AI-ML Developer
B&A · Ashburn, VA
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Jul 20, 2026
Ashburn, VA
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role involves building, training, and deploying AI and machine learning models — including large language models and generative AI — for a federal government client at the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection. Day-to-day work spans data engineering, deep learning, NLP, MLOps, and front-end AI application development. An active Top Secret clearance or CBP Background Investigation is required.
Senior level · 5+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Top 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 $135,107 (middle half $108,024–$176,763).
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 a genuine hybrid between AI/ML science (model development, deep learning, LLMs, RAG) and software development (front-end frameworks, application building, MLOps). 15-2051 Data Scientists was chosen as primary because model development, training, fine-tuning, and research are the dominant responsibilities; 15-1252 Software Developers is the close runner-up given the front-end and application-building requirements.
Security clearance is stated as 'Active TS or CBP BI' — mapped to TopSecret. CBP Background Investigation (BI) is a suitability/access credential rather than a DoD clearance level, but the posting gates on one or the other; TopSecret is the higher of the two named.
The degree requirement states a Bachelor's is 'preferred' and explicitly allows equivalent work experience, military service, or higher education as substitutes — treated as no hard degree requirement.
Front-end technologies are listed as 'proficiency in any front-end development technologies (e.g., React, Angular, Vue.js, HTML, CSS, JavaScript)' under Required Skills. React is emitted as the primary with Angular and Vue.js as alternatives; HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are emitted separately as they are distinct, co-used technologies rather than substitutes.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and prompt engineering appear only in the responsibilities narrative ('Conduct research and experiments…including prompt engineering, Advanced RAGs and fine-tuning LLMs'), not in the Required Skills section — marked as preferred accordingly.
MLOps appears in the experience summary ('5 years…focusing on AI/ML engineering projects, MLOps/DevSecOps') as a required focus area; emitted as a required skill. DevSecOps was not emitted separately as it names a practice rather than a specific tool.
Requires a Top 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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