AI Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC
AI Engineer jobs in Washington, District of Columbia are concentrated across federal agencies, defense contractors, and health tech firms, with demand centered in NoMa, Foggy Bottom, and the Capitol Riverfront. Employers hiring right now include SpaceX, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Meta, with strong demand for machine learning, NLP, and AI safety specializations. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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About the Role
We’re looking for an AI Engineer to design, build, and operate production-grade generative AI systems on Microsoft Azure. You’ll own retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions end to end, from data ingestion through to monitored, deployed services, and build the agentic workflows and APIs that put them in users’ hands.
What You’ll Do
Build RAG systems
- Design and implement end-to-end RAG pipelines: data ingestion, embedding generation, vector database management, and retrieval optimization.
- Develop and maintain APIs that orchestrate RAG workflows, including retrieval, prompt handling, and model interaction.
Develop agentic AI workflows
- Build orchestration and multi-step reasoning workflows using Semantic Kernel, LangChain, or LangGraph, incorporating tool use and memory.
- Integrate LLMs such as Azure OpenAI, and tune prompts for accuracy, performance, and cost.
Ensure quality and reliability
- Implement observability, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks using LangSmith and Azure monitoring tools to track output quality, latency, and hallucination rates.
- Troubleshoot and improve retrieval quality, grounding accuracy, and response relevance.
Deploy and operate
- Deploy and manage AI services on Azure using CI/CD pipelines and containerization.
- Build and maintain scalable web applications using Python, Node.js, and React.
Build responsibly
- Apply responsible AI practices, including guardrails, security controls, and compliance standards.
Required
- Hands-on Python experience for backend services and automation
- Hands-on experience with LangChain and/or LangGraph
- Experience with RAG, embeddings, and vector search
- Hands-on experience with Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search
- Proficiency with REST APIs, JSON, and Git
Nice to Have
- JavaScript experience (React, Node.js)
- Docker and container-based deployments
- Experience with Azure services such as Azure Container Apps or AKS, Azure Functions, Azure Monitor/Application Insights, and Key Vault
Salary and Other Compensation:
The annual salary for this position is between $110,000– $135,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.
This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.
Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:
- Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
- Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
- 401(k) plan and contributions
- Long-term/Short-term Disability
- Paid Parental Leave
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.
About the Role
We’re looking for an AI Engineer to design, build, and operate production-grade generative AI systems on Microsoft Azure. You’ll own retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions end to end, from data ingestion through to monitored, deployed services, and build the agentic workflows and APIs that put them in users’ hands.
What You’ll Do
Build RAG systems
- Design and implement end-to-end RAG pipelines: data ingestion, embedding generation, vector database management, and retrieval optimization.
- Develop and maintain APIs that orchestrate RAG workflows, including retrieval, prompt handling, and model interaction.
Develop agentic AI workflows
- Build orchestration and multi-step reasoning workflows using Semantic Kernel, LangChain, or LangGraph, incorporating tool use and memory.
- Integrate LLMs such as Azure OpenAI, and tune prompts for accuracy, performance, and cost.
Ensure quality and reliability
- Implement observability, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks using LangSmith and Azure monitoring tools to track output quality, latency, and hallucination rates.
- Troubleshoot and improve retrieval quality, grounding accuracy, and response relevance.
Deploy and operate
- Deploy and manage AI services on Azure using CI/CD pipelines and containerization.
- Build and maintain scalable web applications using Python, Node.js, and React.
Build responsibly
- Apply responsible AI practices, including guardrails, security controls, and compliance standards.
Required
- Hands-on Python experience for backend services and automation
- Hands-on experience with LangChain and/or LangGraph
- Experience with RAG, embeddings, and vector search
- Hands-on experience with Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search
- Proficiency with REST APIs, JSON, and Git
Nice to Have
- JavaScript experience (React, Node.js)
- Docker and container-based deployments
- Experience with Azure services such as Azure Container Apps or AKS, Azure Functions, Azure Monitor/Application Insights, and Key Vault
Salary and Other Compensation:
The annual salary for this position is between $110,000– $135,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.
This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.
Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:
- Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
- Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
- 401(k) plan and contributions
- Long-term/Short-term Disability
- Paid Parental Leave
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.
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Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Law & Legal Services
AI Engineer Jobs in Washington: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a ai engineer job in Washington?
Focus your search on the sectors that drive Washington ai engineer hiring: federal agencies and their contractors, defense and intelligence technology firms, health IT organizations, and policy-adjacent AI research groups. Roles concentrate in NoMa, Foggy Bottom, and the Anacostia waterfront corridor. Candidates with clearance eligibility, experience in responsible AI or AI governance, and a portfolio touching government-scale data problems stand out in this market.
Which companies hire ai engineers in Washington?
Washington ai engineer roles are posted by SpaceX, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Meta and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. The employer mix here skews toward federal contractors, defense technology firms, and health-focused technology organizations alongside a growing cluster of AI-native startups serving government clients.
Are there remote ai engineer jobs in Washington?
Yes, though availability depends on the role, since positions requiring access to classified systems or sensitive government infrastructure are typically on-site. About 87% of ai engineer openings tied to Washington are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with the highest remote share in model development, MLOps, and data pipeline engineering rather than in federally contracted or clearance-required positions.
How can I get a ai engineer job in Washington with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in Washington is through federal agency internship pipelines and contractor training programs, both of which actively recruit candidates building foundational machine learning or data engineering skills. Entry-level titles like junior data scientist, machine learning associate, and AI research assistant appear regularly at government contractors and health IT firms in the area. Completing a government-focused AI project, contributing to open-source policy tools, or earning a relevant certification before applying makes a material difference locally.
Which industries hire the most ai engineers in Washington?
Washington ai engineer roles concentrate in Law & Legal Services, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Washington's position as the seat of federal government creates sustained demand from defense, intelligence, and public health agencies, which in turn supports a large ecosystem of contractors and technology vendors building AI tools for government use cases.
Related Jobs in District of Columbia
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