Senior AI Software Engineer Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Virginia
Virginia is one of the strongest states for senior AI software engineer visa sponsorship, driven by the Northern Virginia tech corridor, Pentagon-adjacent defense contractors, and a dense concentration of cloud and data infrastructure employers. Companies like Booz Allen Hamilton, Amazon Web Services, Leidos, and SAIC regularly sponsor senior AI engineering talent across the D.C. metro area and beyond.
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Job Overview
PenFed is hiring a SVP Artificial Intelligence at our Tysons, Virginia location. The Senior Vice President (SVP), Enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI), is responsible for leading PenFed's enterprise AI strategy, management, enablement, and engineering functions. This executive serves as the organization's senior authority on AI and is accountable for ensuring AI capabilities are adopted, managed, and scaled in a safe, secure, compliant, ethical, and value-driven manner.
The SVP balances two core mandates: AI Management - establishing and overseeing the enterprise framework for AI lifecycle management, risk management, compliance, inventory management, performance monitoring, reporting, and responsible AI practices - and AI Enablement - accelerating the adoption of AI tools, platforms, and capabilities across the enterprise to improve member experience, operational efficiency, decision-making, and employee productivity.
The SVP provides executive leadership for PenFed's enterprise AI Program, including AI management, portfolio oversight, AI enablement, AI engineering, organizational change management, and responsible AI practices. This role collaborates closely with Technology, Enterprise Data, Risk Management, Compliance, Legal, Privacy, Information Security, Model Risk Management, Internal Audit, and business leadership to ensure AI capabilities are deployed and managed consistently with PenFed's strategic objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations.
The SVP serves as a trusted advisor to Executive Leadership and the Board on AI-related opportunities, risks, investments, and industry developments and represents PenFed with regulators, auditors, industry groups, and external partners on AI-related matters.
Responsibilities
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job duties, and the position will perform other duties as assigned.
Enterprise AI Strategy & Program Leadership
- Develop and execute PenFed's enterprise AI strategy and roadmap aligned with business objectives, member needs, transformation priorities, and risk appetite.
- Lead the enterprise AI Program and establish a scalable operating model that supports AI adoption, management, and value realization across the organization.
- Establish and maintain a federated AI operating model with clearly defined accountability among business units, AI Owners, AI Stewards, Technology partners, and oversight functions.
- Provide executive oversight of the enterprise AI portfolio, including strategic alignment, adoption, business outcomes, risk posture, operational performance, and resource utilization.
- Ensure alignment between AI investments and enterprise strategic priorities.
- Develop a solid ROI framework for AI use cases and solutions.
- Establish performance metrics, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms that provide leadership visibility into AI adoption, value realization, risk, compliance, and portfolio performance.
- Present AI strategy, portfolio performance, risks, and opportunities to Executive Leadership, Board Committees, and enterprise management forums.
- Lead enterprise-wide communication, education, awareness, and change management initiatives that build AI literacy and promote responsible AI adoption.
AI Enablement & Adoption
- Establish and scale enterprise processes for AI intake, evaluation, prioritization, funding, and lifecycle coordination.
- Identify and advance high-value AI opportunities across lending, member service, fraud prevention, operations, marketing, contact centers, and corporate functions.
- Drive enterprise adoption of AI platforms, tools, and reusable capabilities through enablement programs, management processes, training, and organizational change management.
- Partner with business leaders to identify and prioritize AI investments that align with strategic objectives and member value.
- Champion AI literacy, workforce readiness, and responsible use of AI across all levels of the organization.
- Serve as PenFed's executive advisor on AI technologies, market trends, emerging capabilities, and adoption strategies.
- Identify opportunities where AI can improve member experience, employee productivity, operational efficiency, and business performance.
AI Management & Risk Oversight
- Establish and lead PenFed's Enterprise AI Management Framework, including oversight of AI intake, inventory, approvals, lifecycle management, monitoring, controls, reporting, and issue management.
- Maintain enterprise-wide accountability and visibility for all AI systems, machine learning solutions, generative AI applications, and vendor-embedded AI capabilities.
- Chair or co-chair enterprise AI management committees and related oversight forums.
- Oversee AI portfolio management activities, including value realization, risk identification, performance monitoring, issue management, and compliance reporting.
- Develop and maintain policies, standards, procedures, and controls governing the use and management of artificial intelligence solutions.
- Establish documentation requirements, decision authorities, escalation protocols, and accountability mechanisms throughout the AI lifecycle.
- Ensure AI management processes are integrated within enterprise risk, cybersecurity, privacy, and operational risk management practices.
- Coordinate management activities across business units and control functions to ensure consistent execution of enterprise AI requirements.
Responsible AI, Compliance & Regulatory Oversight
- Ensure AI solutions align with PenFed's Responsible AI principles, enterprise risk management standards, and regulatory expectations.
- Partner with Compliance, Legal, Privacy, Information Security, Fair Lending, and Model Risk Management teams to ensure AI capabilities meet applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies.
