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Innovation Engineer Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

Steampunk

AI Innovation Engineer

Mclean, VA · On-site

Overview We are seeking a hands-on, creative, and technically strong AI Innovation Engineer to support our client delivery teams in bringing modern AI solutions to life within public-sector ...

Parsons

Principal Innovation Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site +1

Parsons is seeking a Principal Innovation Engineer to drive applied innovation for a mission-critical global identity and mobility platform deployed across a wide range of operating environments ...

Steampunk

AI Innovation Engineer

Mclean, VA · On-site

Overview We are seeking a hands-on, creative, and technically strong AI Innovation Engineer to support our client delivery teams in bringing modern AI solutions to life within public-sector ...

Steampunk

AI Innovation Engineer

Mclean, VA

We are seeking a hands-on, creative, and technically strong AI Innovation Engineer to support our client delivery teams in bringing modern AI solutions to life within public-sector organizations.

HDR

Senior Civil Engineer

Arlington, VA · On-site

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Mechanical Engineer

Arlington, VA · On-site

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Mechanical Engineer

Arlington, VA

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Senior Civil Engineer

Arlington, VA

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Electrical Engineer

Arlington, VA · On-site

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Electrical Engineer

Arlington, VA · On-site

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Mechanical Engineer (HVAC)

Arlington, VA · On-site

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

HDR

Mechanical Engineer (HVAC)

Arlington, VA

This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence. Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change ...

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All JobsInnovation Engineer JobsInnovation Engineer Jobs in Washington

Innovation Engineer information

See Washington salary details

$41.9K

$98.8K

$154.6K

How much do innovation engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for innovation engineer in Washington is $98,785.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $86,600.00 and $110,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an innovation engineer?

To thrive as an Innovation Engineer, you need strong analytical thinking, creative problem-solving abilities, and a degree in engineering or a related technical field. Experience with prototyping tools, CAD software, rapid development platforms, and knowledge of innovation frameworks like Design Thinking are often required. Exceptional collaboration skills, adaptability, and effective communication make someone stand out in this dynamic role. These capabilities are important because Innovation Engineers are responsible for driving new product ideas from concept to execution, requiring both technical excellence and cross-functional teamwork.

What are typical challenges innovation engineers face in their daily work?

Innovation Engineers often encounter challenges such as balancing open-ended creativity with practical business constraints and tight project deadlines. Navigating stakeholder expectations, integrating emerging technologies, and validating new ideas through rapid prototyping are also common hurdles. Success in this role involves staying resilient in the face of setbacks, efficiently adapting to changing project priorities, and maintaining strong collaboration with multidisciplinary teams. Overcoming these challenges is part of what makes the role both demanding and rewarding, offering continuous learning and growth opportunities.

What does an innovation engineer do?

An Innovation Engineer develops new technologies, processes, and solutions to drive business growth and efficiency. They work at the intersection of engineering, research, and business strategy to create and implement innovative ideas. Responsibilities often include prototyping, testing, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to solve complex challenges. Their goal is to improve existing systems or introduce groundbreaking advancements in their industry.

What are popular job titles related to Innovation Engineer jobs in Washington? For Innovation Engineer jobs in Washington, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Innovation Engineer jobs in Washington look for? The top searched job categories for Innovation Engineer jobs in Washington are:
Innovation Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Innovation Engineer job openings in Washington as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 83% Full Time, 14% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 91% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $98,785 per year, or $47.5 per hour.

Principal Innovation Engineer

Parsons Corporation

Reston, VA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 20 days ago

Parsons rating

7.7

Company rating: 7.7 out of 10

Based on 46 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

257th of 441 rated engineering

Job description

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next!
At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what's possible.
Job Description:
Parsons is seeking a Principal Innovation Engineer to drive applied innovation for a mission-critical global identity and mobility platform deployed across a wide range of operating environments, from remote and austere locations to high-throughput modern facilities to cloud-forward architectures.
This is a hands-on senior engineering role for a technologist who can identify promising technologies, evaluate them against real operational needs, build compelling prototypes and demonstrations, and help transition the best ideas into production-ready capabilities. The right candidate will be comfortable working across software, cloud, edge systems, biometrics/peripherals, networking, resilience engineering, and operational workflows.
We are looking for someone who can help ensure our platform remains modern, resilient, and visibly state-of-the-art to customers, stakeholders, and industry peers.
What you will do
  • Identify, evaluate, and prototype new technologies that improve a globally deployed mission-critical platform
  • Build working demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and pilot implementations that can be shown to internal leadership, customers, and external stakeholders
  • Explore innovation across areas such as:
    • digital identity and verification
    • biometrics and contactless capture
    • edge computing and low-power deployments
    • resilient/offline-first operations
    • cloud-native modernization
    • analytics and AI-assisted workflows
    • automation and operator experience
    • secure peripherals and smart devices
  • Assess emerging commercial and open technologies for fit, maturity, operational value, security implications, and deployability
  • Translate innovation ideas into practical architectures that can operate in low-bandwidth environments with intermittent connectivity, power-constraints, environmental challenges, or infrastructure limitations
  • Assist leadership with transition from prototypes to implementation roadmaps
  • Produce technical trade studies, architecture recommendations, demonstration plans, and innovation briefings
  • Support technical presentations, showcases, and evaluations with customers, sponsors, and partners
  • Shape an innovation pipeline from concept to prototype to fieldable capability

Required qualifications
  • 10+ years of experience in systems engineering, software engineering, platform engineering, or applied R&D
  • Demonstrated experience turning emerging technology concepts into working prototypes or production capabilities
  • Strong hands-on technical depth in several of the following:
    • distributed software systems
    • cloud platforms, especially AWS
    • edge or embedded deployments
    • networking or hybrid connectivity
    • identity or security systems
    • biometrics or device/peripheral integration
    • observability or operational analytics
  • Experience evaluating technology not only for technical merit, but for operational realism, reliability, security, supportability, and lifecycle fit
  • Experience working in mission-critical, operational, public sector, regulated, or globally distributed environments
  • Strong communication skills with the ability to present complex ideas clearly to both engineers and non-technical decision makers

Preferred qualifications
  • Experience with identity verification, biometrics, access-control, document technologies, automated gate/peripheral systems, or related domains
  • Experience designing solutions for remote, austere, power-constrained, or intermittently connected environments
  • Experience with Java-based distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architectures
  • Experience with AWS, Terraform, and hybrid edge/cloud architectures
  • Familiarity with technologies such as MongoDB, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, RabbitMQ/Kafka, Grafana, ELK, HashiCorp Consul, Nomad, and Vault
  • Experience with AI/ML-enabled analytics, computer vision, anomaly detection, or intelligent automation
  • Experience engaging with vendors, standards bodies, industry forums, or customer technical demonstrations

Why join Parsons in this role
  • Work on visible, high-impact innovation with real operational relevance
  • Help shape the future direction of a globally deployed platform operating in some of the most challenging environments
  • Build demonstrable capabilities that influence customer confidence, program growth, and technical direction
  • Operate at the intersection of edge systems, cloud, resilience, identity, security, and emerging technology
  • Join a team where senior engineers can take ideas from concept to showcased capability to operational adoption

Security Clearance Requirement:
An active Top Secret SCI security clearance is required for this position.
This position is part of our Federal Solutions team.
The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what's next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.
Salary Range: $176,900.00 - $332,400.00
We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!
Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.
We truly invest and care about our employee's wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest-APPLY TODAY!
Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.

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