AI Engineer - Backend Focus

Software Associates Inc.
Gaithersburg, Maryland, United StatesFull-timePosted Aug 27, 2026

About the role

Position Summary:

A backend-focused AI engineer responsible for developing secure, scalable, and production-grade AI

applications, with deep experience in LLM integration, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines,

including Graph-RAG, Agentic AI, and cloud-based LLM Ops workflows. The role emphasizes Amazon

SageMaker Studio, ECS, ECR, lambdas, Agentic Core, APIs, OpenSearch Vector DB, and Dynamo DB for

operationalizing GenAI-powered Digital Products within FedRAMP-compliant AWS environments.

Responsibilities:

AI Solution Development:

Expert hands-on building of RAG and Graph-RAG architectures to handle multiple complex data

formats (PDF, images, tables, Word documents, Excel, acronyms, attachments, etc.) to create cleansed

standardized data for hydration into a vector database

Expert hands-on knowledge on text embeddings, image embeddings, chunking logic, metadata creation, and embedding vectors indexing.

Expert hands-on knowledge in creating a highly accurate RAG retrieval system with knowledge on

reranking, semantic search, similarity search, hybrid search, etc., to search by text or images.

Implement secure, scalable, highly accurate RAG, Agentic AI pipelines using LangChain, Strands, MCP,

A2A frameworks, or AWS-native services like Bedrock, Agentic Core, OpenSearch Vector Database, and

Knowledgebase.

Create backend infrastructure for chatbot applications with long-term and short-term memory

capabilities to improve user experience.

Hands-on knowledge of creating APIs, Graph-RAG, develop agentic AI workflows with MCPs, A2A, and

Skills.

AI/ML Skills:

Experience operationalizing AI/ML pipelines in SageMaker Studio with model governance

Experience with Amazon - Bedrock, Agentic Core, OpenSearch Vector Database, knowledgebase,

lambda, API Gateway, FASTAPIs or Flask, SQS, SNS, Step functions, DynamoDB, RDS/Postgres SQL, ECS,

ECR, IAM, CloudWatch, and EKS or Fargate.

Frameworks: LangChain, LangFuse, LlamaIndex, Strands, RAGAS, CrewAI, MCP, and A2A.

Prompt engineering, LLM evaluation methodologies, bias detection, and hallucination detection.

LLM Integration & LLM Ops:

Integrate multiple LLMs via APIs (AWS Bedrock: Anthropic - Claude, Titan, Llama, Stability Diffusion

models)

Implement structured prompt engineering frameworks, response evaluation tools, and feedback loops

Build model optimization layers, including prompt selectors, model switchers, and cache layers

Cloud Infrastructure & Deployment:

Deploy AI services using SageMaker, ECS, Lambdas, Agentic Core, and Elastic Load Balancers

Containerize backend systems with Docker and deploy to scalable environments using ECS/EKS

Implement CI/CD pipelines via GitHub Actions integrated with AWS Systems Manager and

CodePipeline

Architect solutions for VPC isolation, IAM hardening, and FedRAMP High compliance

System Integrations amp; Maintenance:

Integrate AI workflows with enterprise databases, legacy platforms, and identity providers

Monitor service performance, GPU utilization, and system health via CloudWatch and custom logging

Build automated testing pipelines for model accuracy, bias detection, and system robustness

Maintain technical documentation and developer runbooks for long-term system support

Work Environment:

Remote-first with collaborative engagements and occasional client travel

Mission-focused development aligned with executive priorities

Continuous learning and rapid prototyping of cutting-edge AI technologies

Agile delivery culture with strong cross-functional collaboration

Required:

Required / Minimum Qualifications

10+ years of IT experience.

3+ years of experience as an AI Engineer

3+ years of experience in AWS

AWS Services: Graph RAG, Bedrock Agentic Core, EC2 (GPU-enabled), SageMaker (Studio, Pipelines,

Endpoints, Model Registry), Bedrock, OpenSearch Vector DB, Systems Manager, Load Balancers,

Amazon - Bedrock, OpenSearch Vector Database, knowledgebase, lambda, API Gateway, FASTAPIs or

Flask, SQS, SNS, Step functions, DynamoDB, RDS/Postgres SQL, and EKS or Fargate

Proficient in coding: Python (async, FastAPI, LangChain, Transformers) and Terraform

DevSecOps: Docker, GitHub, GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines

Cloud-Native Development: Infrastructure-as-Code, cloud monitoring, and security policies

Preferred:

Preferred / Nice-to-Have Qualifications

Experience with React or other frontend frameworks for full-stack AI interfaces (Streamlit, ReactJS,

JavaScript, Typescript, HTML, and CSS

Government/federal sector AI solution experience with FedRAMP High or FISMA

Bachelors or equivalent in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI/ML, or related technical field

AWS certifications (Machine Learning Specialty, Solutions Architect is a strong plus)

Experience using AI coding assistant tools like OpenAI Codex and Claude Code.

Responsibilities

  • Develop secure, scalable, and production-grade AI applications
  • Build RAG and Graph-RAG architectures for complex data formats
  • Create backend infrastructure for chatbot applications
  • Operationalize AI/ML pipelines in SageMaker Studio
  • Deploy AI services using SageMaker, ECS, and Lambdas
  • Integrate AI workflows with enterprise databases and legacy platforms

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of IT experience
  • 3+ years of experience as an AI Engineer
  • Proficient in Python and Terraform
  • Experience with AWS services and DevSecOps practices

Skills mentioned

PythonRetrieval-Augmented GenerationLarge Language ModelsAI AgentsLangChainAWSFastAPITerraformDockerMLOps

About Software Associates Inc.

At Software Associates, we effectively deploy cutting-edge financial systems. Renowned for our commitment to reliability and quality in complex environments, we specialize in providing consulting, technology, and IT services to key agencies throughout the United States. Our track record showcases our ability to consistently meet deadlines while ensuring client satisfaction.

Software Development2-10 employeesCLARKSBURG, Maryland