AI Engineer

Role OverviewAI Engineer - Defence RAG Systems ( Security Clearance Essential ). On site 2 days a week, Plymouth.

OverviewDefence client requires an SC Cleared AI Engineer to build fully on-premises RAG systems using open-source technologies. You''ll develop classified AI capabilities on air-gapped infrastructure with zero external dependencies.

Key Responsibilities

Build end-to-end RAG pipelines on isolated defence networks using open-source LLMs (Llama 3, Mistral, Qwen)

Deploy local vector stores (Chroma, FAISS, Milvus) with sensitive document ingestion pipelines

Host and optimise LLMs using vLLM/TGI on local GPU clusters without internet connectivity

Implement agent orchestration using LangChain/LangGraph in completely offline environments

Design secure document processing for classified materials with appropriate data sanitisation

Build monitoring and evaluation systems that operate within air-gapped infrastructure

Essential Requirements

Active SC Clearance (non-negotiable) - willingness to undergo DV if required

Demonstrable experience deploying open-source LLMs (Llama, Mistral, Falcon) on-premises

Expertise with local vector databases (Chroma, FAISS, Weaviate) in offline deployments

Strong vLLM/Text Generation Inference experience for high-throughput model serving

Proven ability to work on air-gapped systems with no external package repositories

Experience with GPU orchestration (NVIDIA A100/H100) and CUDA optimisation

Python expertise with offline dependency management and local package mirrors

Technical Stack (All On-Premises)

Models: Llama 3, Mistral, Qwen (locally hosted)

Vector Stores: Chroma, FAISS, Milvus

Orchestration: LangChain, LangGraph for agents

Hosting: vLLM, TGI, Ollama on bare metal/private cloud

Infrastructure: Air-gapped Kubernetes, local container registries

Desirable Skills

Experience with defence/government IT security protocols

Knowledge of CIS benchmarks and NCSC guidelines

Familiarity with cross-domain solutions and data diodes

Understanding of classification marking and handling ..... full job details .....