Data Science & AI; Senior Software Engineer

McBride has an exciting opportunity to support Allied Command Transformation (ACT) which is NATO’s leading agent for change: driving, facilitating, and advocating the continuous improvement of Alliance capabilities to maintain and enhance the military relevance and effectiveness of the Alliance. The main objectives of ACT are: providing appropriate support to NATO missions and operations; leading NATO military transformation; improving relationships, interaction and practical cooperation with partners, nations and international organizations. ACT therefore leads Alliance concept development, capability development, training and lessons learned initiatives and provides unfettered military support to policy development within NATO.

Background: The contractor will be under the responsibility of the DSAI Branch Head and the Technical Lead. As a Senior Software Developer, the role will lead software development efforts and may transition into the role of Technical Lead. The role involves working on DSAI's use cases, demonstrators, and AI experimentation initiatives, updating AI applications, and ensuring modular platforms, current UI/ UX , and comprehensive documentation.

You will be responsible for the following:

• Design, develop, and maintain robust software components focusing on scalability, performance, and security.
  
• Implement and optimize AI/ML algorithms, ensuring compliance with NATO-specific requirements.
  
• Design and manage data pipelines for secure handling of classified data.
  
• Develop, test, and integrate model training and inference systems.
  
• Deploy and support AI applications within NATO's secure environments.
  
• Collaborate with data scientists and AI engineers to enhance software practices.
  
• Produce high-quality documentation for software components and processes.
  
• Stay updated on software development, AI engineering, and NLP technologies.
  
• Contribute to a culture of innovation within the Data Science & AI Branch.
  
• Provide feedback about their work clearly and concisely.
  

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of Proven experience as a software developer with a focus on implementation AI systems in the last four years.
  
• Proficiency in modern software development and practices, including coding in Python, C++, Java, or similar programming languages.
  
• Experience with AI/ML frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch .
  
• Demonstrated ability to develop and manage secure and scalable software systems for sensitive data.
  
• Strong skills in database management, data processing, and cloud-based services, particularly with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure.
  
• Familiarity with containerization technologies and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes.
  
• Experience designing and testing APIs or system interfaces to integrate AI systems into larger infrastructures.
  
• Understanding of NATO data security standards, privacy concerns, and secure coding practices.
  
• Effective communication skills, to include writing technical documentation, code reviews, and collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including non-technical users.
  
• Experience working within NATO environments or demonstrated familiarity with NATO processes, workflows, and organizational culture.
  

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with Big Data tools such as Apache Kafka, Databricks or Spark.
  
• Knowledge of federated learning practices and secure multi-party computation for handling sensitive or classified AI training datasets.
  
• Familiarity with military or defense applications of AI systems, particularly in international environments.
  
• Experience with agile software development methodologies and tools, such as Jira or Confluence.
  
• Capability to act as a ‘data storyteller’ by visualizing technical insights and presenting relevant findings to senior leadership in accessible formats.
  
• Familiarity with DevSecOps practices to streamline secure software development and system deployment within NATO.
  

Education and Clearance:

• A Bachelor’s degree or higher from a nationally recognized/certified university in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline OR a minimum of six years of professional experience in software development within the last eight years.
  
• Active NATO or National SECRET (or higher) security clearance.
  
• Eligibility and prior experience working with NATO security clearances to process classified or sensitive data.