Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Active Secret Clearance) at Striveworks in Tacoma, WA

Job description

• “In 36 months, agentic AI systems will be an operating reality across major institutions. We intend to be central to it.” — Dr. Jim Rebesco, Cofounder and CEO, Striveworks
• The government’s demand for AI is growing far faster than the systems required to support it. Fewer than 15% of federal AI programs have reached sustained production, despite billions of dollars invested. The models perform in testing, but they degrade in the real world. And when performance drops, trust goes with it.
• Striveworks was built to solve that problem.
• We lead with trust, treat each other with respect, and use candor consistently, kindly, and constructively. We care deeply about our work, and we find genuine satisfaction in doing it well. Above all, we take ownership—because we feel the weight of collective results personally. We are looking for people who share these values and are eager to put them into practice.

Responsibilities

• Since 2018, we have delivered the most trusted AI systems operating in real-world use cases—providing a layer of assurance underneath hundreds of deployed models that monitors performance, manages drift, and sustains systems long after they leave the lab.
• As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, you will be a core contributor to both customer-driven projects and the enduring products of the company. Working directly with customers, data scientists, software engineers, and DevOps engineers, you’ll define requirements and orchestrate complex data engineering pipelines. You’ll also develop machine learning models and custom analytics applied to image, video, text, geospatial, time series, and structured data.. Your work will inform the future of Chariot, our proprietary AI operations platform. The work extends to the field, with mission-critical deployments, direct customer contact, and insights that shape what we build next.

Requirements

• A BS degree in computer science, machine learning, or a related discipline and 6+ years of relevant experience
• Demonstrated experience delivering data-centric systems
• Proficiency in programming languages and libraries common to machine learning; excellence in Python is essential, as is knowledge of TensorFlow, PyTorch, and/or scikit-learn
• Proficiency in software engineering fundamentals to include algorithms, data structures, design patterns, and at least one systems programming language
• Proficiency with modern software engineering tools and processes
• Active Secret (or above) US security clearance and US citizenship
• An advanced degree in data science, machine learning, computer science, or a related discipline
• Knowledge of relevant architectures and design patterns for client-server systems
• Experience implementing and deploying software into containerized or cloud environments
• Experience with a variety of unstructured data types
• Experience building AI agents, agentic workflows, or agentic systems
• Experience defining, scoping, planning, and delivering complex, production-level technical solutions
• Experience leading, managing, or mentoring small, cross-functional engineering teams
• Experience delivering technology solutions in secure government environments

Skills

Required

• Excellence in Python

Preferred

• Experience with unstructured data types

Benefits

• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Voluntary life, long-term disability, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance
• HSA and FSA (including dependent care FSA) plans
• 401(k) plan
• Unlimited PTO
• Paid parental leave
• The anticipated base pay range for this position is $185,000–$230,000/year. Striveworks’ total compensation package includes a competitive base salary, equity grants, and cash bonuses.