AI Solutions Engineer

Description

The company designs and delivers mission-critical systems for aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, and customers rely on it in fast-changing markets.

The AI Solutions Engineer bridges traditional mission-critical software engineering and autonomous decision support across the programs and functions at TCDS.

You will help integrate AI-driven capabilities into these programs while keeping system integrity intact. Solutions include agentic AI, such as intelligent software that supports decisions.

Programs include in-service support of Royal Canadian Navy ships, pan-domain command and control, and others.

Hybrid, Ottawa.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and tune agentic AI systems that make autonomous decisions, reason, and act in changing environments.
• Build multi-agent systems in which agents cooperate, negotiate and coordinate toward complex goals.
• Integrate reinforcement learning and large language models so agents can adapt and understand context.
• Build and maintain scalable infrastructure to deploy agentic AI in cloud, on-premises and edge environments.
• Monitor and benchmark agent performance continuously and improve it iteratively.
• Lead cross-functional teams that fold agentic AI into existing products and workflows.
• Work with data scientists, software engineers and domain experts to set system requirements and architecture.
• Mentor junior engineers on agentic AI best practices.
• Document system designs, APIs and deployment processes so they can be reproduced and maintained.
• Research and assess new AI techniques, frameworks and tools that extend agent abilities such as tool use, memory and planning.
• Prototype new agentic applications, for example autonomous agents for customer support, supply chain optimization or cybersecurity.
• Diagnose and fix complex problems in agent behaviour, coordination and scale.
• Deploy agentic AI to production with attention to reliability, security and performance. Build testing frameworks for agent behaviour, including simulation and adversarial testing. Watch agents in real-world use, collect feedback and refine designs.

Requirements

• Knowledge of agile software engineering methods.
• Ability to work on well-defined projects with little supervision.
• At least one of the following: designing and integrating AI that turns multi-source data, such as ISR feeds, into intelligence for commanders; applying AI/ML to make tactical simulations more faithful, including real-time scenario generation and prediction of battlefield outcomes; applying AI-driven optimization to resource allocation, logistics and decision support in constrained tactical networks; building agentic AI solutions with context engineering, complex automation, tool integration through MCP servers and complex retrieval stacks; or testing, verifying and validating non-deterministic AI/ML components in mission-critical settings.
• Business sense, with the ability to turn vague business problems into technical AI solutions such as agentic ones.
• Strong customer service skills and the ability to build good working relationships across the business.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a suitable engineering or technical field.
• Preferred: experience as a Forward Deployed Engineer.
• Preferred: experience in defence.
• Preferred: experience integrating sensors.
• Preferred: experience with data and interoperability standards.
• Preferred: graduate degree in engineering (software, computer, systems, electrical, or a suitable technical field), for defence work.

Conditions

Hybrid, based in Ottawa.

Occasional travel to the East or West Coast.

Direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR) is required. Applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for that access.

Total target compensation, covering base salary and variable target, is in the market range of $130,000 - $150,000 CAD per year. Where you land in that range depends on your career history, skills, performance, budget, customer program needs and internal equity. Additional pay or benefits may be offered depending on circumstances unrelated to protected status.

The company uses AI-enabled tools to support candidate sourcing, résumé matching and interview scheduling, but human recruiters make every hiring decision.

Benefits

• Company-paid extended health, dental, HSA, life, AD&D, short-term disability, cancer care, travel insurance, employee assistance and well-being programs.
• Retirement savings plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA), with company contributions and a DCPP match that vests immediately.
• Company-paid holidays, vacation days and paid sick leave.
• Voluntary life, AD&D, critical illness and long-term disability cover.
• Employee discounts on home insurance, auto insurance and gym memberships.
• The benefits program applies to full-time employees working 24 or more hours a week and their eligible dependents.
• The company is an equal opportunity employer and will arrange accommodations at any stage of interviewing on request. Accommodation details stay confidential.
• Access to controlled items may also require eligibility for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and the ability to obtain a Canadian Enhanced Reliability security clearance, under the Canadian Industrial Security Program, ITAR and EAR.