Technology Architect – Cyber AI

Compensation

$132,347 - $172,199 + bonus eligible. Offers will be commensurate with level of experience.

Job Locations

US-VA-McLean

Overview

We are seeking a visionary technologist to join our team as a Technology Architect focused on the intersection between Cyber and AI. This is an exempt position reporting to the Vice President of the Cyber Practice. This position will work closely with IQT’s government partners to understand their technology challenges and use their mastery of technology to investigate and recommend potential solutions from the venture-backed startup landscape. This position will lead the technical aspects of an investment to ensure that IQT delivers effective and compelling solutions to our Intelligence Community/Department of Defense government partners. The Cyber Practice is responsible for identifying and executing investments in technology areas including:

• Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Cybersecurity
• Cyber Data Management
• Digital Forensics, Malware Analysis, and Reverse Engineering
• Software Supply Chain Security
• Cryptography, Data Protection, and Isolation
• Vulnerability Assessment, Penetration Testing, and Exploit Development
• Identity Management and Authentication
• Network Traffic Analysis
• Embedded Systems (IoT/OT) Security
• Next-Generation Endpoint Security and Incident Response/Recovery
• Secure Software Development (DevSecOps)
• Software Defined Infrastructure Security (Cloud, Containers, SDN)
• Threat Intelligence
• Security of AI and Machine Learning Systems
• AI-Enabled Deception Technologies and Cyber Resilience

Responsibilities

• Lead with Curiosity. Perform technical diligence on investments in assigned technical areas.
• Develop and negotiate Statements of Work contracts between IQT and start-up companies.
• Provide technical oversight of work programs; performs assessments of work program deliverables. Identify and communicate paths for resolution of issues on work programs to key stakeholders and IQT Leadership.
• Leverage technical/market experience and understanding of government partner use cases to develop Global Competitive Analyses and other situational awareness products as assigned.
• Foster Trusted Partnerships. Develop technology architectures and solutions to address challenges faced by IQT’s government partners
• Envision plans for the evaluation and adoption of work program technology by IQT's government partners. 

Qualifications

Minimal Qualifications:

• Due to contractual reasons, U.S. Citizenship is required 
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field (or equivalent experience) preferred.
• 5+ years professional experience with some portion of that time overseeing a technology development effort in a business and/or intelligence environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following fields:
  • AI-Driven Threat Intelligence & Defense: Leveraging machine learning and large language models (LLMs) for predictive threat intelligence, autonomous network defense, and next-generation incident response.
  • Security for AI/ML Systems: Protecting the integrity of AI models and data pipelines. This includes adversarial AI defense (e.g., model poisoning, evasion attacks), AI model integrity verification, and developing secure Machine Learning Operations (MLOps).
  • Autonomous Security Operations: Technologies that automate and accelerate security functions, including AI-based vulnerability assessment, autonomous penetration testing, and AI-powered digital forensics and malware analysis.
  • Federated Learning and Decentralized AI Training: Expertise in training AI models across distributed datasets without centralizing sensitive data, enabling privacy-preserving collaboration in cyber data management and threat intelligence sharing
  • Explainable AI (XAI) Techniques: Proficiency in methods like SHAP, LIME, or counterfactual explanations to make AI-driven decisions transparent and auditable, crucial for building trust in AI for vulnerability assessment, incident response, and forensics
  • Generative AI for Cyber Simulation and Red Teaming: Skills in using GANs or diffusion models to generate realistic cyber attack scenarios, malware variants, or network traffic patterns for testing defenses.
• Previous experience negotiating milestone-based Statements of Work contracts.
• Candidates with active top-secret clearance preferred; at a minimum, candidate must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Commitment to continued understanding of new technologies and their strategic advantages.
• Hands-on development experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • Programming in Python, JavaScript, Golang, or Rust
  • Assembly code programming in VHDL
  • Cloud computing platforms such as GCP, AWS, and Azure
  • REST APIs
  • Application of AI/ML to cybersecurity workflows.
• Proven understanding of adversarial machine learning techniques and defenses.
• Understanding of modern AI architectures (e.g., LLMs, Transformers, CNNs, GANs) and the ML development lifecycle.
• Capable of analyzing complex problems including identifying root cause issues, generating a concise summary of analysis; and presenting recommendations for non-technical audiences.
• Startup or entrepreneurial experience and proven ability to thrive in a non-traditional, entrepreneurial environment.
• Comfortable presenting complex technology subjects to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Prior experience working with the US Intelligence Community
• Strong writer: experience in both technical writing and proposal/contract writing is preferred.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.