Applied AI Lead - Solutions & Delivery

Job ID: 115204

About the Role

Turn “I wish AI could…” into working capability. We treat AI as a first-class citizen at Airborne & Intelligence Systems (AIS). We build and deploy AI across signals intelligence, electronic warfare, air combat training, and the mission systems that connect them. This work shows up on our floor, in the field, and on the company's P&L, while meeting the demanding standards of our defense and commercial customers.

You will identify real opportunities for AI by engaging directly with engineering desks, the shop floor, and the back office. This is not a job where requirements are clean and arrive on a ticket—you find meaningful work yourself. Your contributions are visible, and your entire org is rated on them. You listen for the wish beneath the request, break the work into concrete steps, determine where AI fits, and build and ship the first working version. Before you leave, you train the user to own it so the win stays. Everything you ship becomes a reusable pattern that accelerates future projects.

At the heart of this function is a proprietary platform that encodes how this business does AI. It takes any employee from a rough idea to a governed, well-formed use case, checks it against the rules, and prepares a recommendation for human decision-makers. You don’t just use this platform—you feed and build it. You are its primary source of truth from the field, and every use case you ship becomes a reusable pattern proposed back into the system.

This is a high-impact, founding individual-contributor role within the technical core of the AI Excellence function, offering meaningful end-to-end ownership. You report directly to top leadership, providing outsize visibility, opportunities for personal growth, and a direct line to impact.

Responsibilities

• Discover the real work: Sit with practitioners—from senior engineers with multiple patents or PhDs to non-technical business users—to surface the actual step-by-step process beneath vague “AI should do this” requests.
• Break it down: Decompose work into small, clear units; identify where AI fits and where it doesn’t; wire each step to a real source of truth.
• Ship it: Own pilots from first conversation to production hand-off, delivering a working solution into the hands of the people who need it.
• Leave it running: Train a local owner and deputize champions so the capability spreads without adding headcount.
• Make the system smarter: Turn each project into a reusable pattern that improves the shared AI platform for everyone after you.

Requirements

• 5+ years of engineering or operational delivery experience (regardless of total years of experience), including 3+ years shipping applied AI/ML, with recent hands-on work using modern large-language-model tools.
• A demonstrated record of shipping and operating production capability—not research or demos. You can walk us through at least two systems, including what broke and what you’d do differently.
• At least one of those systems was built where no team, no spec, and no predecessor system existed—and it was still in use after you moved on.
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous, real-world work into scoped, measurable pieces, flagging risks unprompted.
• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience or an equivalent combination of both. Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related technical field is preferred.
• Five years of relevant experience (or an equivalent combination of experience and training that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities).
• Proficient technical expertise with demonstrated application.
• Excellent interpersonal, leadership, negotiation, communication, and writing skills.
• U.S. Citizenship required. This position requires an active DOD security clearance or the ability to obtain such clearance within a reasonable time after commencement of employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Forward-deployed or embedded delivery experience with non-technical or highly technical, initially skeptical users.
• A track record of training or deputizing others who kept delivering after you left.
• Defense, manufacturing, or regulated-industry domain experience (operations, quality, inspection).
• Active or prior security clearance.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Company contribution to a health savings account.
• Telemedicine, life and disability insurance, and legal insurance.
• 401(k) savings plan.
• Wellness programs focusing on physical, emotional, and financial well-being.
• Professional development and skill enhancement programs.
• Flexible work schedules with a 9/80 program.
• Competitive vacation, health/emergency leave, and paid parental leave.
• Community service hours.

Some employees are eligible for limited benefits only.