Senior Machine Learning Ops Engineer

Overview In today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape, an organization’s data has never been a more important aspect in achieving mission and business goals. Our AI & Data Exploitation experts work with our clients to support their mission and business goals by creating and executing a comprehensive data strategy using the best technology and techniques, given the challenge. At Steampunk, our goal is to build and execute a data strategy for our clients to coordinate data collection and generation, to align the organization and its data assets in support of the mission, and ultimately to realize mission goals with the strongest effectiveness possible. For our clients, data is a strategic asset. They are looking to become a facts-based, data-driven, customer-focused organization. To help realize this goal, they are leveraging visual analytics platforms to analyze, visualize, and share information. At Steampunk you will design and develop solutions to high-impact, complex data problems, working with the best data practitioners around. Contributions We are seeking a Senior ML Ops Engineer who specializes in assessing and developing AI/ML infrastructure, with a focus on Generative AI (Gen AI) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines. In this role, you will lead efforts to build, optimize, and scale advanced AI/ML infrastructure that supports Federal use cases. The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of AI/ML systems and is passionate about developing production-grade pipelines that deliver results. Assess and design AI/ML infrastructure to support scalable and secure deployment of machine learning models, including generative AI pipelines. Build, develop, and optimize Gen AI and RAG pipelines, ensuring seamless integration with existing systems and infrastructure. Evaluate and improve the performance, reliability, and scalability of AI/ML pipelines, identifying and addressing bottlenecks. Implement MLOps best practices for automating model deployment, monitoring, and retraining processes in production. Collaborate with Data Scientists and Software Engineers to transition models from research into production-grade pipelines. Continuously monitor AI/ML infrastructure and pipelines to ensure high performance, security, and compliance. Use cloud-native services (AWS, Azure, GCP) to deploy scalable and cost-effective solutions, including leveraging tools such as AWS SageMaker, Azure OpenAI, and others. Apply DevSecOps principles to maintain secure, reliable operations for AI/ML workflows, including CI/CD integration. Stay up-to-date on the latest research, trends, and tools in AI/ML, implementing cutting-edge technologies into infrastructure solutions. Contribute to the growth and innovation of our Data Exploitation Practice by delivering best-in-class AI/ML infrastructure solutions. Qualifications Ability to hold a position of public trust with the US government. Master's degree in related program and 8 years of experience (7 of which must be relevant); OR Bachelor's degree in related program and 10 years of relevant experience; OR No degree and 16 years of relevant experience. Possesses at least one professional certification relevant to the technical service provided. Maintain a certification relevant to the product being deployed and/or maintained. 7 years of experience in AI/ML infrastructure assessment, development, and deployment, with a focus on production-grade pipeline development. Proven experience in building and scaling AI/ML pipelines, including generative AI models like GANs, VAEs, and Transformer-based architectures. Strong proficiency in Python and best practices for scalable and efficient coding; experience with R is a plus. Experience with AI/ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, or JAX and a solid understanding of neural network architectures. Expertise in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and experience with AI/ML tools like AWS SageMaker, Azure OpenAI, or similar. Practical experience with MLOps tools and frameworks, including automation of deployment, monitoring, and model management. Familiarity with DevSecOps practices to ensure secure and compliant deployment of AI/ML solutions. Strong knowledge of data pipeline tools and data visualization platforms, such as Tableau, Power BI, or D3. Experience with version control (Git), Bash, Unix commands, and cloud infrastructure automation tools. Familiarity with search technologies like Elasticsearch, AWS Kendra, or Azure Cognitive Search is a plus. This role focuses on AI/ML infrastructure assessment and pipeline development to support cutting-edge AI solutions, particularly around Generative AI and RAG for Federal use cases. You’ll have the opportunity to lead and influence the design and scalability of AI systems for impactful projects. About Steampunk Steampunk relies on several factors to determine salary, including but not limited to geographic location, contractual requirements, education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $115,000 to $150,000. The estimate displayed represents a typical annual salary range for this position. Annual salary is just one aspect of Steampunk’s total compensation package for employees. Steampunk is a Change Agent in the Federal contracting industry, bringing new thinking to clients in the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health and DoD sectors. Through our Human-Centered delivery methodology, we are fundamentally changing the expectations our Federal clients have for true shared accountability in solving their toughest mission challenges. As an employee-owned company, we focus on investing in our employees to enable them to do the greatest work of their careers – and rewarding them for outstanding contributions to our growth. If you want to learn more about our story, visit http://www.steampunk.com. We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Steampunk participates in the E-Verify program. J-18808-Ljbffr