AI Security Engineer

MITRE’s Trustworthy & Secure AI Department seeks an AI Security Engineer to research, develop, evaluate, and integrate secure AI systems for government missions. The role focuses on threats to AI-enabled systems, defenses against adversarial techniques, and the use of AI in cyber operations.

Responsibilities

• Analyze adversarial threats and characterize vulnerabilities in real-world national security systems; research and develop defenses and mitigations.
• Work with military and intelligence community sponsors to identify shared needs and technologies. Use and enhance the MITRE ATLAS framework to assess threats to AI-enabled systems.
• Develop AI capabilities for cyber operational challenges and communicate technical findings to expert and nontechnical audiences through briefings or white papers.

Required qualifications

• Typically a bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of AI experience, or an advanced degree with relevant experience and the ability to contribute immediately, or an equivalent combination of AI-related education and work experience.
• Advanced understanding of foundational AI/ML theory and the ability to reason about AI system behavior, vulnerabilities, and evaluation. Hands-on experience in at least one of agentic AI, deep reinforcement learning, computer vision, or generative AI; advanced Python skills and experience with the standard AI technical stack.
• Ability to learn independently and communicate clearly. Must be a U.S. citizen and able and willing to obtain and maintain a DoD TS/SCI clearance with CI polygraph within 12 months of hire. No clearance is required at the outset.

Preferred qualifications

• Advanced degree in computer science, engineering, or a related discipline; deployment of AI/ML systems used outside a laboratory; experience in AI red teaming, AI test and evaluation, adversarial AI, AI-enhanced cybersecurity, or AI strategy and governance.
• Experience generating or analyzing intelligence reporting, familiarity with the MITRE ATLAS threat matrix, or an active IC or DoD TS/SCI clearance with CI polygraph.

This full-time role is listed in McLean, Virginia, and Bedford, Massachusetts. The posting designates the work location type as onsite and requires at least 3 days per week on-site. The annual salary range is $121,600–$182,400, with a $152,000 midpoint.