Senior AI Software Engineer
Expression · Washington, DC
$180,000–$210,000
Jul 7, 2026
Washington, DC
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior technical lead role focused on building a prototype edge computing platform that combines software-defined radio, distributed inference, and AI/ML pipelines for use in communication-constrained environments. Day-to-day work spans system architecture, Python backend development, SDR integration, and hands-on implementation alongside mentoring junior engineers. Suited to a seasoned engineer with deep distributed systems experience who is comfortable operating across hardware, software, and cloud layers.
Senior level · 10+ years · Remote · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $138,970 (middle half $107,524–$175,762).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
The role is titled 'Senior AI Software Engineer and Technical Lead' — it carries genuine tech-lead responsibilities (architecture standards, mentoring, customer engagements) but the JD explicitly emphasizes remaining 'deeply involved in implementation' and 'maintaining significant hands-on software development responsibilities,' so it is classified as an individual-contributor Senior rather than a people-management role. 11-3021 (Computer and Information Systems Managers) is noted as a runner-up given the lead framing.
Clearance is stated as 'eligible to obtain Secret or Top Secret' — this is a gate on US citizenship and clearance eligibility, not on holding an active clearance. The lowest named level (Secret) is used; the role may ultimately require Top Secret depending on program assignment.
SDR experience (GNU Radio, USRP, Ettus, SoapySDR, UHD) appears only under Preferred Qualifications.
Embedded Linux, distributed data synchronization, low-latency pipelines, AI/ML inference integration, and DoD/IC program experience all appear only under Preferred Qualifications.
No compensation figures are provided in the posting.
Location is listed as 'Hybrid or Remote with limited travel,' headquartered in Washington DC — remote is marked true as the posting explicitly offers a fully remote option.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
This posting reads as a fully-remote role, so it was scored against the national candidate pool rather than a single metro.
Read the full posting
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