Principal AI/ML Engineer

About the role

You will help shape the long-term AI/ML technical vision for the organization, guide high-impact R&D initiatives, and lead the development of advanced autonomy, perception, analytics, and generative AI capabilities. You will be responsible for setting technical direction across multiple simultaneous efforts, defining architectural standards, and ensuring that JTF Sierra’s prototypes and initiatives represent industry-leading innovation.

Responsibilities

• Translate broad mission objectives into program-level AI/ML architectures, strategies, staffing plans, data approaches, and technical frameworks.
• Drive system-level AI/ML decision-making by establishing technical standards and guiding engineering trade studies that shape platform-level autonomy and perception capabilities.
• Identify and champion high-value R&D opportunities, emerging technologies, and cross-organizational partnerships that accelerate SNC’s AI/ML advancements.
• Provide deep technical consultation across JTF Sierra and adjacent Business Unit product lines, ensuring architectural coherence and consistent technical excellence.
• Ensure AI/ML solutions are architected for scalability and seamless integration with enterprise-wide platforms.
• Collaborate with IT and infrastructure teams to define and implement the necessary tools, data pipelines, and computing resources to support sustainable AI/ML operations across the organization.
• Balance program-specific AI/ML solution development with the strategic creation of reusable frameworks, shared data assets, and foundational infrastructure that enable cross-program and enterprise-wide AI/ML adoption.
• Lead design and technical direction for next-generation architectures spanning deep learning, reinforcement learning, multimodal generative AI, and advanced perception/decision systems.
• Architect and oversee end-to-end multi-program AI/ML systems across platforms and embedded systems.
• Aid in the development of long-term technical strategies, roadmaps, and requirements for emerging AI/ML initiatives.
• Identify, define, and advocate for the foundational data, compute, MLOps, and cloud/on-prem infrastructure necessary to support sustainable and secure AI/ML development and deployment across JTF Sierra and related business units.
• Establish and promote best practices for the full AI/ML lifecycle—including data management, model versioning, CI/CD for ML, monitoring, and continuous improvement—to ensure reliable deployment and operation of AI/ML models in production.
• Oversee multiple development streams, providing technical reviews, risk assessments, and mitigation plans.
• Shape system-level behavior and engineering tradeoffs when requirements are ambiguous.
• Lead development of simulations, sensor fusion models, vision models, and planning/decision algorithms.
• Represent JTF Sierra to leadership, customers, and partners (assist in developing and presenting briefings, demos, high-level technical presentations, etc).
• Establish adaptive, agile AI/ML validation, verification, and safety frameworks for proof-of-concept level mission-critical systems.
• Evaluate and introduce emerging technologies (examples: transformers, RLHF, edge AI, XAI, GPU acceleration).
• Partner with Program Manager and Project Engineer to define staffing, data, schedules, and resources required to execute JTF Sierra technical initiatives.
• Coach and develop engineering talent, raising JTF Sierra’s overall AI/ML capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, Statistics, or related STEM field.
• 14+ years of experience in AI/ML or related fields, or 16+ years without a degree.
• Demonstrated mastery of deep learning, reinforcement learning, generative models, and large-scale AI/ML system architecture.
• Proven experience architecting and deploying mission-critical and/or large-scale AI/ML systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python, C++, C#, and/or Java with experience building scalable Machine Learning systems.
• Ability to define technical strategies, influence senior stakeholders, and make organization-level architecture decisions.
• In-depth experience with aerospace/defense-relevant regulatory and cybersecurity considerations.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and grow engineering talent within an organization.

Essential Functions

• Define and lead complex AI/ML projects across multiple programs.
• Collaborate in a hybrid environment while supporting rapid demonstration timelines.
• Travel 10-30% for R&D, customer and partner engagement, field testing, and conferences.