> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/2941999-ai-engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2941999-ai-engineer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # AI Engineer - **Company:** National Storage Affiliates Trust - **Location:** Fort Meade, MD, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Testing (Software), Java (Programming Language), Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Systems Engineering, Artificial Neural Networks, Computer Vision, Audio Signal Processing, Automation of Tests, Microsoft Azure, C++ (Programming Language), Cloud Computing, Cloud Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Networks, Databases, DevOps, Logic Synthesis of Circuits, Distributed Systems, Python (Programming Language), Machine Learning, NoSQL, Tensorflow, Scala (Programming Language), Signal Processing, Software Deployment, Software Engineering, SQL Databases, TypeScript, Data Logging, Google Cloud, Feature Engineering, Pytorch, Transfer Learning, Large Language Models, Grafana, Apache Spark, Deep Learning, Model Validation, Parallel Computation, Git, Containerization, Kubernetes, Information Technology, Performance Monitor, Dask, Integration Frameworks, Machine Learning Operations, Api Design, Software Version Control, Automation Anywhere, Docker, Microservices - **Published:** September 16, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.clearancejobs.com/jobs/9167636/ai-engineer ## About the Role For degrees in Computer Science or Engineering, entry is with an Associate's degree plus 2 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree and no experience, or a Master's degree and no experience. For degrees in Information Systems, Information Technology, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Applied Statistics, Operations Research, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or Physical or Biological Sciences, entry is with an Associate's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree and 1 year of relevant experience. Relevant experience must be in one or more of the following: implementing production scale AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning) solutions, distributed model training, distributed AI/ML systems, AI/ML performance monitoring, platform engineering, cloud engineering, developing deep learning models, neural networks, sustaining/maintaining AI/ML models, implementing AI/ML algorithms, AI/ML model development and deployment, DevOps, MLOps, cloud infrastructure management, software engineering, automated testing, or containerization. FULL PERFORMANCE Note that different degree fields have different requirements as described below. For degrees in Computer Science or Engineering, entry is with an Associate's degree plus 5 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 1 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree and no experience. For degrees in Information Systems, Information Technology, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Applied Statistics, Operations Research, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or Physical or Biological Sciences, entry is with an Associate's degree plus 5 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 1 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree and 1 year of relevant experience. Relevant experience must be in one or more of the following: implementing production scale AI/ML solutions, distributed model training, distributed AI/ML systems, AI/ML performance monitoring, platform engineering, cloud engineering, developing deep learning models, sustaining/maintaining AI/ML models, implementing AI/ML algorithms, AI/ML model development and deployment, DevOps, MLOps, cloud infrastructure management, software engineering, automated testing, or containerization. SENIOR Entry is with an Associate's degree plus 8 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree plus 6 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 4 years of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 2 years of relevant experience. Degree must be in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Information Technology, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Applied Statistics, Operations Research, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or Physical or Biological Sciences. Relevant experience must be in two or more of the following: implementing production scale AI/ML solutions, distributed model training, distributed AI/ML systems, AI/ML performance monitoring, platform engineering, cloud engineering, developing deep learning models, sustaining/maintaining AI/ML models, implementing AI/ML algorithms, AI/ML model development and deployment, DevOps, MLOps, cloud infrastructure management, software engineering, automated testing, or containerization. EXPERT Entry is with an Associate's degree plus 11 years of relevant experience, or a Bachelor's degree plus 9 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 7 years of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 5 years of relevant experience. Degree must be in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Information Technology, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Applied Statistics, Operations Research, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or Physical or Biological Sciences. Relevant experience must be in three or more of the following: implementing production scale AI/ML solutions, distributed model training, distributed AI/ML systems, AI/ML performance monitoring, platform engineering, cloud engineering, developing deep learning models, sustaining/maintaining AI/ML models, implementing AI/ML algorithms, AI/ML model development and deployment, DevOps, MLOps, cloud infrastructure management, software engineering, automated testing, or containerization. Additionally, you must have experience in serving as an AI Project Team Leader/model owner. Competencies Specialized skills and experience in one or more of the following is desired: - Deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX) - Model training, fine-tuning and optimization techniques - Computer vision, NLP, speech/audio processing and/or multi-modal AI systems - Large language models (LLMs) and transformer architectures - Model evaluation, validation and performance monitoring - Transfer learning and domain adaptation - Python programming and other relevant languages (C++, Java, Scala, TypeScript) - Version control (Git) and collaborative development - API design and microservices architecture - Software testing frameworks and CI/CD pipelines - Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) - Data processing frameworks (Spark, Dask, Ray) - Feature engineering and data preprocessing - Production model deployment and serving infrastructure - Monitoring, logging and observability tools - Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and/or HPC systems - Distributed computing and parallel processing - GPU optimization and resource management - Database systems (SQL and NoSQL) - Cross-function collaboration and communication - Technical documentation and presentation - Ability to translate mission requirements into technical solutions Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule Pay: Salary offers are based on candidates' education level and years of experience relevant to the position and also take into account information provided by the hiring manager/organization regarding the work level for the position. ## Description As an AI Engineer at NSA, you will design and implement mission-critical AI systems that keep the agency at the cutting edge of intelligence collection, processing and reporting to keep the nation safe. You'll apply your expertise in data science, plus software, data and systems engineering to build, deploy and maintain AI systems at scale while addressing the entire AI life cycle, including infrastructure management, efficient model training, production deployment, performance monitoring and continuous optimization. Depending on your experience level, you will be assigned to a mission office or enrolled in the three-year Data Science Development Program, which will both broaden and specialize your AI engineering skills through courses and working in a variety of mission offices (each for several months). In either case, you will work with NSA experts in AI engineering, related technical domains and specialized subject areas. You'll have opportunities to participate in internal technical roundtables and attend technical conferences with experts from industry and academia. AI Engineers will: - Lead or contribute to cross-functional teams to develop and operationalize AI solutions that help solve our most challenging problems. - Apply modern engineering techniques to design, develop, deploy and maintain end-to-end AI workflows spanning model training, inference and performance monitoring. - Adapt and integrate diverse AI model architectures, including computer vision systems, natural language processors, audio processors, large language models (LLMs) and multi-modal frameworks to address complex mission-critical challenges. - Monitor and maintain AI products through systematic identification of performance degradation and computational inefficiency and address these challenges through regular fine-tuning to ensure continued alignment with evolving mission needs and organizational goals. - Maintain knowledge of current AI research and adapt emerging techniques to intelligence applications. - Test and evaluate AI solutions against mission requirements and produce actionable recommendations. The qualifications listed are the minimum acceptable to be considered for the position. For all of the Engineering degrees, if program is not ABET accredited, it must include specified coursework.* *Specified coursework includes courses in differential and integral calculus and 5 of the following 18 areas: (a) statics or dynamics, (b) strength of materials/stress-strain relationships, (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics, (d) thermodynamics, (e) electromagnetic fields, (f) nature and properties of materials/relating particle and aggregate structure to properties, (g) solid state electronics, (h) microprocessor applications, (i), computer systems, (j) signal processing, (k) digital design, (l) systems and control theory, (m) circuits or generalized circuits, (n) communication systems, (o) power systems, (p) computer networks, (q) software development, (r) Any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, or soil mechanics. ## Related Videos - [Leveraging Real time data in FSIs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/806-leveraging-real-time-data-in-fsis) - [How a Small Team Shrank a Microsoft Monorepo by 94%](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1236-how-a-small-team-shrank-a-microsoft-monorepo-by-94) - [Shipping Faster with Less: Render on Cloud Hosting, AI Workloads, and the Future of DevOps](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1894-shipping-faster-with-less-render-on-cloud-hosting-ai-workloads-and-the-future-of-devops) - [NoSQL Data Modeling for Front-end Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/297-nosql-data-modeling-for-front-end-developers) - [Git for Code Reviews](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/429-git-for-code-reviews) - [How AI Models Get Smarter](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1374-how-ai-models-get-smarter) ## Related Articles - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [What Industries Outside of AI Are Hiring The Most AI Experts?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/98-what-industries-outside-of-ai-are-hiring-the-most-ai-experts) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [Top-Paying Tech Jobs (with Salaries)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/372-top-paying-tech-jobs-with-salaries) - [Best Paying Jobs in Technology](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/256-best-paying-jobs-in-technology) - [Got AI ideas but no money? Here are 10 free ways to level up your AI skills with Google Cloud](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/600-got-ai-ideas-but-no-money-here-are-10-free-ways-to-level-up-your-ai-skills-with-google-cloud)