Plymouth
AI Engineer - Defence RAG Systems ( Security Clearance Essential ) On Site 2 X Days a week, Plymouth Clearance: Active SC Essential | Sector: Defence Role Overview Defence client requires an SC Cleared AI Engineer to build fully on-premises RAG systems using open-source technologies. You'll develop classified AI capabilities on air-gapped infrastructure with zero external dependencies. Key Responsibilities • Build end-to-end RAG pipelines on isolated defence networks using open-source LLMs (Llama 3, Mistral, Qwen), • Deploy local vector stores (Chroma, FAISS, Milvus) with sensitive document ingestion pipelines, • Host and optimise LLMs using vLLM/TGI on local GPU clusters without Internet connectivity, • Implement agent orchestration using LangChain/LangGraph in completely offline environments, • Design secure document processing for classified materials with appropriate data sanitisation, • Build monitoring and evaluation systems that operate within air-gapped infrastructure Essential Requirements • Active SC Clearance (non-negotiable) - willingness to undergo DV if required, • Demonstrable experience deploying open-source LLMs (Llama, Mistral, Falcon) on-premises, • Expertise with local vector databases (Chroma, FAISS, Weaviate) in offline deployments, • Strong vLLM/Text Generation Inference experience for high-throughput model serving, • Proven ability to work on air-gapped systems with no external package repositories, • Experience with GPU orchestration (NVIDIA A100/H100) and CUDA optimisation, • Python expertise with offline dependency management and local package mirrors Technical Stack (All On-Premises) Models: Llama 3, Mistral, Qwen (locally hosted) Vector Stores: Chroma, FAISS, Milvus Orchestration: LangChain, LangGraph for agents Hosting: vLLM, TGI, Ollama on bare metal/private cloud Infrastructure: Air-gapped Kubernetes, local container registries Desirable Skills • Experience with defence/government IT security protocols, • Knowledge of CIS benchmarks and NCSC guidelines, • Familiarity with cross-domain solutions and data diodes, • Understanding of classification marking and handling procedures