AI Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia
AI Engineer jobs in District of Columbia concentrate heavily in federal government contracting, defense intelligence, and policy-driven technology sectors, with demand ranging from mid-level practitioners to senior architects and research leads. Most hiring is centered in Washington DC proper, with additional activity in the surrounding Virginia and Maryland corridors, where established contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, and SAIC maintain large AI and data science practices. Natural language processing, machine learning operations, and AI ethics and governance are among the most sought-after specialties given the region's regulatory and national security focus. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
Find AI Engineer JobsOverview
Open roles65
Top employerSpaceX
Top cityWashington, DC
Work type46% Hybrid
Top industryLaw
Companies hiring50
Showing 5 of 65+ AI Engineer jobs
AI Engineer IV
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Added 2d ago
Bates White Economic Consulting
AI Engineer IV
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 2d ago
Enterprise AI Systems Engineer
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Added 2d ago
JUUL Labs
Enterprise AI Systems Engineer
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 2d ago
AI/ML Engineer (Active Secret) — Applied AI & Automation
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Added 2d ago
Rackner
AI/ML Engineer (Active Secret) — Applied AI & Automation
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 2d ago
Artificial Intelligence Engineer
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Added 2d ago
Caladwich Consulting
Artificial Intelligence Engineer
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 2d ago
Site Reliability Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield)
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Added 3d ago
SpaceX
Site Reliability Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield)
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 3d ago
Added 2d ago
AI Engineer IV
Bates White Economic Consulting·Washington, District of Columbia
Job functions:
$160k - $190k/yr
Hybrid
Bachelor's degree in engineering
51-200 employees
Job Description
Firm overview
Bates White is a boutique consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Recognized as a top workplace, the firm provides advanced economic, financial, and econometric analysis to law firms, companies, and government agencies.
Through our supportive, collaborative, and collegial culture, we invest in our talent and provide opportunities for career advancement. We are proud to have been consistently ranked among the top firms in the Vault Guide to the Top 50 Consulting Firms, listed as a top consulting firm by Management Consulted and named one of the Top Workplaces in the Washington, DC area for the 11th consecutive year by WTOP News.
If you are looking for a place to do high-quality work and have fun along the way, read below to discover how you can be part of our team. Learn more about our firm at: www.bateswhite.com.
What you’ll do
In this role you will design, develop and deploy AI-driven workflows and autonomous agents that leverage large language models (LLMs) and other AI systems across the firm’s enterprise AI platforms. You will:
- Design, build, and deploy AI workflows and agentic solutions that leverage LLMs and other AI systems, using the firm’s existing enterprise AI platforms (such as Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Databricks, AWS (e.g., Bedrock, SageMaker AI) and Google Cloud Vertex AI / Gemini), and evaluate and onboard new platforms as needs evolve.
- Develop, orchestrate, and maintain multi-step agent workflows, including tool use, function calling, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and integration with enterprise data sources, applications, and APIs.
- Apply a thorough understanding of how LLMs and emerging AI systems work, covering model selection, prompt design, context management, embeddings and vector stores, and the tradeoffs among inference, retrieval, and fine-tuning to select the right approach for each use case.
- Partner with business stakeholders and firm leadership to translate business requirements into robust, production-grade AI solutions.
- Build reusable frameworks, components, and pipelines that enable the broader data engineering team to develop, test, and scale AI solutions efficiently across cloud platforms.
- Establish and apply responsible AI practices, including data privacy and security, prompt injection and abuse mitigation, and evaluation and guardrails, in alignment with the firm’s AI governance policies and client contractual obligations.
- Monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve the accuracy, performance, cost, and reliability of deployed AI systems, including through token usage optimization.
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and automated testing for AI workflows and agents, and manage the model lifecycle including version upgrades, deprecations, and migrations as providers release new models.
- Extend AI solutions to multi-modal use cases as needed, incorporating vision, audio, or other modalities alongside text-based LLMs.
- Stay current with the rapidly evolving AI landscape and advise the team on emerging models, tools, and techniques and their potential applications, including alternatives to the firm’s primary Azure-based stack (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud/Gemini).
What you’ll bring to the table
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, engineering, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum 7 years’ experience in software engineering, data engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- Minimum 3 years’ hands-on experience building AI solutions, specifically with large language models (LLMs) and agent-based systems.
- Thorough understanding of LLM architecture, capabilities, and limitations, with the ability to reason about and adopt new AI systems as they emerge.
- Proficiency in Python and modern AI/ML frameworks and libraries; familiarity with multi-modal models (e.g., vision, audio) is a plus.
- Demonstrated experience building agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, and LLM integrations using frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel, or comparable tooling.
- Experience with enterprise AI platforms such as Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, or Databricks or comparable platforms on AWS (e.g. Bedrock, SageMaker AI) or Google Cloud (e.g. Vertex AI, Gemini).
- Experience working with vector databases and embedding models.
- Proficiency in prompt engineering, model evaluation, and the use of guardrail and safety tooling.
- Proficiency working with REST APIs and integrating AI systems into enterprise applications and data pipelines.
- Familiarity with MLOps/LLMOps tooling (e.g., MLflow, Weights & Biases, LangSmith) for experiment tracking and model monitoring.
- Familiarity with Microsoft Azure and other major cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud) and cloud-based data services. The firm is Azure-focused but open to experience with other platforms.
- Familiarity with data privacy, security, and responsible-AI considerations for enterprise AI systems is preferred.
- Experience with SQL and working with both structured and unstructured data sources are advantageous.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Ability to work effectively under dynamic circumstances, tight deadlines, and high-pressure situations.
- Ability to successfully work with individuals of varying backgrounds, levels, and departments.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to effectively communicate complex technical and AI concepts to diverse audiences.
- May require more than 40.0 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position.
What you can expect from us
We are committed to providing an exceptional employee experience. You can expect:
- Competitive compensation—the salary range for this position is $160,000 to $190,000. This position is also eligible for bonus compensation on a discretionary basis. The actual salary offered for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors including qualifications and experience, education, external market data, and internal equity.
Comprehensive benefits package—includes tuition reimbursement up to $75K, low healthcare premiums, wellness benefits, and more! -
- Hybrid work environment with three coordinated in-office days per week.
- Open culture where your voice is heard, your input is sought, and your contributions are rewarded.
- Fun and engaging culture including frequent social events.
- Amenities that include a fitness center, rooftop terrace, standing desks, espresso, fresh fruit, breakfast and afternoon snack, billiards, and ping pong.
- Employee-driven community outreach program featuring fundraising events (e.g., trivia, game shows, cooking competitions, etc.), volunteer opportunities, and matching funds along with our pro bono program.
- Investment in your career through training programs, an assigned mentor and peer coach, and frequent feedback.
- Networking opportunities through employee interest groups, Women’s Network, International Network, Diversity-Inclusion Council, and BWProud Network.
If you are interested in joining our team, please submit a resume.
Bates White is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are an individual with a disability and you need an accommodation or other assistance during the application process, please call our Human Resources department at (202) 408-6110 or email your request to careers@bateswhite.com. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. Download the Know your Rights Poster for more information.
Bates White Economic Consulting
AI Engineer IV
Washington, District of Columbia
Added 2d ago51-200 employees
Job functions:
$160k - $190k/yr
Hybrid
Bachelor's degree in engineering
Job Description
Firm overview
Bates White is a boutique consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Recognized as a top workplace, the firm provides advanced economic, financial, and econometric analysis to law firms, companies, and government agencies.
Through our supportive, collaborative, and collegial culture, we invest in our talent and provide opportunities for career advancement. We are proud to have been consistently ranked among the top firms in the Vault Guide to the Top 50 Consulting Firms, listed as a top consulting firm by Management Consulted and named one of the Top Workplaces in the Washington, DC area for the 11th consecutive year by WTOP News.
If you are looking for a place to do high-quality work and have fun along the way, read below to discover how you can be part of our team. Learn more about our firm at: www.bateswhite.com.
What you’ll do
In this role you will design, develop and deploy AI-driven workflows and autonomous agents that leverage large language models (LLMs) and other AI systems across the firm’s enterprise AI platforms. You will:
- Design, build, and deploy AI workflows and agentic solutions that leverage LLMs and other AI systems, using the firm’s existing enterprise AI platforms (such as Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Databricks, AWS (e.g., Bedrock, SageMaker AI) and Google Cloud Vertex AI / Gemini), and evaluate and onboard new platforms as needs evolve.
- Develop, orchestrate, and maintain multi-step agent workflows, including tool use, function calling, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and integration with enterprise data sources, applications, and APIs.
- Apply a thorough understanding of how LLMs and emerging AI systems work, covering model selection, prompt design, context management, embeddings and vector stores, and the tradeoffs among inference, retrieval, and fine-tuning to select the right approach for each use case.
- Partner with business stakeholders and firm leadership to translate business requirements into robust, production-grade AI solutions.
- Build reusable frameworks, components, and pipelines that enable the broader data engineering team to develop, test, and scale AI solutions efficiently across cloud platforms.
- Establish and apply responsible AI practices, including data privacy and security, prompt injection and abuse mitigation, and evaluation and guardrails, in alignment with the firm’s AI governance policies and client contractual obligations.
- Monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve the accuracy, performance, cost, and reliability of deployed AI systems, including through token usage optimization.
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and automated testing for AI workflows and agents, and manage the model lifecycle including version upgrades, deprecations, and migrations as providers release new models.
- Extend AI solutions to multi-modal use cases as needed, incorporating vision, audio, or other modalities alongside text-based LLMs.
- Stay current with the rapidly evolving AI landscape and advise the team on emerging models, tools, and techniques and their potential applications, including alternatives to the firm’s primary Azure-based stack (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud/Gemini).
What you’ll bring to the table
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, engineering, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum 7 years’ experience in software engineering, data engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- Minimum 3 years’ hands-on experience building AI solutions, specifically with large language models (LLMs) and agent-based systems.
- Thorough understanding of LLM architecture, capabilities, and limitations, with the ability to reason about and adopt new AI systems as they emerge.
- Proficiency in Python and modern AI/ML frameworks and libraries; familiarity with multi-modal models (e.g., vision, audio) is a plus.
- Demonstrated experience building agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, and LLM integrations using frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel, or comparable tooling.
- Experience with enterprise AI platforms such as Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, or Databricks or comparable platforms on AWS (e.g. Bedrock, SageMaker AI) or Google Cloud (e.g. Vertex AI, Gemini).
- Experience working with vector databases and embedding models.
- Proficiency in prompt engineering, model evaluation, and the use of guardrail and safety tooling.
- Proficiency working with REST APIs and integrating AI systems into enterprise applications and data pipelines.
- Familiarity with MLOps/LLMOps tooling (e.g., MLflow, Weights & Biases, LangSmith) for experiment tracking and model monitoring.
- Familiarity with Microsoft Azure and other major cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud) and cloud-based data services. The firm is Azure-focused but open to experience with other platforms.
- Familiarity with data privacy, security, and responsible-AI considerations for enterprise AI systems is preferred.
- Experience with SQL and working with both structured and unstructured data sources are advantageous.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Ability to work effectively under dynamic circumstances, tight deadlines, and high-pressure situations.
- Ability to successfully work with individuals of varying backgrounds, levels, and departments.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to effectively communicate complex technical and AI concepts to diverse audiences.
- May require more than 40.0 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position.
What you can expect from us
We are committed to providing an exceptional employee experience. You can expect:
- Competitive compensation—the salary range for this position is $160,000 to $190,000. This position is also eligible for bonus compensation on a discretionary basis. The actual salary offered for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors including qualifications and experience, education, external market data, and internal equity.
