Contract Software Engineer Remote Jobs in Virginia

The AI Software Engineer is responsible for building, integrating, and maintaining AI-driven automation solutions that improve operational efficiency across multiple business units. Working closely with the AI Solutions Architect, this role translates solution designs into production-ready software, APIs, and platform integrations. The AI Software Engineer operates with a security-first mindset, ensuring all code, integrations, and deployments meet the organization's security standards and regulatory obligations. This role is hands-on and delivery-focused, requiring strong software engineering fundamentals combined with practical experience in AI/ML tooling and modern cloud platforms. 
Key Responsibilities 
Software Development and Integration 

• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered automation tools, workflows, and integrations that serve cross-functional business needs.
• Build and maintain APIs, microservices, and data pipelines that connect AI capabilities to business applications and platforms.
• Implement and configure commercial AI/automation platforms where build vs. buy decisions favor adoption over custom development.
• Write clean, well-documented, testable code following established engineering standards and best practices. 

AI and Automation Implementation 

• Develop and fine-tune AI models, prompts, and automation workflows to address specific operational bottlenecks identified by business units.
• Integrate large language models, machine learning frameworks, and AI services into enterprise applications and workflows.
• Build internal tools and interfaces that enable non-technical teams to leverage AI capabilities effectively.
• Continuously evaluate and incorporate emerging AI tools and techniques to improve solution quality and delivery speed. 

Security-First Development 

• Embed security principles into all phases of the software development lifecycle, including secure coding practices, input validation, authentication, and authorization controls.
• Conduct code reviews with a focus on identifying and remediating security vulnerabilities.
• Ensure all AI integrations, API endpoints, and data flows are designed with least-privilege access, encryption in transit and at rest, and proper logging and monitoring.
• Collaborate with cloud security and compliance teams to validate that deployments meet CMMC, NIST SP 800 series, DFARS, and other applicable regulatory requirements.
• Support secure deployment practices including infrastructure-as-code, container security, and CI/CD pipeline hardening. 

Platform and Infrastructure Support 

• Deploy and manage solutions across cloud and hybrid environments (Azure, AWS, or GCP) following organizational security and architectural standards.
• Monitor application performance, reliability, and security posture in production environments.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues across the full stack, from data layer to user-facing applications. 

Collaboration and Documentation 

• Partner with the AI Solutions Architect to refine solution designs and ensure technical feasibility.
• Participate in business unit meetings to understand requirements, demonstrate progress, and gather feedback.
• Maintain comprehensive technical documentation including architecture diagrams, API specifications, runbooks, and deployment procedures.
• Contribute to the development of reusable components, libraries, and patterns that accelerate future solution delivery.

Qualifications 

US Citizenship Required Must possess and be able to maintain a Secret Clearance. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline. 
• A minimum of four years of progressive experience in software engineering, with at least two years of hands-on experience building AI/ML-powered applications or automation solutions. 
• Strong proficiency in modern programming languages such as Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, or Go. 
• Demonstrated experience building and deploying APIs, microservices, and cloud-native applications. 
• Practical experience with AI/ML frameworks, large language model integration, or automation platform development. 
• Familiarity with secure software development practices and experience operating in regulated environments with compliance frameworks such as CMMC, NIST SP 800 series, DFARS, or equivalent. 
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and infrastructure-as-code tools. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Five or more years of software engineering experience with a focus on AI/automation. 
• Experience in the government contracting or defense sector. 
• Hands-on experience with LLM APIs, prompt engineering, RAG architectures, and AI agent frameworks. 
• Experience with container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker), CI/CD pipelines, and DevSecOps practices. 
• Familiarity with data engineering concepts including ETL pipelines, data warehousing, and streaming architectures. 
• Relevant certifications in cloud platforms, AI/ML, or security are desirable. 

What We Offer 

• The salary range for this role is $140,000 to $170,000 commensurate with experience and qualifications. 
• Opportunity for remote work. 
• A competitive salary and benefits package. 
• A casual, friendly, and relaxed work environment. 
• Professional growth encouragement and support. 

Industrial Security Integrators, LLC ("IsI") is an equal opportunity employer committed to affirmative action and diversity in the workplace. It is the policy of IsI to provide Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) to Employees and Applicants, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, citizenship status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status or disability or any other factor protected by law and to provide advancement opportunities for minorities, women, disabled individuals, and veterans. IsI is stronger and more effective when our workforce includes highly qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and traditions. 

IsI Enterprises does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters orthird partyrecruiting agencies in response to job postings or otherwise. Placement fees will not be paid to any recruiter unless IsI has an active agreement in place with the recruiter and such a request has been made by the IsI hiring team and such candidate wassubmittedto the IsI hiring team via our Applicant Tracking System. Any unsolicited resumes or other datasubmittedto IsI in violation of this policy may be used by IsI without obligation to pay any fees of any kind to the recruiter.