AI Lead Engineer

Job Description Job Description AI Lead Engineer
This is an ON-SITE POSITION in Charleston, SC
Position Overview
We are seeking an AI Lead Engineer who combines strong hands-on technical ability with emerging leadership and product instincts. This role is ideal for someone who has worked in a startup or fast-paced environment, understands how AI systems move from prototype to real-world deployment, and is ready to grow into a team leadership position.
You will initially operate as a primary contributor, designing models, building training pipelines, and delivering AI-driven features, while helping shape the technical direction of our AI efforts. As products mature, you will take on increasing responsibility for mentoring junior engineers and building a small, high-performing team.
Key Responsibilities
Hands-On AI Development
Design, build, and train machine learning and deep learning models (CNNs, transformers, RL, etc.)
Develop scalable training pipelines and data processing workflows
Work across the stack: data ingestion, model development, evaluation, and deployment
Build and maintain AI systems (backend and, where applicable, user-facing interfaces)
Applied Product Development
Translate AI capabilities into deployable features aligned with business needs
Balance model performance with real-world constraints (latency, cost, reliability)
Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize features and iterate quickly
Contribute to system architecture decisions as products evolve
Emerging Technical Leadership
Provide guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers
Help establish coding standards, experimentation practices, and development workflows
Participate in hiring as the team grows
Gradually take ownership of technical direction for AI initiatives
R&D and Innovation
Explore and prototype new approaches, including novel neural network architectures
Apply advanced statistical inference and predictive modeling techniques
Support exploration of emerging domains such as remote sensing, autonomy, or SBIRS-like systems
Stay current with advancements in deep learning and applied AI
Collaboration & Execution
Work within an Agile framework, contributing to sprint planning and regular updates
Collaborate cross-functionally to support company growth through AI capabilities
Maintain clear documentation of models, systems, and experiments
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences, Data Analytics, or related field
US Citizen with ability to obtain Secret Security Clearance
3–7 years of experience in AI/ML development (industry or applied research)
Strong programming skills in Python (C++ / Rust / JavaScript a plus)
Experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow
Solid foundation in:
Machine learning and deep learning (CNNs, RNNs, transformers)
Statistical inference (Frequentist and Bayesian methods)
Data processing and normalization techniques

Experience building and training models on real-world datasets (not just academic exercises)
Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Azure DevOps, Git)
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in a startup or fast-paced product environment
Exposure to deploying models into production environments
Familiarity with MLOps concepts (model versioning, monitoring, pipelines)
Experience with image processing (OpenCV, Pillow) and structured/unstructured data
Knowledge of:
Advanced mathematics (e.g., tensor calculus, graph theory)
Data storage systems (relational and non-relational databases)

Interest or experience in defense, remote sensing, or space-based systems
What We’re Looking For
Someone who enjoys both building and leading
Comfortable with ambiguity and wearing multiple hats
Able to connect technical decisions to business outcomes
Motivated by growth into a future leadership role
Growth Path
This role is designed to evolve into a formal leadership position. As our AI capabilities and product portfolio expand, you will have the opportunity to:
Build and lead a small AI team
Own major technical initiatives end-to-end
Contribute to product and R&D strategy
Company Description ORBIS is an ISO 9001 certified, Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) with over 20 years of major Navy Program experience leading, delivering, and managing professional support services for NAVSEA, the Warfare centers and the Navy industrial enterprise. From our beginnings in the submarine program, we have grown to also support other DOD and Federal Government branches and a number of commercial customers. ORBIS provides capabilities encompassing the full DOD lifecycle of acquisition, program management, delivery, modernization, quality, audits and certification. Our CEO, Guy Mossman, has a long history with the submarine program and before starting ORBIS was the Executive Director for PEO SUBs. Unique for a small business and always part of the company vision, we operate a research and development laboratory in Charleston, SC, focused on Automated Test Equipment and related technologies. We leverage our extensive portfolio of engineering and technical support tasks to provide innovative, cost-effective, and on-time solutions that exceed the requirements of Government and Commercial customers. Company Description ORBIS is an ISO 9001 certified, Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) with over 20 years of major Navy Program experience leading, delivering, and managing professional support services for NAVSEA, the Warfare centers and the Navy industrial enterprise. From our beginnings in the submarine program, we have grown to also support other DOD and Federal Government branches and a number of commercial customers. ORBIS provides capabilities encompassing the full DOD lifecycle of acquisition, program management, delivery, modernization, quality, audits and certification. Our CEO, Guy Mossman, has a long history with the submarine program and before starting ORBIS was the Executive Director for PEO SUBs. Unique for a small business and always part of the company vision, we operate a research and development laboratory in Charleston, SC, focused on Automated Test Equipment and related technologies. We leverage our extensive portfolio of engineering and technical support tasks to provide innovative, cost-effective, and on-time solutions that exceed the requirements of Government and Commercial customers.