Comprehensive benefits package—includes tuition reimbursement up to $75K, low healthcare premiums, wellness benefits, and more! -
- Hybrid work environment with three coordinated in-office days per week.
- Open culture where your voice is heard, your input is sought, and your contributions are rewarded.
- Fun and engaging culture including frequent social events.
- Amenities that include a fitness center, rooftop terrace, standing desks, espresso, fresh fruit, breakfast and afternoon snack, billiards, and ping pong.
- Employee-driven community outreach program featuring fundraising events (e.g., trivia, game shows, cooking competitions, etc.), volunteer opportunities, and matching funds along with our pro bono program.
- Investment in your career through training programs, an assigned mentor and peer coach, and frequent feedback.
- Networking opportunities through employee interest groups, Women’s Network, International Network, Diversity-Inclusion Council, and BWProud Network.
If you are interested in joining our team, please submit a resume.
Bates White is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are an individual with a disability and you need an accommodation or other assistance during the application process, please call our Human Resources department at (202) 408-6110 or email your request to careers@bateswhite.com. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. Download the Know your Rights Poster for more information.
See All 65 AI Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia
Find roles in District of Columbia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find AI Engineer JobsAI Engineer Jobs by City in District of Columbia
Where District of Columbia roles are concentrated, by current openings.
AI Engineer Job Market in District of Columbia
A snapshot from current District of Columbia openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Law & Legal Services
- Investment & Asset Management
- Science & Research
What District of Columbia Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in AI engineer jobs across District of Columbia.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, AI, data science, or a related field
- Active security clearance or eligibility for federal background investigation often required
- Proficiency in Python and machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch
- Experience building and deploying models in cloud environments like AWS, Azure, or GCP
- Familiarity with responsible AI principles, model governance, and explainability practices
- Strong communication skills for presenting AI outputs to non-technical government stakeholders
AI Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a ai engineer in District of Columbia?
There is no state-issued license required to work as an ai engineer in District of Columbia. Most employers in the region expect a bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, or a closely related field, with a master's degree preferred for senior roles. Because a large share of DC-area positions sit within federal contracting, obtaining or maintaining a security clearance is often the most critical credential. Building a portfolio of deployed models and contributing to open-source projects strengthens candidates without extensive industry experience.
Which companies hire ai engineers in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia ai engineer roles are posted by SpaceX, Google, and OpenAI and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. The region's concentration of federal agencies and defense contractors means many openings come from systems integrators and consultancies serving government clients rather than consumer technology companies.
Which District of Columbia cities have the most ai engineer jobs?
Washington are the District of Columbia areas with the most ai engineer openings. Washington DC itself drives the largest share of demand through federal agencies, think tanks, and government-focused tech firms, while nearby Northern Virginia suburbs like McLean and Rosslyn anchor major defense contractor campuses that concentrate additional AI hiring outside the district's boundaries.
Are there remote ai engineer jobs in District of Columbia?
Yes, and more than many fields. About 83% of ai engineer openings tied to District of Columbia are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how much of the work involves writing code, training models, and analyzing data rather than on-site operations. Roles that require access to classified systems or secure government facilities are the primary exception and tend to require in-person work.
How can I get hired as a ai engineer in District of Columbia with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in DC is through a federal contractor's associate or early-career analyst program, where candidates build AI skills on government-funded projects. Firms like Booz Allen Hamilton and Leidos run structured early-career hiring pipelines that consider candidates with internships, academic research projects, or strong capstone portfolios. Adjacent roles such as data analyst, machine learning research assistant, or junior software engineer are common lateral entry points. Earning a cloud certification from AWS or Google strengthens an application considerably in this market.
Where can I find and apply to ai engineer jobs in District of Columbia?
You can find and apply to ai engineer jobs in District of Columbia on Migrate Mate, which lists current District of Columbia openings. Search the available roles, find the ones that match your background and preferences, and apply directly to whichever positions fit.
See All 65 AI Engineer Jobs in District of Columbia
Find roles in District of Columbia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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