Software/AI developer. R&D

Location: United States
Work Model: Remote
Travel: Approximately 15% for R&D events, technical demos, and collaboration sessions
Clearance: U.S. citizenship required. Active Secret clearance preferred; candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

Build Mission-Focused Software and AI Capabilities

Rackner is seeking a Software/AI Developer. R&D to design, build, test, and demonstrate software and AI-enabled capabilities supporting government and defense missions.

This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys turning ideas and mission needs into working software. You will work alongside R&D engineers, technical leaders, and mission stakeholders to rapidly develop prototypes, backend services, APIs, data workflows, and AI-enabled applications that can be tested with real users and matured into operational capabilities.

The right person is a strong software developer who is comfortable working in an R&D environment where requirements may evolve as we learn. You should be able to take ownership of technical problems, write quality code, experiment with new approaches, and move from an early concept to a working demonstration.

The work may involve AI/ML applications, large language models (LLMs), agentic AI, backend development, APIs, data pipelines, analytics, automation, mission systems, and cloud-native software.

What You’ll Build

Design, develop, test, and maintain software for mission-focused R&D projects.
Build backend services, APIs, integrations, and data-processing workflows.
Develop AI-enabled applications using LLMs, machine learning models, and other modern AI technologies.
Build and evaluate AI agents, retrieval workflows, automation tools, and other AI-assisted capabilities.
Integrate AI models and services into usable software applications rather than treating AI as a standalone experiment.
Develop prototypes and proofs of concept that can be demonstrated to government customers and mission users.
Work with structured and unstructured data, including data ingestion, transformation, validation, and retrieval.
Write clean, maintainable, testable code and participate in code reviews and technical design discussions.
Debug software, integration, data, and model-related issues across development and testing environments.
Collaborate with DevSecOps engineers to containerize, deploy, monitor, and improve applications in cloud and secure environments.
Evaluate new AI models, frameworks, libraries, and development approaches for potential use in R&D projects.
Participate in technical demos, field events, experiments, and customer feedback sessions.
Turn feedback from technical teams and mission users into software improvements and new capabilities.
Document technical decisions, APIs, system behavior, and development approaches so solutions can be maintained and extended.

What You’ll Bring

U.S. citizenship due to federal contract requirements.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.
Strong hands-on software development experience, particularly with Python.
Experience developing backend applications, services, APIs, or data-driven software.
Experience building, integrating, or supporting AI/ML or generative AI applications.
Understanding of software engineering fundamentals, including application design, testing, debugging, version control, and code review.
Experience working with APIs, JSON, databases, and structured or semi-structured data.
Ability to take a technical problem from concept through implementation and demonstration.
Experience working in fast-moving environments where requirements may not be fully defined at the beginning.
Ability to independently investigate technical problems, evaluate options, and build practical solutions.
Strong communication and collaboration skills with engineers, technical leaders, and non-engineering stakeholders.
Willingness to travel approximately 15% for R&D events, demos, testing, and collaboration sessions.

Helpful Experience

Active Secret clearance or higher.
Experience supporting DoD, Air Force, Space Force, mission command, battle management, C2, ISR, mission planning, autonomy, or other national security programs.
Experience developing applications using LLMs, generative AI, agentic AI, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings, vector databases, or model APIs.
Experience evaluating model outputs, accuracy, reliability, latency, and other AI performance considerations.
Experience with AI/ML frameworks or libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar technologies.
Experience with REST APIs, microservices, event-driven systems, or backend frameworks.
Experience with SQL, NoSQL databases, data pipelines, or data-processing frameworks.
Familiarity with AWS, Azure, or other cloud platforms.
Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Git, Terraform, Helm, or similar development and deployment technologies.
Familiarity with MLOps, model deployment, observability, evaluation, or production AI workflows.
Experience developing software for disconnected, classified, edge, or other constrained environments.
Experience building prototypes, proofs of concept, technical demos, or experimental software.
Experience working in R&D, defense technology, applied AI, or startup-like engineering environments.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success means turning mission problems and R&D concepts into software that actually works. You will be expected to write code, build and integrate AI capabilities, test ideas quickly, and work closely with the team to determine what is worth developing further.

You do not need to be an expert in every AI framework or infrastructure technology listed above. We are looking for a strong software developer who understands how to build reliable applications, has meaningful exposure to modern AI development, and is comfortable learning new technologies as the R&D mission evolves.

Travel & Event Support

This role requires approximately 15% travel for R&D events, technical demos, collaboration sessions, and mission-focused engagements.

Travel is planned in advance whenever possible and may include customer-facing or internal engineering events.

About Rackner

Rackner is a software consultancy focused on building mission-critical systems for the U.S. government. Our teams work across cloud platforms, DevSecOps, AI/ML, distributed systems, and modern software engineering initiatives supporting federal agencies and national security missions.

Rackner engineers collaborate closely with technical leadership, program teams, and mission stakeholders to design, build, and improve software systems that address complex operational challenges.

Benefits & Perks

Rackner invests in its people, because when you grow, we all win.

Company-supported certifications aligned to current and future program work, including cloud, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, security, AI/ML, project management, and related technical areas
Clear advancement tracks and future leadership opportunities
401(k) with 100% match up to 6%
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage
Generous PTO and paid holidays
Home-office equipment plan and remote work support
Fitness and wellness reimbursement
Weekly pay schedule and modern perks, including team events

Equal Opportunity

Rackner is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics.