AI Engineering Lead — Washington

Job Title: AI Engineering Lead Job Category: Information Technology Time Type: Full time Minimum Clearance Required to Start: None Employee Type: Regular Percentage of Travel Required: None Type of Travel: None * * * The Opportunity: CACI is seeking a visionary AI Engineering Lead to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG). This role offers a unique opportunity to provide technical leadership and strategic direction for an enterprise AI transformation that strengthens national security oversight through investigative, audit, and inspection operations. As the AI Engineering Lead, you will architect and oversee the implementation of AI capabilities across the DHS OIG enterprise, from OIGChat—a large language model assistant—to mission-specific investigative analytics applications. You will lead technical teams, define AI architecture patterns, establish model governance frameworks, and ensure responsible AI practices across all implementations. You will coordinate access to Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Foundry services, implement cost controls and guardrails, and provide expert guidance on complex AI problem sets from prototype through production. Working within secure government cloud environments, you will shape the technical vision and execution strategy for AI capabilities on a transformational program of national importance. Join us to make a meaningful impact by leading the future of AI-enabled federal oversight. Responsibilities:  Provide technical leadership and architectural direction for all AI capabilities, including OIGChat, pilot applications, and enterprise AI platform services across Azure Government and Commercial environments Oversee secure, governed access to Government-approved AI models (Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, commercial LLM providers), including model selection, routing architecture, API management, and integration patterns Lead design, development, and architecture of mission-specific AI applications for investigative analytics, hotline analysis, eDiscovery, and oversight use cases from concept through production Establish and enforce model governance, cost management, and responsible AI frameworks, including usage monitoring, token consumption tracking, dashboards, thresholds, alerts, and guardrails to prevent unauthorized use, excessive cost, and data leakage Define and implement AI/ML architecture patterns that ensure all model access consumes governed, authoritative datasets from the enterprise data platform in compliance with data governance, classification, and quality policies Lead solution architecture and prototyping efforts, providing expert guidance on complex AI problem sets, technical feasibility assessments, and level-of-effort estimates Coordinate AI workload requirements and scalability planning across infrastructure, data, and application layers to support current and future AI use cases Lead and coordinate AI engineering and data science resources, including surge support for specialized technical analysis, model development, validation, and production deployment Support model auditing, explainability, bias detection, and compliance with federal AI requirements and DHS OIG data governance policies Collaborate with Government leadership, platform engineers, security specialists, and product teams to align AI capabilities with mission priorities, Agile delivery processes, and enterprise architecture standards. Qualifications: Required –  Bachelor's degree + 15 years of experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, software engineering, or related field; equivalencies considered (Master's + 12 years; 21 years with no degree; AA + 17 years) Proven technical leadership experience architecting and delivering enterprise-scale AI/ML solutions, with demonstrated ability to lead engineering teams and coordinate cross-functional efforts Deep expertise in large language models (LLMs), generative AI, Azure OpenAI/Azure AI services, and enterprise AI platforms with understanding of model governance, responsible AI, and production ML operations Extensive experience designing AI architectures, including RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), model routing, API patterns, guardrails, monitoring, cost optimization, and integration with enterprise data platforms Strong background in AI/ML frameworks (LangChain, Semantic Kernel, TensorFlow, PyTorch), Python development, and cloud-native AI services with ability to provide hands-on technical guidance Desired – Experience leading AI initiatives in federal government, law enforcement, investigative, or national security environments with understanding of sensitive data handling, ATO processes, and compliance requirements Hands-on experience with MLOps, model lifecycle management, AI governance frameworks, and production AI monitoring and observability tools Background in investigative analytics, fraud detection, text analytics, NLP, or mission-driven AI applications supporting oversight, audit, or law enforcement functions       - What You Can Expect:  A culture of integrity. At CACI, we place character and innovation at the center of everything we do. As a valued team member, you’ll be part of a high-performing group dedicated to our customer’s missions and driven by a higher purpose – to ensure the safety of our nation. An environment of trust. CACI values the unique contributions that every employee brings to our company and our customers - every day. You’ll have the autonomy to take the time you need through a unique flexible time off benefit and have access to robust learning resources to make your ambitions a reality. A focus on continuous growth. Together, we will advance our nation's most critical missions, build on our lengthy track record of business success, and find opportunities to break new ground — in your career and in our legacy. Pay Range : There are a host of factors that can influence final salary including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications. Our employees value the flexibility at CACI that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives. We offer competitive compensation, benefits and learning and development opportunities. Our broad and competitive mix of benefits options is designed to support and protect employees and their families. At CACI, you will receive comprehensive benefits such as; healthcare, wellness, financial, retirement, family support, continuing education, and time off benefits. Since this position can be worked in more than one location, the range shown is the national average for the position. The proposed salary range for this position is: $114,600-$252,100 CACI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic.