Creative Software Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC

Enlighten, honored as a Top Workplace from USA Today, is a leader in big data solution development and deployment, with expertise in cloud-based services, software and systems engineering, cyber capabilities, and data science. Enlighten provides continued innovation and proactivity in meeting our customers' greatest challenges. We recognize that the most effective environment for your projects doesn't always look the same. Our hybrid work approach ensures that you can make lasting relationships with your team and collaborate in-person to get the job done-while having the flexibility to work from home when needed to achieve focused results. Why Enlighten? At Enlighten, our team's unwavering work ethic, top talent and celebration of innovative ideas have helped us thrive. We know that our employees are essential to our company's success, so we seek to take care of you as much as you take care of us. Here are a few highlights of our benefits package:
• 100% paid employee premium for healthcare, vision and dental plans.
• 10% 401k benefit. • Generous PTO + 10 paid holidays.
• Education/training allowances. Anticipated Salary Range: $115,199.00 - $145,000.00. The salary range for this role is intended as a good faith estimate based on the role's location, expectations, and responsibilities. When extending an offer, Enlighten takes a variety of factors into consideration which include, but are not limited to, the role's function, internal equity and a candidate's education or training, work experience, certifications and key skills. Occasionally positions/roles may include additional non-recurrent compensation and will be addressed by the recruiter during the interview process. Job Description Enlighten is a cutting-edge technology company that is dedicated to developing innovative software solutions for our clients. We are currently seeking a talented and experienced Software Engineer to join our team to help build foundational AI integration frameworks and agentic platforms. As a Software Engineer focused on AI Integration, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing the agentic platform for our proprietary Data Lake tool, JCRSD. This role is primarily focused on Python-based components and requires strong container orchestration skills to ensure seamless deployment. This role is not focused on training foundational AI models from scratch. Instead, you will take industry best practices, open-source capabilities, and large language models (LLMs), and build a secure, scalable framework that allows our platform to seamlessly leverage AI. You will build Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, reusable AI skills, strict safety guardrails, and coordinate with disparate internal teams to expose their APIs to our autonomous agents. If you are a self-motivated, creative software engineer who loves Python, Kubernetes, and treating AI as a complex software integration problem, we would love to hear from you. #LI-DS1 #Mid-Senior Level Essential Job Responsibilities * Design and develop Python-based components for our core agentic platform. * Deploy, manage, and scale applications within Kubernetes (K8s) environments efficiently right out of the gate. * Build Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and a library of reusable "skills" (function calling/tools) that enable AI agents to safely interact with internal databases, microservices, and external APIs. * Collaborate with cross-functional teams to help them expose their Java-based APIs to our AI agents. * Implement strict enterprise AI guardrails, ensuring data privacy, sensitive data scrubbing, prompt injection defenses, and output validation to meet stringent security requirements. * Maintain an inquisitive nature, responsiveness, and excellent testing skills (including automated testing pipelines for non-deterministic AI outputs). * Possess strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to work under pressure with multiple deadlines in a fast-paced, small-business environment. * Other duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications * Security Clearance - Must obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance, but not required on day one; U.S. Citizenship required. Can also consider candidates with current Secret or TS level clearance. * At least 5 years of experience in Software Engineering, with a strong focus on Python backend development and a Bachelors in related field; 3 years relevant experience with Masters in related field; or High School Diploma or equivalent and 9 years relevant experience. * Kubernetes Proficiency: Demonstrated, hands-on experience deploying and managing containerized workloads in Kubernetes (K8s). * Applied AI Experience: Hands-on experience integrating commercial LLM APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) or open-source models into production backend applications. * AI Concepts: Demonstrated understanding of modern applied AI concepts such as prompt engineering, agents, function-calling/tool-use, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). * Experience in designing enterprise APIs, RESTful web services, and Microservices architecture. * Experience with configuration management tools (e.g., Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker). * Comfortable working on a Linux command line. * Must be able to work in a hybrid environment, spending an average of 1-2 days per week at our Columbia, MD office. Flexibility is essential to adapt to schedule changes as needed. Preferred Requirements * Current Clearances: Active Secret or Top Secret clearances are a strong plus. * Java Interoperability (Plus): Familiarity with Java frameworks (e.g., Spring) or Java-based software capabilities to assist disparate teams in connecting their components to the agent platform. * Familiarity with Python-based AI integration frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, AutoGen). * Experience with Vector Databases, semantic caching, and AI observability tools. * Experience with NiFi, Kafka, and cloud-based infrastructure (AWS, Azure). * Experience in SQL databases (e.g., Postgres, MySQL), distributed databases, or NoSQL databases. * Prior experience or familiarity with Big Data Platforms or Data Lake architectures. * DoD 8140 / 8570 IAT Level II compliance certifications may be required in this position as directed by the customer. We have many more additional great benefits/perks that you can find on our website at www.enlighten.com .