AI Engineer

Ricardo Defense Inc

AI Engineer at Detroit Defense integrating conversational AI features into software applications. Collaborating with engineers to enhance national security through innovative technology.

Posted 6/30/2026full-timeTroy • Missouri • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $82,500 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Python

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Integrate conversational AI assistant features into software applications, owning the experience end to end
Design, implement, and evaluate tool/function calling so AI assistants can reliably invoke backend capabilities and return correct, useful results
Write, test, and refine prompts; evaluate and improve the accuracy and effectiveness of LLM and tool-calling behavior
Build, train, and evaluate machine learning models for classification, prediction, and simulation tasks
Collaborate with software engineers to integrate AI capabilities into applications and services
Use Git for version control and contribute to shared team repositories
Document your work and communicate results clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders
Support deployment, testing, and iteration of AI capabilities alongside the broader engineering team

Requirements

What you’ll need

Required Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Experience integrating large language models via APIs, including function/tool calling and structured (e.g., JSON) outputs
Foundation in machine learning and data science concepts (supervised learning, model evaluation, statistics)
Working knowledge of Git and collaborative software development workflows (version control, branching, code review)
Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work effectively on a cross-functional engineering team
U.S. person (per ITAR/EAR) able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance
Preferred Strong proficiency in Python and/or C# (depth in either is welcome; both is a plus)
Experience building chat/assistant interfaces or agentic systems, ideally in production
Familiarity with tool-calling/agent frameworks, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and vector databases
Experience defining evaluations or test harnesses to measure and improve LLM and tool-calling reliability
Internship, academic, or project experience building and deploying models or AI features end-to-end
Exposure to software engineering fundamentals: APIs, testing, CI/CD, containerization
Use of GitLab for issue tracking and software configuration management
Familiarity with secure AI/compute environments

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, Dental & Vision Benefits
Company Paid Life and AD&D
Company Paid Short Term and Long-Term Disability
Flexible Spending & HSA Accounts
Legal & ID Shield Services
401k with Company Match
Paid Holidays
Paid Time Off (PTO)

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Machine LearningData ScienceFunction/Tool CallingModel EvaluationSupervised LearningAPIsJSONStatistical AnalysisChat/Assistant Interface DevelopmentRetrieval-Augmented Generation

Soft Skills

Problem-SolvingCross-Functional CollaborationClear Communication

Certifications

U.S. Government Secret Clearance