Senior AI Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia
Senior AI Software Engineer jobs in Virginia are among the most active in the country, concentrated in defense technology, federal contracting, cloud infrastructure, and commercial software development across a market that stretches from entry-level AI roles through principal and staff engineer positions. The largest hiring hubs are Northern Virginia, Richmond, and the Hampton Roads corridor, where employers such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, and Amazon Web Services have deep, established footprints. The most in-demand specialties include large language model development, MLOps, and computer vision applied to defense and enterprise platforms. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 57+ Senior AI Software Engineer jobs
Job Title: AI Coding Tools Engineer (Sr. AI Full-Stack Engineer with Coding Tools [Claude Code, Codex] and agentic AI)
Location: Chantilly, VA
Notes
- Windows and Linux experience (ideally Admin experience) and capable of configuring different coding tools in internal hosted Windows and Linux environments.
- Project management and communications skills to be able to manage different projects and communicate with different parties, with the client, for supporting the operation and roll-out of a variety of coding assistant tools.
- Familiarity with some of the existing coding assistant tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cline, Codex).
Position Description: AI Coding Tools Engineer
The AI Coding Tools Engineer (GenAI & Agentic Systems) evaluates, pilots, operationalizes, maintains, and scales adoption of secure AI coding assistant tools across the enterprise.
Key Responsibilities
AI Coding Assistant Evaluation
- Conduct structured evaluations of leading enterprise AI coding assistants, including features, model performance, security, integration complexity, and developer ergonomics.
AI Coding Assistant Piloting, Launching & Adoption Support
- Integrate coding assistants into IDEs (VS Code), terminals/CLI workflows, and source-control ecosystems.
- Configure AI guardrails, including content filtering, prompt-shielding, and role-based access controls aligned with enterprise and NIST requirements.
- Work with Security Team to prepare ATO evidence, including SSP updates, control narratives, risk registers, and continuous-monitoring artifacts.
- Work with Training and Enablement Team to develop training, compliance, and end-user/best-practice guides.
- Support Coding Assistant “office hours” to support developer enablement and accelerate adoption.
- Collect user feedback, track adoption metrics, and iteratively refine usage patterns for different developer roles.
AI Coding Assistant Operations & Maintenance Support
- Monitor platform health and guardrail performance.
- Support analysis and remediation of integration or platform issues impacting the coding assistants.
- Track, evaluate, and support application of coding assistant updates and patches.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum 2 years of experience with leading AI Coding Assistants.
- Minimum 3–5 years of experience in software engineering, developer experience engineering, platform engineering, or related roles.
- Experience integrating or evaluating LLM-powered developer tools (e.g., code completion, chat-based programming assistance, test generation, refactoring tools).
- Understanding of NIST compliance and government cloud environments.
- Familiarity with enterprise DevSecOps practices, modern IDEs, and secure software development lifecycles.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience leading enterprise adoption of AI coding assistants (pilot design, rollout planning, governance alignment).
- Hands-on experience with Amazon Bedrock GovCloud, Azure OpenAI (Gov), and/or Vertex AI (Assured Workloads) for production workloads.
- Experience building multi-step agent workflows on Bedrock Agents, implementing Bedrock Guardrails, or building RAG/semantic-search systems via Vertex AI Search.
- Experience supporting ATO artifacts and design/testing of controls.
Job Title: AI Coding Tools Engineer (Sr. AI Full-Stack Engineer with Coding Tools [Claude Code, Codex] and agentic AI)
Location: Chantilly, VA
Notes
- Windows and Linux experience (ideally Admin experience) and capable of configuring different coding tools in internal hosted Windows and Linux environments.
- Project management and communications skills to be able to manage different projects and communicate with different parties, with the client, for supporting the operation and roll-out of a variety of coding assistant tools.
- Familiarity with some of the existing coding assistant tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cline, Codex).
Position Description: AI Coding Tools Engineer
The AI Coding Tools Engineer (GenAI & Agentic Systems) evaluates, pilots, operationalizes, maintains, and scales adoption of secure AI coding assistant tools across the enterprise.
Key Responsibilities
AI Coding Assistant Evaluation
- Conduct structured evaluations of leading enterprise AI coding assistants, including features, model performance, security, integration complexity, and developer ergonomics.
AI Coding Assistant Piloting, Launching & Adoption Support
- Integrate coding assistants into IDEs (VS Code), terminals/CLI workflows, and source-control ecosystems.
