Lead AI/Data Engineer

Join General Dynamics IT and be a part of a team that solve some of the world's most complex technical challenges. We are seeking a Lead AI/Data Engineer to build infrastructure for the USSF Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) -in Colorado Springs, CO.

This is a proposal position and considered a Key Personnel (KP). Award is expected in September 2026.

The Lead AI/Data Engineer for USSF OTTI serves as the senior technical authority responsible for the architecture, engineering, integration, and governance of OTTI's enterprise data and AI/ML ecosystem. This role leads the design and implementation of scalable data platforms, AI/ML pipelines, and analytics services that enable synthetic environment realism, automated readiness assessment, digital engineering integration, and data-driven decision support across the U.S. Space Force Operational Test and Training Infrastructure.

The Lead AI/Data Engineer partners with the Chief Engineer and technical leadership to deliver secure, interoperable, and mission-aligned data and AI capabilities supporting OTTI's distributed digital test and training architecture.

Key Responsibilities:

Data Architecture & Engineering:

• Design and maintain OTTI enterprise data architecture supporting:

• Operational mission data

• Test and telemetry data

• Training performance and readiness data

• Simulation/model outputs

• Sensor/platform data streams

• Architect scalable data lake/lakehouse, streaming, and analytics platforms.

• Establish data standards, schemas, metadata, lineage, and governance processes.

AI/ML Platform Engineering:

• Lead design and implementation of OTTI AI/ML infrastructure and MLOps pipelines.

• Enable model training, validation, deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management.

• Support GPU/accelerated compute environments for AI/ML workloads.

• Implement repeatable AI/ML development and deployment patterns.

Synthetic Environment / Advanced Analytics Enablement:

• Integrate AI/ML capabilities into OTTI synthetic environments for:

• Threat/adversary behavior modeling

• Scenario generation and optimization

• Automated red/blue force behavior

• Synthetic battlespace enrichment

• Deliver advanced analytics supporting readiness scoring, trend analysis, anomaly detection, and predictive assessment.

Data Integration / Interoperability:

• Integrate data across OTTI systems including:

• Simulation and training platforms

• Digital engineering/model repositories

• Mission/operational systems

• External USSF/DoD data providers

• Ensure semantic interoperability and data normalization across sources.

Security / Governance / Compliance

• Ensure OTTI data and AI/ML platforms comply with:

• DoD Data Strategy principles

• RMF / Security controls

• Data governance and access controls

• Responsible AI / AI assurance requirements

• Implement secure data handling and AI model governance.

Technical Leadership:

• Serve as AI/Data SME to Government stakeholders, Chief Engineer, and Program Leadership.

• Mentor data engineers, data scientists, and ML engineers.

• Lead AI/data architecture reviews, technical planning, and roadmap development.

• Evaluate emerging AI/data technologies for mission applicability.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field (Master's preferred).

• 10+ years of progressive data engineering / AI / analytics experience.

• 5+ years leading enterprise data platform or AI/ML engineering teams.

• Demonstrated experience architecting large-scale data pipelines and analytics platforms.

• Experience implementing AI/ML pipelines and MLOps frameworks.

• Experience integrating multiple heterogeneous data sources into unified architectures.

• Experience supporting secure/classified/regulated data environments.

• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility

Desired Qualifications

• Experience supporting USSF, SSC, STARCOM, SpOC, or related DoD/IC organizations.

• Experience with operational test/training systems, synthetic environments, digital twins, or simulation ecosystems.

• Familiarity with:

• Data Lake / Lakehouse / Mesh Architectures

• Kafka / Spark / Databricks / Elastic / Snowflake / BigQuery

• Python / SQL / ETL / Streaming Frameworks

• AI/ML / Deep Learning / Generative AI / LLM Integration

• Vector Databases / Semantic Search / Knowledge Graphs

• GPU / Accelerated AI Compute Platforms

• MLOps / Kubeflow / MLflow / SageMaker / Vertex AI

• DoD Data Mesh / Authoritative Data Sources / Digital Thread

• Relevant certifications preferred:

• Cloud Data Engineer / AI Engineer Certifications

• Databricks / Snowflake / AWS ML / Azure AI Certifications

Key Success Attributes

• Strategic thinker with deep data and AI technical expertise

• Strong systems integration mindset across data-rich mission environments

• Ability to translate operational needs into scalable data/AI architectures

• Strong communication and customer-facing technical advisory skills

• Proven leadership in secure, mission-critical analytics environments, 10 + years of related experience

• may vary based on technical training, certification(s), or degree Certification

• Excellent customizable health benefits (Medical, Dental and Vision)
• 401K with company match
• Educational Assistance and eLearning
• Flexible work week
• Internal mobility team dedicated to employee advancement
• Rewards and Recognition programs
• Innovative and collaborative environment encouraging of highly motivated critical thinking

Work Requirements

Years of Experience, The likely salary range for this position is $147,292 - $199,278. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.

Own your opportunity to support our nation's defense. Make an impact by connecting and securing critical operations across the globe, keeping our country safe and secure., We are GDIT. A global technology and professional services company that delivers technology and mission services to every major agency across the U.S. government, defense and intelligence community. Our 26,000 experts extract the power of technology to create immediate value and deliver solutions at the edge of innovation. We operate across over 50 countries worldwide, offering leading capabilities in digital modernization, AI/ML, cloud, cyber and application development. Together with our customers, we strive to create a safer, smarter world by harnessing the power of deep expertise and advanced technology.