Agentic AI & ML Software Development Engineer

Agentic AI & ML Software Development Engineer

The Opportunity:  

To achieve an organization’s mission, leaders need strong team members who can create and analyze processes, communicate requirements, and develop innovative solutions throughout the execution of the mission. Whether reviewing program-wide technical architecture or providing AI and ML expertise, our clients need someone who combines deep technical understanding of software engineering with strong architectural judgment. That is why we need you, an experienced Agentic AI & ML Software Development Engineer who can operate at a system-of-systems level to support clients in advancing AI-enabled systems within an R&D environment.

As part of our team, you'll serve as a strategic technical expert for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), helping conceptualize, create, and execute advanced government-funded research and development programs to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone. You’ll work with world-class scientists and engineers to support the development of high-impact solutions to society's most challenging health problems. You will leverage technical expertise to provide strategic assessments of new technologies in support to senior ARPA-H decision makers. You’ll maintain responsibility for producing and presenting findings and recommendations to a team of colleagues and clients on the feasibility and potential impact of future research programs, assisting with the management of current programs, and facilitating commercialization of successfully developed technologies.

You'll serve as an Agentic AI & ML Software Development Engineer advising program leadership and supporting software engineering to support the client mission. You will support clients in ensuring that program-wide technical architecture and engineering to rigorous AI development, evaluation, and long-term impact. Your attention to detail, flexibility, communication skills, understanding of the client's mission, and problem-solving will enable the mission's success.

What You’ll Work On:  

• Design and maintain core agentic systems, including reasoning, planning, memory, tool‑use, and multi‑agent workflows.

• Build and evolve application‑layer infrastructure such as tool‑calling, MCP integration, A2A communication, and context‑window management.

• Lead LLM orchestration and RAG capabilities, including prompt design, retrieval quality, grounding, and hallucination mitigation.

• Translate product requirements into clear technical designs and ship end‑to‑end features quickly and reliability.

• Prototype and experiment with new agentic capabilities, analyze results, and iterate based on user behavior.

• Ensure high observability and reliability through instrumentation, SLOs, guardrails, and collaboration with infrastructure engineering.

• Uphold engineering excellence by writing high‑quality code, mentoring teammates, and enforcing strong privacy, security, and compliance practices.

Join us. The world can’t wait. 

You Have: 

• 7+ years of experience with software engineering, including building and operating production systems 

• Experience in high-velocity environments, including owning and shipping complex products end-to-end 

• Experience with Python and at least one other backend language such as Java, Go, or Rust

• Experience in big tech building customer-facing AI platforms or developer tools at scale 

• Experience building and operating systems on major cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure  

• Experience with containerization and working within CI/CD pipelines 

• Experience in prompt engineering and LLM behavior across model families

• Experience within token economics such as cost-per-query awareness, context budget management, and prompt efficiency

• Knowledge of modern backend frameworks and async patterns, algorithms, data structures, APIs, and software design patterns

• Bachelor's in Computer Science or Software Engineering

Nice If You Have:  

• Experience in healthcare, life sciences, or other regulated domains 

• Experience in security-conscious engineering, including input validation, output sanitization, audit logging, and responsible AI guardrails 

• Experience in startup or early-stage environments, including 0-to-1 product building, comfort with ambiguity, and a high sense of urgency 

• Experience with MCP at the client or consumer layer, including how agents discover and invoke tools via MCP 

• Ability to be a self-starter and operate within a fast-paced environment  

• Master’s degree in a relevant field

Compensation

At Booz Allen, we celebrate your contributions, provide you with opportunities and choices, and support your total well-being. Our offerings include health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits, as well as paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, work-life programs, and dependent care. Our recognition awards program acknowledges employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of our values. Full-time and part-time employees working at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in Booz Allen’s benefit programs. Individuals that do not meet the threshold are only eligible for select offerings, not inclusive of health benefits. We encourage you to learn more about our total benefits by visiting the Resource page on our Careers site and reviewing Our Employee Benefits page.

Salary at Booz Allen is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability and organizational requirements. The projected compensation range for this position is $86,800.00 to $198,000.00 (annualized USD). The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of Booz Allen’s total compensation package for employees. This posting will close within 90 days from the Posting Date.

Identity Statement

As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud.

Candidate AI Usage Policy

AI is a part of our daily work at Booz Allen, and we are committed to the responsible and ethical use of AI tools. However, we want to ensure a fair candidate process based on your own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or other tools to assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is prohibited unless permission is explicitly provided.

Work Model
Our people-first culture prioritizes the benefits of collaboration, whether it occurs in person or virtually. To support engagement and effective communication, employees working virtually are generally expected to have their cameras on during meetings.

• Remote: If this position is listed as remote, there may still be occasions when you are required to work in person at a Booz Allen or customer facility.

• Hybrid: If this position is listed as hybrid, you will be expected to work from a Booz Allen facility frequently, in alignment with leadership expectations and the needs of the role. You may also be required to work from or visit a customer facility.

• Onsite: If this position is listed as onsite, work will primarily be performed at a Booz Allen office or customer facility, where employees will collaborate directly with colleagues and customers as required by the role.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.