This is an excepted service GS-15 position open to the public and all current federal employees at the GS-15 and one level below. Current federal employees at the GS-15 and one level below may apply to this position, and if selected will maintain pay set at their current grade and step. Current federal employees at grade levels GS-13 and below are not eligible for this position and their application will not be forwarded to the hiring manager. All current federal employees that apply for this position must submit their most recent SF-50, Notification of Personal Action (i.e., dated within the last 52 weeks from the closing date of this vacancy announcement) to verify their status of eligibility. FREE RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTIONS All applicants must answer the following four short, free response essay questions. The responses cannot exceed 200 words per question. By submitting your responses to the following questions, you certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you and explain how you would help implement them if hired. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position. Mandatory Qualifications: Expert expertise in one or more of the following areas: Machine learning / AI systems (training, fine-tuning, evaluation, deployment). Large-scale compute infrastructure (HPC, distributed systems, cloud, accelerators). Data architecture and pipelines supporting AI workloads. AI security, safety, or robustness. Proven experience building, deploying, or scaling production-grade AI or compute systems. Expert understanding of system-level tradeoffs across compute, data, models, latency, cost, and security. Superior ability to lead complex, cross-functional efforts spanning engineering, product, and operations. Experience working with senior executives and influencing strategic decisions. Superior ability to translate cutting-edge technical concepts into actionable strategy and mission outcomes. Expert collaboration skills and ability to operate effectively across government, industry, and academic stakeholders. Commitment to public service, national security, and responsible technology deployment. Expert experience with work of superior impact on agency programs related to a rapidly evolving field. Desired Qualifications Experience with Generative AI models, including large language models, multi-modal systems, and agent-based architectures. Experience designing or operating AI infrastructure stacks (training clusters, inference optimization, model serving). Familiarity with specialized hardware ecosystems (GPUs, TPUs, wafer-scale engines, custom accelerators). Experience with AI evaluation, benchmarking, red-teaming, or model assurance. Background in high-growth technology companies, leading research labs, or advanced government programs. Experience navigating classified or sensitive environments, or deploying secure systems at scale. Understanding of global AI competition dynamics and national security implications.