Senior/Principal Software Engineer (AI)

About Nava

Nava is a consultancy and public benefit corporation working to make government services simple and effective. Since 2015, federal, state, and local agencies have trusted Nava to help solve highly scrutinized technology modernization challenges.

 

As a client services company, we guide agencies constrained by legacy systems to a future with sharp user experiences built on secure, reliable, fault-tolerant cloud infrastructure. We bill for our time, offering our expertise and problem-solving approach to help our government partners enhance their digital products and services. People are at the heart of our work, from members of the public who rely on benefit programs to government agency staff. Through human-centered design and modern engineering best practices, we help our government partners understand user needs and deliver on their missions more effectively. This focus gives everyone at Nava the opportunity to do work that is meaningful, impactful, and deeply connected to public good.

 

This role is open for multiple levels and titles. Final title/compensation will be determined by how your interview weighs against our core competencies during your interview cycle. This role is pending contract award. 

Position summary 

The Senior/Principal Software Engineer (AI) is a technical leader responsible for architecting, developing, and deploying scalable, production-grade AI solutions. They bridge the gap between advanced models and enterprise platforms, building Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, intelligent agents, and operational guardrails. They also establish architectural standards and mentor engineering teams. This client-facing position necessitates communicating complex AI system behaviors to both technical and business leadership. They routinely work with government stakeholders to get buy-in on technical initiatives. This role collaborates with the product team, government stakeholders, and other contractors to build new systems and make improvements to existing systems. These responsibilities support Nava’s culture and mission.

What you'll do

Lead the end-to-end development of advanced AI solutions, including agentic systems, RAG pipelines, and multi-agent workflows.

Design, build, and optimize LLM-powered autonomous agents, workflow orchestrations, and RAG frameworks.

Create integrations to connect AI agents with enterprise data systems, APIs, and services. Focus on explainable AI and responsible AI principles.

Develop and refine machine learning models and generative AI applications. 

Architect end-to-end AI infrastructure, define guardrails, access controls, responsible-AI checks, and compliance protocols to ensure ethical, secure model deployment, model versioning, deploy and manage AI agents on cloud platforms using CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code. 

Implement monitoring, logging, and observability for agent interactions, monitor model drift, system latency, and token economics to maintain cost-per-use efficiency and system reliability. 

Develop metrics for evaluating and monitoring AI performance.

Contribute to technical documentation, prototyping strategies, and recommendations for future scaling.

Guide multi-disciplinary teams of software engineers, data engineers, and data scientists, setting the technical playbook and best practices.

Required Skills

Proven experience designing and building production-grade systems using modern programming languages (e.g., Python, TypeScript, or similar).

Strong background in product engineering — translating user and product requirements into reliable, maintainable, and well-tested software.

Advanced proficiency in Python.

Hands-on experience with multiple LLMs, developing or integrating generative AI applications, and building autonomous AI agents.

Experience with AI/ML technologies, ML frameworks, and implementation of GenAI and Agentic AI frameworks.

Experience with CI/CD pipelines, cloud computing platforms(AWS), containerization (Docker), and infrastructure as code (Terraform) for deploying AI applications.

Strong understanding of API and system integration design, cloud architecture, and data workflows.

Demonstrated ability to work iteratively—rapidly prototyping, testing, and improving features based on real-world feedback.

Strong grounding in security, privacy, and accessibility principles, particularly when handling sensitive or regulated data.

Excellent collaboration skills with cross-functional partners including design, product, and research.

 

Compensation $153,000 — $180,000 USD

Other requirements

All roles at Nava require the following:

Legal authorization to work in the United States

Ability to meet any other requirements for government contracts for which candidates are hired

Work authorization that doesn’t require visa sponsorship, now or in the future

May be subject to a government background check or security clearance, depending on the contract

 

Perks working with Nava

Health coverage  — comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans to support your overall health needs

Insurance coverage  — Nava provides disability, life, and accidental death insurance at no cost

Time off  — vacation, holidays (including Juneteenth), and floating holidays to rest and recharge

Company holidays  — enjoy 12 paid federal holidays each year on top of your regular PTO

Annual bonus  — when Nava meets its goals, eligible employees receive a performance-based annual bonus

Parental leave  — paid time off for new parents, plus weekly meals delivered to your home

Wellness program  — full platform offering physical, mental, & emotional health resources & support tools

Virtual care — see doctors online with no copay through a virtual visit program (depending on available providers)

Sabbatical leave  — earn extended unpaid leave after continuous service for personal growth or rest

401(k) match  — Nava matches 4% of your salary to support your retirement savings plan

Flexible work  — remote-first environment with flexibility built around your schedule and responsibilities

Home office setup  — company laptop & setup assistance provided via Staples for remote work needs

Utility support  — monthly reimbursement to help offset eligible home office utility expenses

Learning opportunities  — internal training programs and resources to help grow your professional skills

Development opportunities  — LinkedIn Learning access & an annual allowance for courses, tuition, & certs 

Referral bonus  — get rewarded when you refer great people who join the Nava team

Commuter benefits  — pre-tax commuter programs to support in-office travel when applicable

Supportive culture  — A collaborative and remote-friendly team environment where people genuinely care

 

Location

We have fully remote options if you reside in one of the following states: 

 

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

 

*If you are not living in one of the states listed above, unfortunately, you will not be considered for a position at this time. 

 

Stay in touch

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Please contact the recruiting team at recruiting@navapbc.com if you would like to request reasonable accommodation during the application or interviewing process.  

 

We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. This role requires you to work from the contiguous United States. 

 

Equal Employment Opportunity

Nava is committed to providing equal employment opportunities without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, gender and/or gender identity or expression, color, creed, religion, religious creed, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, reproductive health autonomy, pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, genetic information, domestic violence victim status, marital status, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Nava prohibits any such discrimination or harassment. This policy applies to all employees, applicants, contractors, and temporary workers of Nava.