AI Platform Engineer Senior Staff

AI Platform Engineer Senior Staff

At Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, we're not just building aircraft, we're transforming how they're designed, tested, maintained, and flown using the power of AI. But none of that works without infrastructure. This AI Platform Engineer role (Also known in some organizations as "AI Infrastructure Engineer" or "ML Systems Engineer") is your opportunity to architect the digital backbone of a next-generation AI organization, supporting everything from large-scale LLM research and edge model deployment to real-time anomaly detection and closed-area operations. You won't just unblock teams, you'll amplify their velocity, ensure mission readiness, and shape the future of aerospace AI. We need someone who sees infrastructure as strategy, not support. Someone who doesn't wait for hardware requests - they forecast them. Someone who understands why models fail to scale, and designs systems so they don't. If you're ready to design for both agility and rigor, across some of the most demanding AI environments in the world, this role puts you in the cockpit.

What You'll Do

• Design and execute the infrastructure strategy for AI/ML workloads, balancing research flexibility with production rigor
• Architect and optimize hybrid platforms supporting traditional ML and large language models (LLMs)
• Streamline infrastructure setup using code-based automation tools to improve speed, reproducibility, and compliance
• Ensure visibility and reliability through monitoring, logging, and alerting systems that meet operational and classified mission requirements
• Identify and remove performance bottlenecks across compute, storage, networking, and software pipelines
• Lead long-term capacity planning and capital forecasting, ensuring teams have the right hardware and environments when they need them
• Coordinate with IT, cybersecurity, and program stakeholders to deliver secure, policy-aligned infrastructure in both open and closed environments
• Build reusable templates and deployment playbooks that enable rapid onboarding and delivery across teams
• Evaluate emerging technologies (e.g., GPUs, accelerators, orchestration stacks) and guide adoption where impactful

What's In It For You:

We offer flexible work schedules to comprehensive benefits investing in your future and security. Do you want to be part of a company culture that empowers employees to think big, lead with a growth mindset, and make the impossible a reality? We provide the resources and give you the flexibility to enable inspiration and focus -if you have the passion and courage to dream big, work hard, and have fun doing what you love then we want to build a better tomorrow with you.

Desired skills:

• Experience supporting LLM training or inference infrastructure (e.g., distributed compute, checkpointing, rollback)
• Familiarity with observability practices (monitoring, alerting, logging dashboards) and tools like Grafana, Prometheus, or ELK
• Understanding of STIG/NIST compliance frameworks and RMF accreditation workflows
• Exposure to capital planning cycles, hardware acquisition forecasting, and long-lead procurement
• Knowledge of GPU scheduling, high-performance compute tuning, and hardware acceleration strategies and resource optimization (GPU, TPU, DPU, etc.)
• Familiarity with emerging AI-specific platforms (e.g., AI Foundry, MLflow, Envision, etc.)
• Ability to create internal documentation and onboarding materials for infrastructure use
• Prior experience supporting mission-critical or regulated environments (aerospace, DoD, finance, etc.)

Lockheed Martin is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates will be considered without regard to legally protected characteristics. The application window will close in 90 days; applicants are encouraged to apply within 5 - 30 days of the requisition posting date in order to receive optimal consideration.

Pay Rate: The annual base salary range for this position in California and New York (excluding most major metropolitan areas), Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington or Washington DC is $134,000 - $236,325. For states not referenced above, the salary range for this position will reflect the candidate's final work location. Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only. Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market and business considerations when extending an offer. Benefits offered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, 401(k) match, Flexible Spending Accounts, EAP, Education Assistance, Parental Leave, Paid time off, and Holidays. (Washington state applicants only) Non-represented full time employees: accrue at least 10 hours per month of Paid Time Off (PTO) to be used for incidental absences and other reasons; receive at least 90 hours for holidays. Represented full time employees accrue 6.67 hours of Vacation per month; accrue up to 52 hours of sick leave annually; receive at least 96 hours for holidays. PTO, Vacation, sick leave, and holiday hours are prorated based on start date during the calendar year. This position is incentive plan eligible.