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Applied AI Engineer - National Security (TS/SCI)

Washington, D.C.

Build to Protect Civilization

TRM is a blockchain intelligence company that’s on a mission to build a safer financial system for billions of people. We’re a lean, high-impact team tackling some of the world’s most critical challenges, ranging from human trafficking and financial fraud to terrorist financing. We are builders who power governments, financial institutions, and crypto companies when the clock is running and the consequences are real. This is why every TRMer is a bet on our future and has the power to change our trajectory.

About the Position

As TRM’s first Applied AI Engineer embedded with our Forward Deployed Engineering team, you’ll help bring generative AI into the heart of U.S. national security missions. This role is about impact at the edge: building and deploying AI systems in secure, high-side environments where speed, accuracy, and trust are mission-critical.

At TRM, we fuse blockchain intelligence with AI to illuminate hidden risks and strengthen global security. In this role, you won’t just be building models—you’ll be shaping how cutting-edge technology accelerates outcomes that protect national interests and public safety.

The impact you’ll have here:

  • Deploy AI to the mission edge. Act as the primary technical interface with national security customers, deploying TRM’s AI capabilities into classified, airgapped, and mission-critical environments. Adapt solutions to real-world constraints while ensuring secure, reliable integration.
  • Own AI application lifecycles. Build, tune, deploy, and optimize AI systems tailored to mission needs. Apply techniques like retrieval-augmented generation, prompt optimization, and fine-tuning to ensure performance at scale.
  • Accelerate mission wins. Drive pilots and long-term programs by working directly with end users, closing the loop between operators and engineering. Capture field feedback, measure mission impact, and channel insights back into TRM’s product and research roadmaps.

What we’re looking for:

  • Strong background in ML model evaluation/tuning, Python, API integration, SQL, and MCP servers.
  • Proven ability to deliver results quickly within highly regulated or bureaucratic environments.
  • A customer-first mindset: you identify mission impact, work backward from it, and remove blockers to deliver.
  • Excellent communicator, able to interface confidently with technical and non-technical stakeholders and build trust in high-stakes settings.
  • Bonus: Experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow), API design, Kubernetes (Helm), and Terraform/IaC deployments.
  • Candidate must have an active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.

About the Team:

  • The AI Engineering and Forward Deployed teams at TRM are mission-focused builders. We pair deep technical expertise with direct engagement in the field, delivering AI capabilities that matter when and where they are needed most.
  • The AI Engineering team is globally distributed. The Forward Deployed team is U.S.-based and aligned to the Eastern timezone, operating both onsite and remotely. We communicate across secure and unclassified channels, adapting seamlessly to whatever the mission requires.
  • We prioritize speed, transparency, and impact. Weekly syncs and project check-ins keep us aligned. Project tracking is always up to date. Issues are flagged immediately and resolved with urgency.
  • We always put the customer first – The Forward Deployed team is on the front-lines working directly with customers and will develop close relationships with them. We do whatever it takes to ensure their mission success.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

  • Rapid Issue Resolution. TRM Engineers identify and resolve critical onsite issues in minutes to hours, not weeks. We create virtual war rooms, implement fixes, and share lessons with both customer stakeholders and internal teams within 48 hours.
  • Navigating Bureaucracy. We anticipate and address procedural hurdles, build trust with key stakeholders, and find alternative pathways to approvals. This keeps projects moving even in complex environments.
  • Efficient Knowledge Transfer. Engineers document and share updates in real time, ensuring the entire team—onsite and remote—has full visibility into plans, blockers, and resolutions. Knowledge sharing sessions and clear documentation reduce friction and accelerate delivery.

About TRM's Engineering Levels:

Engineer: Responsible for helping to define project milestones and executing small decision decisions independently with the appropriate tradeoffs between simplicity, readability, and performance. Provides mentorship to junior engineers, and enhances operational excellence through tech debt reduction and knowledge sharing.

Senior Engineer: Successfully designs and documents system improvements and features for an OKR/project from the ground up. Consistently delivers efficient and reusable systems, optimizes team throughput with appropriate tradeoffs, mentors team members, and enhances cross-team collaboration through documentation and knowledge sharing.

Staff Engineer: Drives scoping and execution of one or more OKRs/projects that impact multiple teams. Partners with stakeholders to set the team vision and technical roadmaps for one or more products. Is a role model and mentor to the entire engineering organization. Ensures system health and quality with operational reviews, testing strategies, and monitoring rigor.

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

  • The estimated base salary range for this role is $200,000 - $265,000.
  • Additionally, this role may be eligible to participate in TRM’s equity plan.
  • Please note – we factor in the different costs for geographies outside the United States.

Life at TRM

We build to protect civilization. That promise shows up in how we work every day.

TRM runs fast. Really fast. We’re a high-velocity team that expects ownership, clarity, and follow-through. People who thrive here are inspired by hard problems, experimentation, direct feedback. If it takes months elsewhere, it often ships here in days. If you are optimizing primarily for consistent work-life balance, use the interview process to pressure-test fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.

We coach directly, assume positive intent, and play for the front of the jersey.

Leadership Principles

  • Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first, driving for speed, focus, and adaptability.
  • Master Craftsperson: We prioritize speed, high standards, and distributed ownership.
  • Inspiring Colleague: We value humility, candor, and a one-team mindset.

Want to learn more about how we interview at TRM Labs? Check out more about our leadership principles and hiring process here.

What You’ll Do Here

This work has teeth. At TRM, your week might include:

  • Driving critical investigations that can’t wait for typical business hours.
  • Shipping products in days when others would schedule quarters.
  • Partnering with teams across time zones to deliver insights while the story is still unfolding.
  • Building new solutions from first principles when the playbook doesn’t yet exist.
  • Protecting victims and customers by tracing illicit activity and disrupting criminal networks.

Join our Mission

We look for people who want their work to matter, who build with speed and rigor, and who take pride in protecting others through their craft. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, apply anyway. We hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.

Build to protect civilization. Let’s do it together.

Recruitment agencies

TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.

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