- Configure AI guardrails, including content filtering, prompt-shielding, and role-based access controls aligned with enterprise and NIST requirements.
- Work with Security Team to prepare ATO evidence, including SSP updates, control narratives, risk registers, and continuous-monitoring artifacts.
- Work with Training and Enablement Team to develop training, compliance, and end-user/best-practice guides.
- Support Coding Assistant “office hours” to support developer enablement and accelerate adoption.
- Collect user feedback, track adoption metrics, and iteratively refine usage patterns for different developer roles.
AI Coding Assistant Operations & Maintenance Support
- Monitor platform health and guardrail performance.
- Support analysis and remediation of integration or platform issues impacting the coding assistants.
- Track, evaluate, and support application of coding assistant updates and patches.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum 2 years of experience with leading AI Coding Assistants.
- Minimum 3–5 years of experience in software engineering, developer experience engineering, platform engineering, or related roles.
- Experience integrating or evaluating LLM-powered developer tools (e.g., code completion, chat-based programming assistance, test generation, refactoring tools).
- Understanding of NIST compliance and government cloud environments.
- Familiarity with enterprise DevSecOps practices, modern IDEs, and secure software development lifecycles.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience leading enterprise adoption of AI coding assistants (pilot design, rollout planning, governance alignment).
- Hands-on experience with Amazon Bedrock GovCloud, Azure OpenAI (Gov), and/or Vertex AI (Assured Workloads) for production workloads.
- Experience building multi-step agent workflows on Bedrock Agents, implementing Bedrock Guardrails, or building RAG/semantic-search systems via Vertex AI Search.
- Experience supporting ATO artifacts and design/testing of controls.
See All 57 Senior AI Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia
Find roles in Virginia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsSenior AI Software Engineer Jobs by City in Virginia
Where Virginia roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Senior AI Software Engineer Job Market in Virginia
A snapshot from current Virginia openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
What Virginia Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in senior AI software engineer jobs across Virginia.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, AI, or a closely related field
- Five or more years of experience building and deploying production machine learning systems
- Proficiency in Python and at least one ML framework such as TensorFlow or PyTorch
- Active or obtainable U.S. security clearance, required by many Virginia federal contractors
- Experience with cloud AI services on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud in enterprise environments
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and mentor junior AI engineers
Senior AI Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a senior ai software engineer in Virginia?
Virginia has no state-issued license for software engineers, so the path runs through education and experience rather than a licensing board. Most senior roles require a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, machine learning, or a related field, plus several years of hands-on model development work. Virginia's large defense and federal contracting sector adds one meaningful credential: a U.S. security clearance, which many Northern Virginia employers treat as a near-requirement for senior AI positions.
How much do senior AI software engineers make in Virginia?
Senior AI software engineers in Virginia earn a median of about $136,460 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $83,350 for the lowest 10% to over $211,930 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire senior ai software engineers in Virginia?
Employers hiring senior ai software engineers in Virginia right now include Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Information Technology, and Credence, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Virginia's concentration of defense contractors and cloud infrastructure providers means demand stays consistent even outside typical tech hiring cycles.
Which Virginia cities have the most senior ai software engineer jobs?
Arlington, McLean, and Reston have the most senior ai software engineer openings in Virginia. Northern Virginia dominates because of its dense cluster of federal agencies, defense contractors, and hyperscale data centers, while Richmond draws hiring from financial services and healthcare technology firms, and Hampton Roads sees demand from Navy and defense research installations in the region.
Are there remote senior ai software engineer jobs in Virginia?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 53% of senior ai software engineer openings tied to Virginia are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how much of this work centers on writing and deploying code rather than on-site hardware. The exception is roles tied to classified defense programs, which almost always require on-site work at cleared facilities in Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads.
How can I get hired as a senior ai software engineer in Virginia with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is landing an associate or junior AI engineer role at one of Virginia's large federal contractors, such as Booz Allen Hamilton or Leidos, both of which run structured new-graduate programs. From adjacent roles like data analyst, software developer, or systems engineer, a targeted portfolio of personal ML projects and a completed cloud certification strengthens a candidacy considerably. Virginia's proximity to George Mason University and Virginia Tech also creates pathways through university research partnerships and cooperative education programs that connect students directly to hiring teams.
Where can I find and apply to senior ai software engineer jobs in Virginia?
You can find and apply to senior ai software engineer jobs in Virginia on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings across the state. Search the listings, find roles that fit your background and location, and apply directly to the ones that match.
See All 57 Senior AI Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia
Find roles in Virginia that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Jobs