SENIOR AI SOFTWARE ENGINEER/AI ENGINEER

Employer description

Req ID: 50497 
Team: T56 AI and Digital Innovation 
Entity: Newport News Shipbuilding

US Citizenship Required for this Position: Yes 

Full-Time
Shift: 1st 
Relocation: No relocation assistance available 
Virtual/Telework Opportunity: Yes - Occasional or hybrid telework available 

Travel Requirements:  Yes, 10%-25% of the time 

Clearance Required: Yes- Final Clearance Required to Start 

​Salary Range: $144,000.00 to $190,000.00

The anticipated salary range represents the estimated base pay for this role. Final compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors, and may vary from the posted range

Meet HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding
With more than 25,000 employees – including third-, fourth- and even fifth-generation shipbuilders – HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division is the largest industrial employer in Virginia. We’re the sole designer, builder and refueler of U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. Our diverse and innovative team of professionals ranges from skilled trades to project managers, engineers and software developers to solution architects, technical subject matter experts, and system users. We collaborate together at the forefront of technology, manufacturing, and integration of the most powerful and survivable naval ships in the world. Want to be part of the team? Apply today! We look forward to meeting you.
 

The Role
Designs, develops, documents, tests and debugs IT applications software and systems. Collaborates with IT systems designers and/or engineers in the planning, design, development, and utilization of electronic data processing systems for product and commercial software. Determines computer user needs; analyzes IT system capabilities to resolve problems on program intent, output requirements, input data acquisition, programming techniques and controls; prepares operating instructions; designs and develops compilers and assemblers, utility programs, and operating systems. Ensures IT software standards are met.

Newport News Shipbuilding’s is seeking to hire a talented and passionate experienced Senior AI Software Engineer/AI Engineer to join our multidisciplinary AI team, working alongside data engineers, data scientists, ML engineers, and software engineers to develop and deliver innovative AI-powered solutions.
This senior-level position focuses on designing, developing, integrating, and deploying secure, scalable, and reliable enterprise applications that leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI technologies.
The ideal candidate combines strong software engineering and architecture expertise with practical experience integrating AI technologies into production applications.
If you are a results-oriented, self-starter with a creative mindset and the ability to remove barriers, grow business relationships, and enable our workforce – who appreciates the unique challenges of engineering solutions in a dynamic workplace – and willing to learn and grow with the business we want to talk with you.

Key Responsibilities:
•    Design, develop, and deploy enterprise-grade AI-enabled applications, APIs, microservices, and backend services.
•    Integrate large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and machine learning capabilities into business applications and workflows.
•    Transform AI prototypes and models into scalable, secure, maintainable production solutions.
•    Collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and data engineers to deliver end-to-end AI solutions.
•    Develop cloud-native applications and implement CI/CD, automated testing, monitoring, and deployment practices.
•    Ensure application performance, reliability, scalability, and adherence to security standards.
•    Provide technical leadership, architecture guidance, code reviews, and mentoring to other engineers.
•    Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend practical solutions that deliver business value.

Must Have
Bachelor?s Degree and 14 years of relevant exempt experience; Master?s Degree and 12 years of relevant professional experience; Ph.D. and 9 years of experience.

One of the following may be used as an equivalent to Bachelor’s Degree for Information Technology Related Positions Only:

NNS Apprentice School graduate
Navy Nuclear Power School (NNPS) graduate
Associate’s Degree or other formal 2 year program and 2 years of relevant exempt experience or 4 years of relevant non-exempt experience
Military Paygrade E-5 or above military experience
High School/GED and 4 years combined of Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Trades, Military experience or other relevant exempt experience
High School/GED and 8 years combined of Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Trades, Military experience or other relevant non-exempt experience
A relevant professional certification can be substituted for a Bachelor’s Degree.
Bachelor’s Degree and 14 years of relevant exempt experience; 
Master’s Degree and 12 years of relevant professional experience; 
Ph.D. and 9 years of experience.
•    Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
•    Professional software engineering experience, including designing and delivering complex production applications.
•    Strong proficiency in Python, backend development, RESTful APIs, and microservices.
•    Experience with software architecture, distributed systems, databases, and enterprise application integration.
•    Hands-on experience developing or integrating AI/ML-enabled applications or generative AI services.
•    Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP), Git, CI/CD, and automated testing.
•    Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
•    Ability to independently lead complex technical development efforts.
Nice to Have
•    Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI, or a related field.
•    2+ years of practical experience developing AI/ML or generative AI applications.
•    Experience integrating LLMs, building retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions, or developing AI-powered workflows.
•    Familiarity with AI orchestration frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, or Semantic Kernel.
•    Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-native application deployments.
•    Knowledge of MLOps/LLMOps, AI application evaluation, monitoring, and security.
•    Experience with enterprise AI platforms such as Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, or Google Vertex AI.
•    Demonstrated technical leadership, mentoring, and architecture experience.

Technical Skills Highly Preferred
•    Programming & Software Engineering: Python, FastAPI, REST APIs, microservices, SQL, Java, C#, or TypeScript.
•    AI & Generative AI: LLM integration, OpenAI-compatible APIs, Azure OpenAI, prompt engineering, RAG, embeddings, agentic AI, and AI orchestration frameworks.
•    Cloud & Infrastructure: Azure, AWS, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures.
•    DevOps & Deployment: Git, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, containerization, and application monitoring.
•    Data & AI Integration: SQL/NoSQL databases, vector databases, semantic search, and ML inference APIs.
•    Security & Reliability: Secure API development, authentication, authorization, AI security, performance optimization, and application observability.

Why HII
We build the world’s most powerful, survivable naval ships and defense technology solutions that safeguard our seas, sky, land, space and cyber. HII’s diverse workforce includes skilled tradespeople; artificial intelligence, machine learning (AI/ML) experts; engineers; technologists; scientists; logistics experts; and business administration professionals.

Recognized as one of America’s top large company employers, we are a values and ethics driven organization that puts people’s safety and well-being first. Regardless of your role or where you serve, at HII, you’ll find a supportive and welcoming environment, competitive benefits, and valuable educational and training programs for continual career growth at every stage of your career.

Working at HII is more than a job - it’s an opportunity to build a future. We offer comprehensive benefits including: medical, prescription drug, dental and vision plan choices, on-site health centers, tele-medicine, wellness resources, employee assistance programs, savings plan options (401K), financial education and planning tools, life insurance, tuition reimbursement, employee discounts, early childhood and post-secondary education scholarships, and more. Some benefits may vary depending on your specific division or work location. 

Together we are working to ensure a future where everyone can be free and thrive.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. U.S. Citizenship may be required for certain positions.

Do You Need Assistance? 
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Reasonable accommodations are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e-mail address.

Additionally, you may also call 1-844-849-8463 for assistance. Press #2 for Newport News Shipbuilding.

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