Forward Deployed Engineer, U.S. Government

Build, deploy, and operate agentic AI systems that support high-impact U.S. Government missions, from prototype to production. This forward-deployed engineering role spans model experimentation, infrastructure, and operational deployment in high-assurance, mission-critical settings, working directly with government partners to translate mission needs into reliable technical systems. The role is based hybrid in Washington, D.C., and is part of an AI data lab focused on training and evaluating frontier models.

• Design, build, and deploy agentic LLM systems for mission use, including multi-agent systems, tool-using agents, retrieval-augmented generation workflows, and human-in-the-loop autonomy.
• Work directly with government partners in forward-deployed environments to gather requirements, translate mission needs, and deliver operational systems.
• Develop and maintain large-scale data curation, training, and evaluation pipelines to support model improvement and validation.
• Build infrastructure for model inference, experimentation, evaluation, and production deployment across frontier AI platforms.
• Turn mission data, models, and tools into operational autonomy and capability, ensuring systems meet reliability and security expectations.
• Own systems across the full lifecycle, including discovery, architecture, implementation, deployment, reliability, security, and iterative improvement.

• Required skills and experience: Strong Python engineering experience with demonstrated end-to-end ownership, hands-on experience with large language models and creating agentic systems, experience building or maintaining data pipelines and ML infrastructure, familiarity with distributed systems and RL workflows or simulation environments, and comfort operating in high-security, high-reliability environments.
• Able to operate independently in ambiguous, partner-facing settings with technical and operational ownership.
• Preferred: Active U.S. security clearance or demonstrable eligibility and willingness to obtain one, prior experience supporting U.S. Government, defense, intelligence, or national security missions, and prior experience at startups, defense organizations, the Department of War, or government-focused technology companies. Background operating in fast-moving startup environments and mission-critical government settings is a plus.

• Employment type: Full-time.
• Location: Hybrid, Washington, D.C., with forward-deployed engagement alongside government partners as required by mission needs.
• Schedule and commitment: Full-time commitment, with on-site presence expected as needed for partner-facing and high-assurance work.

• Base compensation range: 200000 to 350000 USD per year.
• All employees are eligible for equity compensation. Employees may also receive performance-based bonuses, subject to role and company policies.
• Benefits include a comprehensive package, up to 100 percent reimbursement for health insurance premiums, paid time off, a 401(k) plan with company match, and additional benefits to support a remote-first workforce.

• Preference for candidates with an active U.S. security clearance, or candidates who are eligible and willing to obtain clearance.
• Applicants with experience supporting U.S. Government, defense, intelligence, or national security missions are strongly encouraged to apply.
• The hiring process uses artificial intelligence tools to assist in candidate screening.
• Equal opportunity statement: All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to legally protected characteristics.
• If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, contact support@micro1.ai for help.