Job Description

CDAO - Enterprise - Cloud Engineering Lead

Application Deadline: 27 May 2026

Department: Enterprise - Frontier AI

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Arlington, VA

Job Title: Cloud Engineering LeadJOA: CDAO-2026-000104
Pay Scale: $139,395-$191,900
Open Date: 20 May 2026
Close Date: 27 May 2026
About the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office
The Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) mission is to accelerate the adoption of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) across the Department of Defense (DoD). The CDAO works across the Military Departments and Services, Joint Staff, Combatant Commands (CCMDs), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and other DoD Components to design, develop, field, and scale technologies, capabilities, strategies, policies, and other guidance related to data, analytics, and AI in support of DoD's warfighting and business functions, including responding to crises and emerging challenges with state of the art digital solutions.
The CDAO has three broad goals of enabling, speeding, and scaling adoption of AI in the DoD. Rapid and scalable adoption of AI is a critical capability for DoD support in national security, and the CDAO executes that strategy. The CDAO’s role in facilitating the rapid adoption of frontier AI and autonomy will enable the DoD’s other objectives by informing future investments into policies, partnership, and infrastructure, enabling the adoption of AI at scale throughout the department.
As the Lead, Cloud Engineering for Generative AI, you will be the senior technical authority responsible for architecting and managing the specialized cloud infrastructure required to train, fine-tune, and serve large-scale Generative AI models. You will lead a team of expert engineers in building and operating secure, automated, and highly performant cloud environments that serve as the engine for the Department's most advanced AI initiatives.
You will serve as the senior advisor on all matters related to GPU-enabled cloud infrastructure, MLOps for large models, and platform optimization for AI workloads. Your role is to ensure that the foundational technology layer is purpose-built for the unique demands of Generative AI, from managing peta-scale datasets to delivering low-latency inference. You are not just managing cloud services; you are engineering the very platform on which the DoD's Generative AI supremacy will be built.
This position is covered by the Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo). The position is located in Washington, DC. The pay plan and broadband level for this role is NH-0800/1500-04, which is equivalent to the GS-14/15 grade level. This position does have an education requirement – details can be found here.
This role will close for submissions at 11:59pm on May 27th, 2025.

What you'll do here:

• Lead the design and implementation of secure, multi-cloud environments optimized for large-scale AI/ML workloads, with a focus on managing GPU capacity, high-throughput storage, and low-latency networking.
• Drive the use of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform and CloudFormation to automate the provisioning of complex AI development environments, GPU clusters, and model serving endpoints.
• Architect and manage a specialized MLOps platform for Generative AI, enabling CI/CD for model training, versioning, evaluation, and secure deployment.
• Provide subject matter expertise to advise DoD partners on best practices for cloud-native AI architecture, including containerization with Docker/Kubernetes, data fabrics for model training, and securing AI supply chains.
• Lead and mentor a team of cloud and MLOps engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and automation to deliver the resilient, high-performance platforms required by AI researchers and developers.

Requirements

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Candidate is encouraged to provide e-portfolio, project samples, Github, etc. to their submission package.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration
• This position is subject to provisions of the WHS/OSD Priority Placement Program (please see details below)
• Applicants for employment are covered by federal laws and Presidential Executive Orders designed to safeguard federal employees and job applicants from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit-based factors
• A three-year trial period may be required if not previously completed a trial or probationary period in the excepted or competitive service
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Required to participate in the direct deposit program.
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing.
• We may use this announcement to fill additional vacancies within 90 days of the closing date.
• Recruitment, relocation, or retention incentives may be authorized based on the availability of funds.
• This position is being recruited under 10 USC 1599f into the Cyber Excepted Service and does NOT convey eligibility to be converted to the Competitive Service.
• For more information on the Cyber Excepted Service Personnel System, click here https://public.cyber.mil/cw/dod-cyber-excepted-service-ces/
• This position requires a Top Secret/ Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance.
• Because this position is in the Cyber Excepted Service, Veterans' Preference will be applied to preference-eligible candidates, as defined by Section 2108 of the Title 5 U.S.C. in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction
• If you are a veteran claiming veteran's preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you must submit documents verifying your eligibility with your application package.
• This position may require work other than normal duty hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays and/or mandatory overtime.
• This position may occasionally require travel away from the normal duty station via military or commercial aircraft.

Priority Placement Program Details Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: Military Spouse Preference applicants, must be selected and placed at the highest grade level for which they have applied and been determined best qualified up to and including the full performance level. You must include a completed copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for Military Spouse Preference. https://acpol2.army.mil/chra_dodea/PPP_MSP_self_certification_checklist.pdf Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technicians PPP Eligible: MR and NG technicians PPP applicants must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Reserve and National Guard Technician PPP Self-Certification Checklist to verify your eligibility for Military Reserve and National Guard Technician preference. https://www.dcpas.osd.mil/sites/default/files/military_reserve_and_guard_tech_ppp_self_cert_checklist.pdf
Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technicians Receiving Disability Retirement PPP Eligible: MR and NG technicians receiving disability retirement PPP applicants must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Reserve and National Guard Technician Disability PPP Self-Certification Checklist to verify your eligibility for Military Reserve and National Guard Technician Disability preference. https://www.dcpas.osd.mil/sites/default/files/military_reserve_and_guard_disability_ppp_self_cert_checklist.pdf
Retained Grade PPP Eligible: Retained Grade PPP applicants, must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Retained Grade PPP Self-Certification Checklist to verify your eligibility for Retained Grade preference. https://www.dcpas.osd.mil/sites/default/files/retained_grade_ppp_self_cert_checklist.pdf