Telecommute Principal Forward-Deployed Federal Systems Engineer (U.S. Gov) — 100% Remote Contract

Partner with SMR Talent Collective from anywhere in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, or Ireland as a remote Telecommute Principal Forward-Deployed Federal Systems Engineer (U.S. Gov) — 100% Remote Contract ($300,000 - $500,000/year). This specialist role focuses on evaluating AI model outputs, authoring domain-specific rubrics, and validating technical workflows involving Python, LLM Systems, Data Pipelines, Distributed Systems.

Project Responsibilities

• Build and deploy agentic AI systems that support high-impact U.S. Government missions from prototype to production.
• Design and integrate LLM applications, including multi-agent systems, tool-using agents, RAG workflows, and human-in-the-loop autonomy.
• Work directly with government partners in forward-deployed environments to translate mission needs into technical systems.
• Build and maintain large-scale data curation, and evaluation pipelines for model training and improvement.
• Develop infrastructure for model inference, experimentation, evaluation, and deployment across frontier AI platforms.
• Build AI systems that turn mission data, models, and tools into real operational autonomy.
• Own systems across the full lifecycle, including discovery, architecture, implementation, deployment, reliability, security, and iteration.

Required Expertise

• Familiar with RL workflows or simulation environments.
• Comfortable in high-security / high-reliability environments.
• Active U.S. security clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain one.
• Experience supporting U.S. Government, defense, intelligence, or national security missions.
• Prior experience at a startup, defense organization, Department of War, or government-focused technology company.
• Background operating in fast-moving startup environments, mission-critical government settings, or both.
• Compensation & Benefits Notice

Rate Structure & Remote Benefits

• Compensation Rate: $300,000 - $500,000/year (contract specialist remuneration)
• Work Arrangement: 100% Remote / Work From Home
• Eligible Remote Countries: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa
• Core Competencies: Python, LLM Systems, Data Pipelines, Distributed Systems
• Hiring Agency: SMR Talent Collective

Direct Application Process: Click the Apply button on this page to proceed directly to our partner application portal and submit your profile for immediate consideration.