- Oversee AI risk identification, assessment, mitigation, monitoring, and reporting processes.
- Ensure effective testing, validation, monitoring, explainability, transparency, and documentation practices are established and maintained.
- Oversee management reporting related to AI risks, controls, incidents, and compliance activities.
- Coordinate AI-related regulatory examinations, supervisory reviews, model validations, independent assessments, and Internal Audit engagements.
- Serve as the primary executive representative for AI-related discussions with regulators, examiners, auditors, and oversight bodies.
- Monitor emerging AI regulations, industry guidance, and best practices and incorporate relevant requirements into enterprise management processes.
- Ensure effective coordination among first-line, second line, and third-line oversight functions.
LLM Management
- Provide executive leadership and oversight for PenFed's LLM management.
- Build teams responsible for AI solution development, generative AI implementations, prompt engineering, agentic workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and AI platform integration.
- Direct the evaluation, selection, implementation, and operationalization of LLMs, AI platforms, and emerging AI technologies.
- Lead the processes of identifying the right LLM for the right AI use case based.
- Lead the establishment of engineering standards, deployment controls, development practices, and operational requirements for AI-enabled solutions.
- Partner with Technology, Enterprise Architecture, Cybersecurity, and Data teams to ensure AI capabilities are secure, scalable, resilient, and aligned with enterprise architecture standards.
- Promote reuse of enterprise AI services, platforms, models, and capabilities to accelerate adoption and reduce duplication.
- Ensure AI engineering activities operate within established AI management, risk management, security, and compliance requirements.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Serve as the enterprise leader responsible for AI strategy, management, enablement, engineering, and innovation.
- Build strong partnerships across Technology, Enterprise Data, Risk Management, Compliance, Legal, Information Security, Operations, Human Resources, and business units.
- Influence enterprise decisions regarding AI investments, priorities, risk management, and transformation initiatives.
- Promote a culture of innovation, accountability, transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Lead organizational change efforts necessary to embed AI capabilities into business operations and member-facing services.
- Drive alignment between enterprise AI initiatives and broader digital transformation and modernization priorities.
People Leadership
- Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing team supporting AI Management, AI Enablement, AI Engineering, AI Risk Management, AI Program Management, and LLM Engineering functions.
- Provide direct leadership to AI Program Managers, AI Management professionals, AI Risk specialists, AI Engineers, LLM Engineers, AI Product Owners, and related resources.
- Establish performance expectations, talent development plans, and succession strategies aligned with PenFed's culture and strategic objectives.
- Create an inclusive, innovative, and high-accountability environment that encourages collaboration, continuous learning, and professional growth.
- Lead through influence across business and technology organizations regardless of reporting structures.
- Mentor and develop leaders and team members in AI management, risk management, responsible AI practices, and enterprise adoption strategies.
External Engagement
- Represent PenFed with regulators, industry organizations, technology partners, academic institutions, professional associations, and external stakeholders on AI-related matters.
- Develop strategic partnerships that support PenFed's AI strategy, innovation objectives, workforce development goals, and technology roadmap.
- Monitor emerging technologies, competitive trends, and industry developments to inform strategic decision-making.
Compliance
- Maintain knowledge of and ensure adherence to all applicable laws, regulations, and PenFed policies, procedures, and standards.
- Support strong governance, cybersecurity, privacy, operational resilience, and business continuity practices across all AI initiatives.
- Ensure readiness for regulatory examinations, independent reviews, and Internal Audit assessments.
- Foster a culture of compliance, ethical decision-making, transparency, and responsible innovation throughout the organization.
Qualifications
Equivalent combination of education and experience is considered.
Education
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, Data Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field required.
- Master's degree, MBA, or other advanced degrees preferred.
Experience
- Minimum of 15 years of progressive leadership experience in artificial intelligence, technology, data, analytics, enterprise transformation, or related disciplines.
- Minimum of 5 years leading AI, machine learning, generative AI, AI management, AI risk management, or AI engineering functions.
- Demonstrated experience establishing enterprise AI management, oversight, and risk management programs in a highly regulated environment.
- Proven experience leading enterprise-scale transformation initiatives and complex cross-functional organizations.
- Experience interacting with executive leadership, Boards of Directors, regulators, auditors, and external stakeholders.
- Financial services, banking, or credit union experience strongly preferred.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Deep understanding of AI management, AI risk management, Responsible AI principles, model risk management practices, and regulatory expectations within financial services.
- Strong knowledge of generative AI, large language models (LLMs), machine learning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agentic AI, AI platforms, and modern AI architectures.
- Strong understanding of NIST AI RMF, enterprise risk management principles, cybersecurity frameworks, privacy requirements, and compliance obligations.
- Exceptional verbal, written, presentation, and executive communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business, risk, regulatory, and Board-ready communications.
