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Defense Startup Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

micro1 AI

AI Systems Engineer - Defense

Reston, VA · On-site +1

$40 - $60/hr

Prior experience at a startup, defense organization, Department of War, or government-focused technology company. * Background operating in fast-moving startup environments, mission-critical ...

micro1 AI

AI Systems Engineer - Defense

Ashburn, VA · On-site +1

$40 - $60/hr

Prior experience at a startup, defense organization, Department of War, or government-focused technology company. * Background operating in fast-moving startup environments, mission-critical ...

micro1 AI

AI Systems Engineer - Defense

Arlington, VA · On-site +1

$40 - $60/hr

Prior experience at a startup, defense organization, Department of War, or government-focused technology company. * Background operating in fast-moving startup environments, mission-critical ...

micro1 AI

AI Systems Engineer - Defense

Mclean, VA · On-site +1

$40 - $60/hr

Prior experience at a startup, defense organization, Department of War, or government-focused technology company. * Background operating in fast-moving startup environments, mission-critical ...

Shift5

Field Engineer

Arlington, VA · On-site +1

$120K - $160K/yr

We deliver cybersecurity, predictive maintenance, and compliance capabilities that enable defense ... Comfort operating in a fast-paced, startup and mission-driven environment. * Willingness to travel ...

Nooks

Site Lead

Arlington, VA · On-site

... environments for the defense and national security community. We work with the agencies ... While you'll have clear ownership over your core responsibilities, startup life means priorities ...

Sphinx Defense

Senior Program Manager

Chantilly, VA · On-site

$118K - $119K/yr

Founded by engineers and technologists with deep experience across commercial and defense ... projects (Startup, design, development, integration and delivery) * Experience with DoW space ...

Shift5

Strategic Account Executive, Navy

Arlington, VA · On-site +1

$160K - $190K/yr

We deliver cybersecurity, predictive maintenance, and compliance capabilities that enable defense ... Experience working across both government and industry (prime, integrator, or startup)

Nooks

Site Lead

Arlington, VA · On-site

While you'll have clear ownership over your core responsibilities, startup life means priorities ... Represent Nooks externally at defense industry days, local government forums, and security ...

Sedaro

Senior Contracts Manager

Arlington, VA · On-site

Ability to obtain a TS security clearance required Who We Are Sedaro is a fast-growing startup building the world's most scalable cloud-native modeling and simulation platform for aerospace, defense ...

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TekSky

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Hampton, VA · On-site

$101K - $133K/yr

At Advanced Aircraft Company (AAC), we design and manufacture high-performance VTOL unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for defense and commercial applications. As a fast-paced, veteran-owned startup, we ...

Darksaber Labs

DSP Engineer

Alexandria, VA · On-site

$120K - $200K/yr

About Darksaber Labs A new Defense Tech startup focused on building next gen EW systems. About the role * Lead and build out a signal processing pipeline for multiple technologies. What you'll do

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AI Systems Engineer - Defense

AI Systems Engineer - Defense

micro1 AI

Reston, VA • On-site, Remote

$40 - $60/hr

Part-time

Medical, Retirement, PTO

Posted yesterday

Job description

Job Title: Forward Deployed Engineer, U.S. Government


Job Type: Full-time


Location: Hybrid - Washington, D.C.


The Role

We’re hiring an MTS to work on applied AI systems across research and production. This role spans model experimentation, infrastructure, and deployment in high-assurance, mission-critical environments, including forward-deployed work with strategic partners to ensure mission success.


What You’ll Work On

  1. Build and deploy agentic AI systems that support high-impact U.S. Government missions from prototype to production.
  2. Design and integrate LLM applications, including multi-agent systems, tool-using agents, RAG workflows, and human-in-the-loop autonomy.
  3. Work directly with government partners in forward-deployed environments to translate mission needs into technical systems.
  4. Build and maintain large-scale data curation, and evaluation pipelines for model training and improvement.
  5. Develop infrastructure for model inference, experimentation, evaluation, and deployment across frontier AI platforms.
  6. Build AI systems that turn mission data, models, and tools into real operational autonomy.
  7. Own systems across the full lifecycle, including discovery, architecture, implementation, deployment, reliability, security, and iteration.


What We're Looking For

  1. Able to operate independently in ambiguous, partner-facing settings with technical and operational ownership.
  2. Strong Python engineer with end-to-end ownership experience.
  3. Experience with LLMs and creating agentic systems.
  4. Built or maintained data pipelines / ML infrastructure.
  5. Familiar with RL workflows or simulation environments.
  6. Comfortable in high-security / high-reliability environments.


Preferred Qualifications

  1. Active U.S. security clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain one.
  2. Experience supporting U.S. Government, defense, intelligence, or national security missions.
  3. Prior experience at a startup, defense organization, Department of War, or government-focused technology company.
  4. Background operating in fast-moving startup environments, mission-critical government settings, or both.


Compensation & Benefits Notice

All employees are eligible for equity compensation, and employees may also receive performance-based bonuses, dependent on role and subject to company policies. micro1 provides a comprehensive benefits package, including up to 100% reimbursement for health-insurance premiums, paid time off, a 401(K) plan with a company match, and additional benefits designed to support a high-performing, remote-first workforce.


micro1 is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, reach out to support@micro1.ai.


Our hiring process utilizes artificial intelligence tools to assist in candidate screening and assessment. Our AI tools are designed to complement, not replace, human decision-making.


Disclaimer

The information contained in this job posting, including but not limited to role responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, and benefits, is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute a binding offer of employment. micro1 reserves the right to amend, modify, or withdraw any portion of this posting at its sole discretion and without prior notice. All employment decisions are made in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

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