[Hiring] Senior AI Solution Engineer @Kentro

Role Description

Kentro is hiring for a Sr. AI Solution Engineer to support secure cloud data and applied AI initiatives for government customers. You will:

• Build governed data pipelines, automate cloud and operational tasks, and solve cross-layer technical problems.
• Turn evolving requirements into reliable, well-documented solutions.
• Contribute independently within a defined scope while collaborating with technical leaders.

Location: Remote - This position can be performed remotely within the United States and will support Eastern Time working hours.

Compensation Range: The anticipated base salary range for this position is $101,000–$140,000 annually.

This Job Description reflects the primary duties of the role; however, it is not intended to be all-inclusive. Team members may be asked to take on additional responsibilities in alignment with customer expectations, business needs, and Kentro’s culture of collaboration and adaptability.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, deploy, and maintain batch and API-based data ingestion, transformation, and publishing workflows.
• Write clear, maintainable Python, PySpark, and SQL for data processing, validation, reconciliation, and automation.
• Build and support Databricks workflows using notebooks, jobs, compute, Delta tables, catalogs, schemas, permissions, and governed data products.
• Implement layered data designs, including landing/raw, Bronze, Silver, and curated or presentation outputs.
• Add data-quality checks, lineage, audit metadata, checksums, retry and recovery behavior, logging, and reproducible tests to pipelines.
• Support Azure data-platform services, cloud storage, secrets, workload identities, role-based access, monitoring, networking, and private connectivity.
• Develop and review Infrastructure as Code, primarily Terraform, using reusable modules and environment-specific configuration.
• Deliver traceable changes through Git branches, pull requests, code reviews, issue tracking, and CI/CD workflows.
• Troubleshoot data, code, access, authentication, permissions, deployment, networking, and runtime issues using logs, tests, queries, and documented evidence.
• Support AI-enabled data workflows, including model endpoints, response validation, evaluation, regression testing, and responsible-use controls.
• Create and maintain architecture diagrams, runbooks, implementation notes, decision records, status updates, and handoff documentation.
• Communicate progress, risks, availability, and blockers promptly; ask for help early enough to protect delivery and close the loop on commitments.
• Participate in stand-ups, design reviews, demonstrations, and stakeholder discussions, translating technical findings for the intended audience.
• Develop working expertise in selected AI and data platforms, including Seekr, and support platform installation, configuration, integration, administration, and ongoing operations.
• Help establish Kentro-hosted platform environments in AWS or other approved cloud environments, coordinating with infrastructure, security, and IT teams.
• Evaluate platform capabilities, limitations, architecture, APIs, extensibility, portability, security boundaries, and appropriate use cases.
• Design and build demonstrations, prototypes, proofs of concept, MVPs, and reusable technical accelerators that support customer solutions and internal capability development.
• Determine which solution components should run within a platform and which should remain external, reusable, or portable.
• Support technical capture and solution-development activities by translating customer needs into demonstrable architectures, implementation approaches, and technical evidence.
• Develop training materials, operational runbooks, integration patterns, evaluation criteria, and adoption playbooks that enable Kentro teams to operate supported platforms independently.
• Assess platform suitability for government workloads, including FedRAMP alignment, government-hosted deployment options, security controls, data protection, and authorization-to-operate considerations.
• Monitor platform roadmaps and emerging capabilities and recommend opportunities for future adoption or integration.

Qualifications

• Three to five years of relevant experience in data engineering, software engineering, cloud engineering, analytics engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Hands-on programming experience with Python or a comparable language, including reading unfamiliar code and debugging systematically.
• Practical SQL experience with joins, aggregations, transformations, and row-level and aggregate validation.
• Experience developing or supporting data pipelines, schemas, APIs, databases, cloud storage, or distributed data-processing workflows.
• Working knowledge of Git, including commits, branches, pull requests, code review, and ordinary conflict resolution.
• Experience testing work, retaining evidence, and writing documentation or runbooks that another engineer can follow.
• Demonstrated ownership, learning agility, persistence, responsiveness, and follow-through when solving unfamiliar or ambiguous problems.
• Ability to communicate technical status, risks, assumptions, and blockers clearly to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Commitment to security, least privilege, responsible data handling, and compliance with customer requirements.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote environment and collaborate during Eastern Time working hours.
• Experience integrating cloud-hosted platforms through APIs, SDKs, identity services, networking, and data interfaces.
• Experience deploying or supporting solutions in AWS, Azure, or another major cloud platform.
• Ability to evaluate a new technology platform, document its strengths and limitations, and recommend appropriate use cases.
• Experience developing demonstrations, prototypes, proofs of concept, or MVPs from evolving requirements.
• Ability to communicate technical architectures and platform capabilities to engineering, leadership, capture, and customer audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Azure, Azure Government, AWS, or another major cloud platform.
• Experience with Databricks, Apache Spark, PySpark, Delta Lake, Lakeflow, or a comparable data-processing platform.
• Experience with Terraform or another Infrastructure-as-Code tool.
• Familiarity with Azure Data Lake Storage, Data Factory, Key Vault, Entra ID, managed identities, RBAC, private endpoints, DNS, or virtual networks.
• Knowledge of data governance, catalogs, lineage, stewardship, audit trails, observability, and reproducible processing.
• Experience with Seekr or comparable enterprise AI, machine-learning, model-serving, or data platforms.
• Experience supporting technical capture, solution architecture, product evaluation, or customer demonstrations.
• Familiarity with AWS platform deployment, containerization, infrastructure automation, and integration architecture.
• Familiarity with FedRAMP, NIST controls, government cloud environments, continuous ATO/cATO concepts, or government authorization processes.
• Experience creating reusable accelerators, evaluation frameworks, or technical enablement materials.
• Experience with REST APIs, JSON/JSONL, CSV, Parquet, large-file processing, third-party ingestion, CI/CD, containers, or structured logging.
• Exposure to AI/LLM-enabled applications, model-serving endpoints, evaluation, or automated regression testing.
• Experience in a government, healthcare, or other regulated or compliance-sensitive environment.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, information systems, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Clearance Requirement

• US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card).
• Must be willing and able to obtain and maintain the level of Public Trust suitability required by the customer.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package including paid time off, healthcare benefits, supplemental benefits, 401k including an employer match, discount perks, rewards, and more.
• Education reimbursement for certifications, degrees, or professional development.
• Flexibility for professional growth and networking opportunities.
• Commitment to incorporating fun into every day with activities like happy hours, holiday events, fitness & wellness events, and annual celebrations.
• Support for community involvement through charity galas/events.