Artificial Intelligence (AI) System Engineer
Robert Half · Albuquerque, NM
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Jun 30, 2026
Albuquerque, NM
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
Mid level · 2+ years · Albuquerque, NM · Secret clearance · Contract
“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 $126,420 (middle half $101,974–$163,294).
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 (10)
The role is posted by Robert Half as a staffing/contract placement; the posting explicitly mentions contract/temporary professionals and associated benefits, indicating a contract engagement rather than direct full-time hire.
The posting requires a hybrid schedule with some onsite presence in Albuquerque, NM — not fully remote.
Security clearance is listed as a hard requirement: 'Secret Security Clearance – Active or Inactive or ability to get a clearance.' This is treated as a gate since candidates must hold or be able to obtain a Secret clearance.
The degree requirement states 'Bachelor's degree … or equivalent practical experience,' so no formal degree is hard-gated.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers integrated with AI data sources are called out as a must-have alongside Kubernetes, but 'MCP server' is not yet a widely canonical standalone tool name — this requirement is captured under the Kubernetes skill context and the MLOps/AI infrastructure framing.
PyTorch and Hugging Face are listed together as examples of AI/ML frameworks under the requirements section; they are treated as interchangeable alternatives for that requirement rather than two separate hard gates.
OAuth is listed under 'familiarity with' language ('authentication approaches such as OAuth'), placing it in the preferred category.
The role blends software/MLOps engineering (building CI/CD, IaC, model deployment pipelines) with infrastructure operations (Kubernetes cluster management, monitoring, incident response), making the SOC classification a genuine judgment call between 15-1252 and 15-1244. The emphasis on building repeatable deployment processes and automation code tips the balance toward 15-1252.
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.
Posting is for a contract engagement — the market benchmarks below price full-time roles, so read the comp comparison with that in mind.
Read the full posting
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