to-cloud, microservices transformation, including Python-based refactoring and re-platforming efforts)
• Define repeatable modernization frameworks and accelerators
• Oversee DevSecOps pipelines, CI/CD automation, zero-trust architectures, and secure software supply chain practices
• Ensure delivery of resilient, high-availability systems in regulated federal environments
• Lead multiple concurrent engineering efforts across integrated teams
• Provide technical leadership to architects, engineers, and DevSecOps specialists, including establishing Python coding standards and engineering best practices
• Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders; elevate engineering excellence and code quality
• Support technical strategy in proposals, captures, and client engagements
• Contribute to thought leadership (whitepapers, architecture patterns, platform strategy)
• Expert-level proficiency in Python, including building large-scale AI/ML systems, APIs, and data pipelines
• Full-stack engineering skills, including front-end frameworks, back-end services, RESTful APIs, microservices, and cloud-native deployment (e.g., containers, Kubernetes)
• Deep expertise in machine learning and deep learning, particularly transformer-based models and LLMs
• Hands-on experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX) and distributed training (DeepSpeed, FSDP, Horovod)
• Proven ability to integrate AI capabilities into existing and legacy enterprise systems (e.g., legacy CMS or COTS platforms) using APIs, middleware, connectors, and event-driven architectures
• Strong understanding of large-scale data systems and ML evaluation methodologies
• Experience working with sensitive data, including PII safeguards such as anonymization, masking, and data loss prevention
• Experience with enterprise integration technologies, including REST/SOAP services, message queues, ETL pipelines, and SQL/NoSQL databases
• Expertise designing AI systems in cloud-native, distributed environments across AWS, Azure, and GCP
• Proficiency with managed generative AI services (e.g., AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI Service, Google Vertex AI) and integrating frontier models such as GPT, Claude, and Gemini
• Hands-on experience with LLM application stacks, including orchestration frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel), embeddings, vector databases, and prompt engineering
• Executive communication skills with experience influencing senior leaders
• Demonstrated ability to own solutions end to end — from discovery and prototyping through production deployment, integration, and ongoing support
• Ability to balance strategic vision with deep hands-on technical execution

• US. Citizenship required
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• 12–15+ years of software engineering experience, including significant leadership responsibility
• 8+ years of applied AI/ML experience, including building and deploying production systems (LLMs, generative AI, and large-scale or distributed model systems) Expert-level Python development experience, including designing production-grade ML systems, data pipelines, and microservices-based architectures
• Deep experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP), including FedRAMP environments
• Experience with AI platforms and architectures (e.g., AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI Service, Google Vertex AI, RAG, agents)
• Proven success delivering enterprise-scale systems and modernization programs
• Strong background in microservices, APIs, distributed systems, and DevSecOps practices
• Experience managing GPU-based infrastructure or high-performance ML environments
• Demonstrated ability to translate AI research into production system
• Active clearance (Public Trust, Secret, or higher) preferred
• Experience with HUD or federal civilian agencies preferred

 

The below listed pay range for this position is not a guarantee of compensation or salary. The final offered salary will be influenced by a host of factors including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications. Our employees value the flexibility at Pyramid Systems that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives. We offer competitive compensation, benefits, to include our Employee Stock Ownership Program, FlexPTO, and learning and development opportunities.

USD $166,091.00/Yr.

USD $210,000.00/Yr.

Pyramid Systems, Inc. is an award-winning, technology leader, driving digital transformation across federal agencies. We empower forward-thinking innovations, accelerate production-ready software, and deliver secure solutions so federal agencies can meet their mission goals. Voted a Top Workplace, both regionally (Washington, DC) and Nationally (USA) the past 2 years (2023 and 2024) based on the feedback from our employees, we are headquartered in Fairfax, VA. and have a growing national footprint. We value and promote our Flexible Workplace approach because of the positive impacts it has on work-life integration. We remain committed to ensuring every employee’s voice is heard, performance and results are recognized and rewarded, development and advancement is a focus, and diversity, equity and inclusion is a company priority. We offer competitive compensation and benefits (including a recently launched Employee Stock Ownership Plan - ESOP), a robust performance-based rewards program, and we know how to have fun! Our people and culture have endured and delivered for our clients for nearly three decades.

Pyramid Systems, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.