Senior AI Engineer - Agentic Platform Lead

Senior AI Engineer – Agentic Platform LeadLocations: Los Angeles, CA | Washington, D.C. | Seattle, WASalary Range: $165,000 – $250,000 USDEVONA is partnering with a leading defense, national security, and space technology company to hire a Senior AI Engineer – Agentic Platform Lead.This organization builds mission-critical systems that operate at the intersection of advanced AI, complex hardware, and real-world constraints. Their work directly supports national security, space infrastructure, and next-generation aerospace systems.This is a senior, hands-on technical leadership role for an engineer who thrives in ambiguity, moves fast, and uses AI as leverage to eliminate friction in complex engineering workflows.The RoleOur client is seeking a Senior AI Engineer – Agentic Platform Lead to serve as a senior technical leader within a specialized Agentic Computational Engineering (ACE) team.You will architect and build a multi-agent AI platform that enables autonomous agents to design complex hardware systems end-to-end. You will own the technical roadmap for this platform, lead a small high-caliber team, and work closely with domain experts across propulsion, electronics, and manufacturing.This role is ideal for a builder who is excited about turning cutting-edge AI research into real, deployable industrial capability.What You’ll BuildA scalable agentic AI platform supporting autonomous hardware designDistributed orchestration systems coordinating large numbers of AI agentsSecure execution environments where agents run code, simulations, and analysesMemory, retrieval, and provenance systems (RAG, vector databases, decision logs)High-performance, observable systems operating at scaleKey ResponsibilitiesArchitect and own the full-stack agentic AI platform, including orchestration, runtimes, and servicesDesign distributed systems (orchestrator–worker, swarms, event-driven architectures) for agent coordinationBuild secure execution layers integrating internal tools, simulations, and data sourcesImplement memory, context, and decision-tracking systems for agent reasoning and traceabilityProfile and optimize performance for latency, reliability, and observabilityLead and mentor a small team of engineers and technical contributorsPartner with engineering domain experts to translate real workflows into scalable agentic capabilitiesInfluence long-term technical strategy for agentic AI across the organizationRequired QualificationsMaster’s + 5 years, or PhD + 3 years in Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or equivalent experience5+ years building production-grade backend or distributed systems in mission-critical environmentsStrong experience with Python, Go, or Rust and modern microservice architecturesHands-on experience with LLM-based systems and agent frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, AutoGen, or custom runtimes)Demonstrated AI-first workflow, using LLMs and agents to materially accelerate developmentProven technical leadership in fast-moving, ambiguous environmentsPreferred QualificationsBackground in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Applied MathematicsExperience integrating AI agents with engineering tools (CAD/CAE, simulation, manufacturing platforms)Experience with observability stacks (logging, tracing, metrics)Experience building safety-critical or mission-critical platformsOpen-source contributions or personal projects demonstrating deep system-building expertiseCompensation & BenefitsCompetitive base salary: $165,000 – $250,000 USDAnnual bonus potentialComprehensive health, retirement, and wellness benefitsPaid time off