Applied AI Engineer

👋🏼 Hey!

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We’re a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us – you’ll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you’ll contribute to our team culture. We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you’ll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult. 🖖🏼

🎯 What We Look For

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country’s national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.
We ask that every new hire be able to:

• Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities
• Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right
• Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company
• Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together
• Know and live our core values every single day

💡 About this Role

We're looking for an Applied AI Engineer who's excited about pushing the boundaries of AI in cybersecurity. This role is for someone who experiments with cutting-edge models, builds proof-of-concepts in their spare time, and sees every workflow challenge as an opportunity to apply AI in creative ways. You'll be supporting cyber operations teams, working directly with security professionals to ideate and deploy AI solutions that enhance their daily workflows. AI is evolving rapidly—this isn't about following established playbooks, it's about exploring new territory, staying current, and building solutions that don't exist yet.
 
Responsibilities will include:

• Rapidly prototype AI-powered tools and integrations for cyber operations teams.
• Build and deploy agentic systems using modern frameworks like LangGraph, CrewAI, or similar orchestration tools.
• Create custom tools and integrations that extend AI capabilities into existing security infrastructure.
• Develop Python applications that leverage multiple AI models and APIs in production
• Work directly with cyber analysts to understand workflows and identify high-impact automation opportunities.
• Experiment with frontier models and techniques, quickly evaluating their operational viability.
• Build robust API integrations connecting AI capabilities to security tooling and data sources.
• Iterate quickly based on user feedback, often shipping multiple improvements daily.
• Document novel approaches and contribute to the team's knowledge base.
• Build and maintain a library of reusable AI components and design patterns.

📋 Requirements

• Active TS/SCI with Polygraph. Candidates without a current clearance will not be considered.
• 3+ years of software development experience with strong Python proficiency.
• Hands-on experience building production AI applications (not just notebooks or demos).
• Familiarity with modern AI frameworks and tooling (Pydantic AI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, agent frameworks).
• Experience with API development and integration (REST, GraphQL, streaming APIs).
• Understanding of prompt engineering, structured outputs, and tool/function calling.
• Strong debugging skills and ability to troubleshoot non-deterministic AI behavior.
• Git proficiency and collaborative development experience.
• Self-directed learner who thrives in ambiguity and rapidly evolving technology.
• Genuine enthusiasm for exploring what's possible at the frontier of AI capabilities.
• Three (3) years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline or 4 additional years may substitute for a degree.
• Don't quite meet these requirements? Peep our other prime positions

🌟 Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with agentic workflows and multi-agent orchestration.
• Background in cybersecurity or understanding of security operations workflows.
• Contributions to open-source AI projects or public demos/repositories.
• Experience with retrieval systems (RAG, vector databases, semantic search).
• Knowledge of AI engineering best practices (evals, observability, deployment patterns).
• Familiarity with multiple AI providers (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, open-weight models).
• Experience building IDE extensions, CLI tools, or browser extensions with AI features.
• Understanding of data pipelines and structured/unstructured data handling.

🏝️ Benefits at Bitwise

• Top salaries because we're top performers
• Pick your PTO – Everyone values time and money differently, so we give you the flexibility to choose between 3 and 5 weeks of PTO with a corresponding adjustment to your pay. Your choice, your balance.
• All 11 federal holidays, paid!
• Up to 2 snow days, paid!
• We’ll quadruple (4x!) the first 6% you contribute to your 401(k), giving you up to a 24% company match. Contributing less than 6%? Unclaimed matches come right back to you as extra income, giving you a guaranteed 24% that goes to your retirement, to your paycheck, or both. C’mon now! 🚀
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances. That’s a lot. Already covered on health insurance? No problem – we’ll trade you this benefit for a boost to your salary instead.
• $5,250 annual education assistance for training, certifications, tuition, and even student loan repayments. 
• Spot bonuses for obtained certifications, customer recognition, and just about anything else that makes us go "Hot damn!". We hope to say that many times about you. 🔥

💰 Salary Range

This position is hourly. We estimate you'll earn between $160,000 and $205,000 annually, including our flex income, depending upon your annual work hours.

🛎️ What to expect after applying

You'll get an email from us right away to acknowledge your application. After that, we'll:

• Send over additional company materials for you to review
• Schedule a video call to talk about you, our company, and your place in it
• Craft a delightful offer package for you and record a video walkthrough
• Work closely with you through onboarding. We’ll keep it joyful and easy.

ℹ️ Disclaimers

Bitwise is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

Compensation for this position, including all compensation options, will be determined on an individual basis following the interview process.

If you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please contact our excellent Head of Growth and Talent Acquisition, Janine Hunter, at janine.hunter@bitwise.tech for assistance.