Software Engineer - AI Infrastructure

We’re looking for an experienced full-stack Software Engineer to help build the next generation of AI infrastructure that powers innovation across a high-impact national security mission. You’ll join an AI infrastructure team and play a central role in designing, building, and operating the platform that serves as the foundation for a broad ecosystem of AI-enabled capabilities - with a primary focus on inference services.

This is a role for engineers who can operate independently, navigate ambiguity with confidence, and bring structure to underspecified problems. You won’t just be executing tickets - you’ll be shaping how AI systems are built and run at scale. Here’s what you’ll be doing:

• Design, implement, and optimize infrastructure for AI model inference at scale
• Support the development and maintenance of production AI services and applications, including retrieval augmented generation (RAG), autonomous agents, and emerging technologies
• Navigate ambiguity and define solutions where requirements are incomplete or evolving
• Drive adoption of new technologies and engineering practices across teams
• Implement monitoring, logging, and observability solutions for AI services
• Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles
• Ensure high availability, reliability, and performance of AI platform components
• Contribute to security best practices for AI systems and data
• Provide technical guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers

• 8 years of relevant experience, with a B.S. in a technical discipline - or 12 years of experience in lieu of a degree
• Proven experience building and maintaining production systems at scale
• Experience with high-volume web application architecture and performance optimization
• Strong background in systems integration across diverse technologies and platforms
• Hands-on experience with cloud engineering in AWS
• Proficiency with Kubernetes administration and deployment patterns
• Strong Python programming skills
• Experience implementing observability solutions (APM, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Prometheus)
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
• Strong change management and organizational influence skills
• Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments and create structure where needed
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph

Preferred Skills

• Experience with AI inference serving technologies (vLLM, LiteLLM, etc.)
• Previous experience with agentic frameworks such as LangChain
• Knowledge of vector databases and embedding systems
• Experience with high-performance computing or distributed systems

Pulled from the full job description

• Tuition reimbursement
• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Paid holidays, * Top salaries because we’re top performers
• Pick your PTO - Everyone values time and money differently, so we give you the flexibility to choose between 3 and 5 weeks of PTO with a corresponding adjustment to your pay. Your choice, your balance.
• All 11 federal holidays, paid!
• Up to 2 snow days, paid! We’ll quadruple (4x!) the first 6% you contribute to your 401(k), giving you up to a 24% company match. Contributing less than 6%? Unclaimed matches come right back to you as extra income, giving you a guaranteed 24% that goes to your retirement, to your paycheck, or both. C’mon now!
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. That’s a lot. Already covered on health insurance? No problem - we’ll trade you this benefit for a boost to your salary instead.
• $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments. Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go “Hot damn!”. We hope to say that many times about you.

Salary Range

$230,000 - $271,000

This range includes our flex income and depends upon your annual work hours.

Salary is determined on an individual basis following the interview process and considering various factors such as years of experience, skills, education, and certifications., You’ll get an email from us right away to acknowledge your application. After that, we’ll:

• Send over additional company materials for you to review
• Schedule a video call to talk about you, our company, and your place in it
• Craft a delightful offer package for you and record a video walkthrough
• Work closely with you through onboarding. We’ll keep it joyful and easy.

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We’re a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You’ll be more than a contract performer for us - you’ll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you’ll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you’ll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult.

What We Look For

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country’s national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.

We ask that every new hire be able to:

• Contribute meaningful thought leadership - if not right away, over time
• Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities
• Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right
• Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company
• Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together
• Know and live our core values every single day