SC Cleared AI Engineer - #2157596

Senior SC Cleared AI Engineer | Defence | Remote (Contract)

Remote (UK) with occasional client site visits

£550-£650 per day with extensions up to 1 year

Initial 6-Month Contract

Active SC Clearance & Current BPSS Required

Elenta is seeking an experienced Senior AI Engineer to support the delivery of AI solutions across Defence and secure Government environments.

You'll be responsible for designing, developing, deploying, and supporting production-grade AI solutions whilst working closely with technical teams and customer stakeholders.

The role requires a strong engineering mindset, with the ability to design and deliver robust solutions from ambiguous requirements whilst maintaining high standards of documentation, security, and code quality.

You will work across AI platforms, concept applications, proof-of-value solutions, and production systems, helping shape ideas from early-stage concepts through to operational deployment.

Essential Experience

• Active SC Clearance and current BPSS.

• Proven experience delivering technical solutions within Defence, MOD, Military, Defence Digital, Dstl, National Security, or similar secure environments.

• Strong full-stack software engineering experience.

• Strong Python and TypeScript development skills.

• Experience with HTML, CSS, APIs, backend services, and modern application architectures.

• Strong database experience, including SQL and NoSQL technologies, schema design, optimisation, data modelling, and data integration.

• Experience designing and building end-to-end solutions across frontend, backend, AI, infrastructure, and data layers.

• Experience building concept applications, prototypes, proof-of-concepts, and production-grade solutions.

• Experience with LLMs, RAG, Agentic AI, and modern AI frameworks.

• Strong Docker, containerisation, local AI deployment, and self-hosted LLM experience.

• Experience integrating AI solutions into existing enterprise applications, platforms, APIs, and data sources.

• Ability to read, understand, troubleshoot, and improve complex codebases and architectures.

• Able to work from incomplete or ambiguous requirements and translate business needs into practical technical solutions.

• Excellent technical documentation and stakeholder communication skills.

Desirable Experience

• Local LLM deployment within secure, restricted, or air-gapped environments.

• Experience with cloud platforms including Azure and GCP.

• Understanding of AI observability, tracing, monitoring, performance optimisation, and operational support.

• Experience with vector databases, knowledge graphs, semantic search, and enterprise search technologies.

• Previous experience supporting MOD, Dstl, Defence Digital, NATO programmes, or Defence suppliers, with preference given to MOD, Dstl, or Defence Digital experience.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for a senior engineer who genuinely understands the technology they build.

Someone who can work independently, swiftly understand unfamiliar systems, produce production-ready AI solutions, build concept applications, understand and explain their code, create clear technical documentation, and operate effectively within secure Defence environments.

You should be comfortable working across software engineering, databases, AI, infrastructure, and solution architecture whilst engaging directly with stakeholders to shape solutions where requirements are incomplete, evolving, or undefined.

To apply, please send your CV together with details of your current clearance status and Defence experience.