Application/QA Engineer (Contract)

AIPEX Defense develops AI-enabled capabilities that support mission execution across defense and national security organizations. The company applies artificial intelligence, data integration, and modern digital technologies to improve decision-making, intelligence operations, and operational effectiveness in complex mission environments. We are small and early - a founding team, not a division of a holding company - and you should hear that from us rather than find it out. If you want your judgment visible in the finished thing, this is that job.

AIPEX Defense develops AI-enabled capabilities that support mission execution across defense and national security organizations. The company applies artificial intelligence, data integration, and modern digital technologies to improve decision-making, intelligence operations, and operational effectiveness in complex mission environments. We are small and early - a founding team, not a division of a holding company - and you should hear that from us rather than find it out. If you want your judgment visible in the finished thing, this is that job.

About AIPEX Defense

AIPEX Defense develops AI-enabled capabilities that support mission execution across defense and national security organizations. The company applies artificial intelligence, data integration, and modern digital technologies to improve decision-making, intelligence operations, and operational effectiveness in complex mission environments. We are small and early - a founding team, not a division of a holding company - and you should hear that from us rather than find it out. If you want your judgment visible in the finished thing, this is that job.

About the program

This role supports a prototype AI system that helps U.S. law enforcement and customs officials identify cultural property - art, antiquities, and heritage objects - that may be stolen or illegally trafficked. The prototype is a standalone system with a field-facing application layer sitting on top of a retrieval-based image-matching pipeline.

What you'll work on

• The field-facing application layer end users interact with.
• CI/CD for the project, stood up from the start of active development rather than bolted on later.
• The 90% automated test-coverage target and a SAST/DAST/SCA security-scanning pipeline (GitHub Actions plus CodeQL, Dependabot or Snyk-class tooling), consistent with the practices AIPEX already attests to under its Software Producer Attestation.
• Internal testing (Month 7) and simulated field testing (Month 8), working from a requirement-level traceability matrix.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the application layer and its CI/CD pipeline.
• Own the test-coverage target and the security-scanning pipeline end to end.
• Support the Month 7 Internal Testing and Validation Report and Month 8 Simulated Field Testing and Validation Report deliverables.
• Work closely with the AI/ML Engineer on this same task order to integrate the retrieval pipeline into a usable application.

Qualifications AIPEX is looking for

• Experience building and testing a field-facing application, including CI/CD pipeline ownership.
• Comfortable standing up a security-scanning pipeline (SAST/DAST/SCA) and driving toward a specific test-coverage target.
• Able to work independently on a small, distributed team and communicate progress clearly without daily in-person supervision.

Eligibility

This is a standalone, non-classified system that does not connect to any Department of State network and processes no non-public Government data. No security clearance, background investigation, or Common Access Card is required for this role. There is no U.S. citizenship requirement - you must be authorized to work in the United States, which is a standard requirement of any AIPEX engagement and not specific to this contract.