Overview

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Talent Hub is seeking an Impact Fellow for a 24-month term to join the Department of Information Technology within a state government. The Gubernatorial Administration aims to become a national leader in the responsible and productive use of artificial intelligence, guided by the state’s AI Roadmap to improve government services and outcomes for residents. The state seeks to build technical capacity and modernize systems to move from ideas to implementation, with FAS collaborating to recruit AI/ML leadership to drive impact across workforce systems and public services.

The FAS Impact Fellowship supports the development and placement of emerging scientific and technical talent in high-impact roles across federal and state governments, covering areas such as education, immigration, wildfire resilience, national security, and housing. Fellows augment government teams to confront significant scientific and social challenges.

Role

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Talent Hub is seeking an AI/ML Engineering Director who will lead high-impact projects, expand technical capacity, and help drive the use of AI to modernize public services. The position supports innovation across workforce systems and positions the state as a national model in the innovation economy.

Responsibilities

• Identifying areas where state-led AI experimentation can have the greatest impact
• Identifying systemic barriers – such as gaps in technical expertise, procedural bottlenecks, or infrastructure/architectural limitations – that slow the adoption of AI tools across state government
• Developing technical, policy, and talent solutions to remove these barriers and accelerate the implementation of AI projects
• Evaluating, prototyping, implementing, and optimizing AI/ML systems to ensure they are production-ready, scalable, and high-performing
• Leading and/or supporting high-impact AI deployments in priority areas – such as streamlining permitting or transforming legacy systems – that deliver improved operations, customer experience, and service design
• Championing an AI/MLOps strategy for the State AI product lifecycle
• Building longer-term capacity by establishing practices that enable sustained AI adoption, including with and for agentic systems

Impact

• Increasing the State’s ability across agencies to run high-priority proofs of concept, evaluate success, and scale into production
• Expanding the State’s ability to deliver AI solutions that improve public services, enhance operational efficiency, and strengthen trust in government
• Developing a state-wide understanding of platforms, infrastructure, and tooling to satisfy high-ROI GenAI use cases

Skills and Expertise: Must Haves

• 5 – 7 years of engineering leadership, preferably mentoring and growing engineering teams to design/build/ship AI systems
• Exceptional ability to build strong relationships with cross-functional peers in Design, Legal, Product, and other disciplines
• Envision the “art of the possible” with a clear plan to keep the state at the forefront of AI
• Deep knowledge of the end-to-end AI product lifecycle, from user research to continuous improvement and monitoring
• Hands-on experience defining and implementing robust frameworks for system orchestration, continuous evaluation, and post-deployment monitoring
• A holistic approach to building AI that weighs ethics and impact as much as accuracy
• A track record building and launching AI systems in highly regulated industries (government or healthcare) is preferred but not required

Work Environment

This position can be hybrid or remote. Generally, work can be accommodated as two to three days on-site and two to three days remote per week, depending on organizational needs.

Salary

The fellowship provides an annual salary of $164,000 for the duration of the term.

Application Deadline

Deadline for application submission: October 31, 2025.

Hiring Statement

Don’t check off every box? Apply anyway. We encourage diverse candidates and new voices. If your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, you may still be the right candidate.

Equal Opportunity

The Federation of American Scientists is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The Federation of American Scientists prohibits discrimination against employees and applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose compensation. Employment is contingent on successful verification of eligibility to work in the United States.