Senior Software Developer Engineer Jobs in Reston, VA

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled AI Developer/Engineer (Senior Software Developer, Application) to support the design, development, implementation, and optimization of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The successful candidate will work closely with data scientists, software engineers, and other technical stakeholders to develop production-ready AI/ML applications, analyze complex datasets, improve model performance, and integrate AI capabilities into secure and scalable software environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, implement, and maintain machine learning models and AI algorithms.
• Implement and optimize AI/ML solutions for operational and business requirements.
• Collaborate with data scientists, software engineers, DevOps engineers, and other technical teams to integrate AI/ML models into production systems.
• Analyze large and complex datasets to identify patterns, trends, and actionable insights.
• Develop, tune, test, and continuously improve model performance, accuracy, scalability, and reliability.
• Evaluate emerging AI and machine learning technologies and recommend appropriate approaches for project requirements.
• Apply a strong understanding of machine learning algorithms, statistical methods, model development practices, and AI engineering principles.
• Develop solutions using appropriate deep learning frameworks and modern AI/ML technologies.
• Build and maintain reproducible AI/ML development and deployment processes.
• Document AI/ML models, experiments, methodologies, configurations, results, and operational processes.
• Support model validation, testing, deployment, monitoring, and ongoing optimization.
• Integrate AI/ML solutions with existing software applications, data platforms, APIs, and cloud environments.
• Implement infrastructure and deployment automation using tools such as Terraform.
• Develop and maintain Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.
• Use Git-based source control and modern software development practices.
• Incorporate observability, monitoring, logging, metrics, and performance tracking into AI/ML engineering and production environments.
• Troubleshoot technical issues and optimize applications and models for performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Stay current with advances in AI, ML, deep learning, MLOps, software engineering, and related technologies.

Required Technical Skills

The ideal candidate should demonstrate strong hands-on experience with:

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Machine learning model and algorithm development
• Model training, tuning, evaluation, and optimization
• Deep learning frameworks
• Large-scale and complex dataset analysis
• Python, R, or JavaScript
• Software development and application engineering
• Git-based source code management
• CI/CD pipeline development and management
• Terraform and infrastructure-as-code practices
• AI/ML model deployment and integration
• Productionization of machine learning solutions
• AI/ML observability and monitoring
• Model performance and accuracy optimization
• Documentation of models, experiments, and engineering processes

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience deploying AI/ML solutions into enterprise or production environments.
• Experience with MLOps and automated machine learning lifecycle management.
• Experience working with cloud-based AI/ML environments and services.
• Experience implementing model monitoring, logging, metrics, and observability.
• Experience working in Agile software development environments.
• Experience integrating machine learning models with APIs and enterprise applications.
• Experience supporting Federal Government, DHS, FEMA, or other government programs is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with secure software development practices and government technology environments.

Core Competencies

The successful candidate will possess:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent software engineering and programming abilities.
• Strong understanding of AI/ML concepts and practical implementation.
• Ability to translate business and mission requirements into technical AI/ML solutions.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently in a virtual environment while effectively collaborating with distributed technical teams.
• Commitment to producing secure, reliable, scalable, and maintainable solutions.
• Ability to quickly learn and apply emerging AI and ML technologies.

Citizenship & Suitability Requirement

U.S. Citizenship Required: Yes

Public Trust: Candidate must be able to obtain Public Trust suitability prior to Entry on Duty. Investigation level will be determined based on the position's risk and access requirements, including T1/T2/T4 as applicable.

Sara Software Systems, LLC founded in July 2004 is a small, woman, minority owned and economically disadvantaged 8(a) business as approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Owned and managed by experienced IT professionals, we bring a realistic and knowledgeable approach with 15 years of technical excellence to solve complex federal and commercial IT challenges, transform how organizations operate, and protect our Customer's critical infrastructure.
Sara Software Systems, LLC is a process-driven and quality-focused company and we are appraised at Maturity Level (ML) 3 by the CMMI Institute for both DEV + SVC. Our CMMI DEV ML3 appraisal was specifically focused on Agile and DevSecOps. We are International Standards of Organization (ISO) 9001:2015, ISO 20000-1:2011 and ISO 27001:2013-certified.

Sara Software Systems, LLC is a leading technology Services provider with focus in Application Development and Modernization, Agile Transformations, Program Management , Information Technology , Software development, Cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, Business Process Reengineering and Service Desk services for Federal Agencies and commercial organizations. We serve the business needs of our customers by providing strategy, program management, architecture, and sustainment of information technology solutions both in traditional waterfall and agile methodologies that transform ideas to value.