Machine Learning Engineer, SME

Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled Machine Learning Engineer SME to support the development, evaluation, and deployment of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions, with a particular focus on Large Language Models (LLMs). The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in model development, fine-tuning, benchmarking, and performance evaluation while leveraging modern AI frameworks, cloud technologies, and scalable computing architectures.

What will you do?

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, fine-tune, and optimize machine learning and deep learning models, including Large Language Models (LLMs), for mission-focused use cases.
• Develop AI/ML pipelines, perform data preprocessing, feature engineering, model training, and performance evaluation.
• Conduct benchmarking, testing, validation, and experimentation to assess the effectiveness and reliability of AI systems, with emphasis on LLM-based solutions.
• Build and evaluate model ensembles and identify optimal algorithms, frameworks, and Python libraries for specific applications.
• Leverage GPU-accelerated computing environments to improve model training and inference performance.
• Develop applications supporting semantic search, information retrieval, and natural language processing capabilities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate operational requirements into AI-enabled solutions.
• Create visualizations, dashboards, and reporting solutions to communicate model performance and insights.
• Maintain code repositories and software development best practices using modern version control systems.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related technical field (Master's or Ph.D. preferred).
• Demonstrated professional or academic experience developing and tuning machine learning, deep learning, and LLM-based solutions.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R for machine learning and data analytics.

Experience with deep learning frameworks such as

Keras

Strong SQL expertise, including

Common Table Expressions (CTEs)

• Set operations
• Aggregate functions
• Nested subqueries
• Experience with version control tools such as GitHub and Jenkins.
• Experience leveraging GPUs and high-performance computing environments for AI/ML workloads.
• Hands-on experience testing, validating, and evaluating AI systems, particularly LLM-based applications.
• Experience designing and executing experiments to benchmark model performance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with the Hugging Face Transformers ecosystem and model hub.
• Experience developing benchmarks and evaluation frameworks for LLM performance measurement.
• Knowledge of cloud-based AI/ML architectures and development environments.
• Experience with web application development frameworks such as Flask.

Experience building machine learning solutions for

• Text classification
• Topic modeling
• Natural language processing (NLP)
• Experience developing semantic search applications and retrieval solutions.
• Experience creating data visualizations and dashboards using Tableau.
• Familiarity with Scikit-Learn and traditional machine learning techniques alongside deep learning methodologies.

Desired Technical Skills

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Generative AI

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Machine Learning Operations (MLOps)

Semantic Search

Deep Learning

GPU Computing

Python

SQL

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face

Flask

Tableau

GitHub

Jenkins

Do you have what it takes?

Clearances / Additional Requirements

Ability to obtain and maintain any required government security clearance.

Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Ability to work independently as a technical lead and trusted advisor in AI/ML initiatives.

Pay Range: VTG’s estimated starting pay range is $180,000-$230,000 annually, which is a general guideline for the geographic location. When extending an offer, VTG also considers work experience, education, skill level, market considerations and may possibly include contractual requirements which may cause an offer to fall outside of this range.