- Executive presence and proven ability to influence senior leaders, regulators, auditors, and business stakeholders.
- Strong strategic thinking, organizational leadership, and changing management capabilities.
- Proven ability to build high-performing teams and successfully drive enterprise-wide adoption of emerging technologies.
Supervisory Responsibility
This position will supervise employees.
Licenses and Certifications
There are no additional certifications required.
Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to an indoor office setting with moderate noise.
Most roles require working in an office setting with moderate noise and the ability to lift 25 pounds.
Travel
Ability to travel to various worksites and be on call may be required.
Pay Transparency
The anticipated starting salary range for this role is $237,800.00 - $440,000.00
This position is eligible for an organizational performance based annual bonus, subject to board discretion and approval.
This position is eligible for an individual performance based annual bonus.
Benefits
At PenFed, we offer a robust benefits package designed to support you both personally and professionally. You'll have access to comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans; paid time off; and family-friendly benefits like paid parental leave, care support, and fitness center access. Financial wellness is encouraged through features like a 401(k) match, employee loan discounts, and fully paid life and disability coverage. We also support growth via education assistance, community involvement, and volunteer opportunities.
Our Purpose
Helping members achieve their dreams since 1935. Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is one of America's largest federal credit unions, serving 2.8 million members worldwide with $29 billion in assets. PenFed offers market-leading certificates, checking and savings, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, and a wide range of other financial services, always with members' interests in mind. PenFed is federally insured by the NCUA and is an Equal Housing Lender.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty, LLC is a full-service real estate company ready to assist our clients with buying, selling and renting a home. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of PenFed Credit Union and is the largest independently-owned brokerage in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network, placing us in the top 1% of all real estate brokerages in the country. With almost 60 offices and nearly 2,000 world-class sales professionals, we offer complete service coverage in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Kansas and Texas. In addition, we also offer specialized client services which include management of vacation properties and long-term rentals, corporate relocation services and national referral network.
Equal Employment Opportunity
PenFed management will maintain and observe personnel policies which will not discriminate or permit harassment or retaliation against a person because of race, color, creed, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, military or veteran status or obligation, the presence of a physical and/or mental disability or medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, and all statuses protected by applicable state or local law in all recruiting, hiring, training, compensation, overtime, position classifications, work assignments, facilities, promotions, transfers, employee treatment, and in all other terms and conditions of employment. PenFed will also prohibit retaliation against individuals for raising a complaint of discrimination or harassment or participating in an investigation of same. PenFed will also reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can apply for a job or perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to PenFed. Contact human resources (HR) with any questions or requests for accommodation at Careers@PenFed.org.
Senior AI Software Engineer Job Roles in Virginia
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Search Senior AI Software Engineer Jobs in VirginiaSenior AI Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies sponsor visas for senior AI software engineers in Virginia?
Northern Virginia hosts some of the most active sponsors for senior AI software engineers in the country. Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, SAIC, Amazon Web Services, Capital One, and Peraton regularly file H-1B visa petitions for AI and machine learning roles. Defense contractors in the Tysons and McLean corridor and cloud infrastructure teams based in Herndon and Reston also represent consistent sponsoring employers in this space.
Which visa types are most common for senior AI software engineer roles in Virginia?
The H-1B is by far the most common visa category for senior AI software engineers in Virginia, given that these roles clearly meet the specialty occupation standard requiring a relevant bachelor's degree or higher in computer science, machine learning, or a related field. L-1B visas also appear for intracompany transfers into AI teams at large multinationals, and O-1A petitions are filed for candidates with exceptional research or publication records.
How to find senior ai software engineer visa sponsorship jobs in Virginia?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for this search. You can filter by state and role to surface senior AI software engineer positions in Virginia where employers have a documented history of visa sponsorship. Because the platform focuses on sponsorship-verified listings, it cuts through the noise of general job boards and surfaces employers in Northern Virginia, Richmond, and beyond who are actively hiring international candidates.
Which cities in Virginia have the most senior AI software engineer sponsorship jobs?
Northern Virginia, particularly the cities of McLean, Tysons, Herndon, Reston, and Arlington, concentrates the majority of senior AI software engineer sponsorship activity in the state. This corridor is home to federal contractors, cloud providers, and cybersecurity firms all investing heavily in AI capabilities. Richmond is a secondary market with growing fintech and healthcare AI presence, while Charlottesville draws on University of Virginia research talent.
Are there any Virginia-specific factors that affect visa sponsorship for senior AI software engineers?
Virginia's heavy concentration of federal contractors introduces one meaningful consideration: many senior AI roles require or prefer a U.S. security clearance, which non-citizens generally cannot hold. This narrows the pool of sponsoring employers for international candidates to commercial technology firms and contractors whose AI work is unclassified. The DOL prevailing wage determinations for Northern Virginia reflect high local wage levels, so employers must meet those thresholds in their H-1B Labor Condition Applications.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored senior ai software engineer jobs in Virginia?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.