Lead developer Jobs in Washington, DC

Position Summary

We are seeking a Lead AI Developer to lead the design, development, testing, and deployment of reliable AI-powered applications and services. In this role, you will provide technical direction, collaborate with product and engineering colleagues, and guide the delivery of AI solutions that address business needs. The ideal candidate brings strong software development experience, practical expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the ability to support and develop a collaborative engineering team.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, testing, and maintenance of AI applications, services, and supporting software components

• Translate product requirements and business needs into robust, scalable, and maintainable AI solutions

• Provide technical leadership and guidance to developers, supporting sound engineering practices and effective collaboration

• Assess AI approaches, models, and tools to determine their suitability for product and operational requirements

• Develop and integrate machine learning models, generative AI capabilities, and AI services into software applications

• Build and maintain APIs, data pipelines, and integrations that support AI features and applications

• Establish and maintain practices for evaluating model quality, performance, reliability, and suitability for intended use

• Promote responsible AI development, including appropriate consideration of privacy, security, fairness, transparency, and human oversight

• Review code and technical designs, and help maintain consistent standards for testing, documentation, and software quality

• Investigate and resolve defects, performance issues, and production incidents affecting AI applications and services

• Identify opportunities to improve the scalability, security, cost-effectiveness, and maintainability of AI systems

• Work with product, data, engineering, and operational colleagues to plan and deliver AI initiatives

• Contribute to technical roadmaps, project estimates, implementation plans, and knowledge sharing across the team

• Keep up to date with developments in AI, machine learning, software engineering, and relevant security and governance practices

Required Qualifications

• Professional experience in software development, AI development, machine learning engineering, or a related technical role

• Experience leading technical work or providing guidance to developers within a collaborative engineering team

• Proficiency in Python and experience with at least one other modern programming language

• Practical experience developing, integrating, or deploying AI or machine learning solutions

• Understanding of machine learning principles, model evaluation, data preparation, and common AI development workflows

• Experience building APIs or production software services and integrating them with data sources or third-party systems

• Experience working with relational or non-relational databases and data processing workflows

• Familiarity with software testing, code reviews, version control, and continuous integration practices

• Understanding of software architecture, data structures, algorithms, and common design patterns

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess trade-offs and develop practical solutions

• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and work effectively with colleagues across different disciplines

• Good organisation and time management skills, with the ability to manage priorities and deliver work to agreed timelines

• Commitment to developing secure, reliable, maintainable, and responsible AI-enabled software

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing generative AI applications using large language models, embedding models, or related technologies

• Familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector search, prompt design, and AI application evaluation

• Experience with machine learning frameworks or libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or scikit-learn

• Experience with cloud-based AI or machine learning services from AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud

• Familiarity with MLOps practices, model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management

• Experience with containerisation technologies such as Docker and orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes

• Knowledge of data protection, AI governance, or responsible AI frameworks and practices

• Experience working in an agile software development team

• Relevant degree, professional qualification, or equivalent practical experience in software development, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or a related field