---
title: 'Senior AI Engineer (TS/SCI) at Slingshot Aerospace'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-ai-engineer-ts-sci-slingshot-aerospace-colorado-springs-2z2bdefdasnx'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Senior AI Engineer (TS/SCI) at Slingshot Aerospace

- **Company:** Slingshot Aerospace
- **Location:** Colorado Springs, CO
- **Compensation:** $150k–$250k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-31
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/slingshot-aerospace/c7455434-13ee-4ba3-9b1e-502abe6e3e9d

## Job description

Meet Slingshot At Slingshot Aerospace, we're on a mission to make space safer and more secure for everyone. Our work directly impacts global security, disaster response, climate monitoring, and the critical infrastructure that connects our world. We're a team of builders, thinkers, and problem-solvers who believe that the next generation of space operations will be powered by better data and smarter software. We move fast, we're not afraid to fail, and we believe the best ideas can come from anywhere—whether you're in engineering, sales, product, or operations. If you want to work on something that truly matters, with people who care deeply about the impact we're making and help shape the future of an industry that's just getting started, you're in the right place.

Role is based in Colorado Springs, CO, and Slingshot will provide relocation assistance!

## What You’ll Be Launching

As a Senior AI Engineer focused on Agentic Evaluation and Verification and Validation (V&V), you will join the AI and Data Science team within Slingshot’s Research and Development organization. You will contribute to advancing how intelligent systems are evaluated and validated for mission-critical space operations. This role focuses on building and scaling evaluation frameworks, benchmarks, and simulation-backed validation systems for agentic AI systems, including multi-step, tool-using, and autonomous decision-making workflows powered by LLMs and reinforcement learning. Your work will directly support the development of reliable and trustworthy autonomous mission planning systems. You will partner closely with AI researchers and domain experts to translate real-world mission concepts into structured, testable evaluation systems.

Your Mission (Should you choose to accept it)

- Extend and maintain Slingshot’s V&V SDK and evaluation framework for simulation-backed validation of agentic AI systems
- Design and implement agent-level and end-to-end evaluations, including benchmark scenarios, scoring logic, and experiment harnesses
- Build benchmark scenarios and tooling that measure planning, reasoning, and operational performance for autonomous mission planning systems
- Translate astrodynamics and mission-domain concepts into executable evaluation scenarios and simulation configurations
- Develop reusable SDK interfaces, adapters, and evaluation utilities that connect V&V systems, TALOS benchmarks, and agent workflows
- Define and apply metrics for capability evaluation, failure analysis, regression detection, and comparative benchmarking
- Partner with cross-functional teams to identify evaluation needs and contribute to improving coverage of critical capabilities
- Contribute to best practices for evaluating complex, autonomous AI systems
- Uphold strong engineering standards through testing, documentation, reproducibility, and maintainable system design

Pre-flight Checklist

- 6+ years of experience in software engineering, machine learning engineering, applied AI, or equivalent experience
- Strong Python engineering skills with experience building SDKs, libraries, or evaluation tooling
- Experience designing evaluation frameworks, benchmarks, metrics, or test harnesses for AI/ML systems
- Ability to analyze system behavior, identify failure modes, and evaluate performance in complex autonomous or semi-autonomous systems
- Familiarity with modern agent frameworks, orchestration patterns, or protocol-based integrations
- Experience working in cross-functional, multidisciplinary teams
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant science or engineering field, or equivalent experience
- Must be a U.S. citizen and possess an active Top Secret / SCI (TS/SCI) clearance.

Bonus Cargo

- Experience in autonomous systems such as self-driving or ADAS, including perception, planning, simulation, or safety validation
- Experience developing or evaluating agentic AI systems, including multi-step, tool-using, or autonomous workflows (e.g., LLM-based agents, planning agents, or reinforcement learning approaches)
- Experience with reinforcement learning systems and simulation-based evaluation
- Familiarity with benchmark design, experiment tracking, and trace-based evaluation workflows
- Experience with orchestration frameworks such as LangGraph or similar tools
- Knowledge of astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, or spacecraft mission planning
- Experience translating mission or operational concepts into measurable evaluation scenarios
- Familiarity with physics-based simulation, trajectory analysis, or space-domain modeling
- Experience with observability and experiment tooling such as MLflow, Opik, or similar platforms
- Experience transitioning advanced research systems into production environments

US-based Candidates: we are currently only able to hire residents of the following U.S. states: AL, AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV We are unable to consider candidates residing in other U.S. states at this time. Internationally-based Candidates: we are currently only able to hire residents of the following locations: United Kingdom. We are unable to consider candidates residing in other countries at this time. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion are key to our success. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and our employees are people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds, who share a passion for creating a safer, more connected world. Diversity not only includes race and gender identity, but also national origin, citizenship, sex, color, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic that is part of one’s identity. All of our employees’ points of view are key to our success, and we embrace individuality.

## About Slingshot Aerospace

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Slingshot Aerospace delivers AI-powered space operations intelligence and autonomy (SOIA) to help defense, commercial, and sovereign operators track, interpret, and act on activity in space.
- **Entity Type**: Private (total funding $150.8M across 15 rounds; latest known round: Series A in 2021)
- **Headquarters**: Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: David Godwin (Executive Chairman & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Defense and Space Manufacturing, Space Domain Awareness, AI/Data Analytics
- **Target customers**: Government (DoD, Space Force, allied nations), commercial satellite operators, sovereign space agencies – primarily B2B/Enterprise
- **Mission or purpose**: “We empower customers and partners with decision-grade intelligence and operational autonomy to secure space operations, protect critical assets, and deliver decision and action advantage across the space domain.” [slingshot.space/about](https://www.slingshot.space/about)

## Products & Services
- **[Slingshot Portal](https://www.slingshot.space/)**: An AI-driven platform that fuses sensor data, orbital data, and mission data into a live common operating picture. Provides real-time tracking, conjunction alerts, maneuver planning, and AI decision support. Delivered via SaaS, APIs, on-premise, or whole-catalog licensing.
- **Slingshot Global Sensor Network**: Proprietary sensing layer that captures sensor-originated truth, reducing dependence on third-party data.
- **Slingshot Seradata**: Satellite and launch history database used for historical analysis and market intelligence.
- **Live Simulation & Training**: Continuously updated digital environment for scenario evaluation, rehearsal, and decision support – used in the $27M Space Force contract for AI-driven training. [slingshot.space/news](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-awarded-27-million-space-force-contract-to-power-the-ai-driven-training-environment-for-space-warfare)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue of **$9.0M** (estimated); total funding of **$150.8M** [linkedin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace](https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: ATX Ventures, Advent International, Sway Ventures, Horizon Technology Finance; U.S. Space Force (contracts)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Headcount grew **30.3% YoY** to 165 employees [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace)
  - Awarded a **$27M Space Force contract** for AI-driven training environment [slingshot.space/news](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-awarded-27-million-space-force-contract-to-power-the-ai-driven-training-environment-for-space-warfare)
  - Named to **Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026** [slingshot.space/news](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-named-to-fast-companys-annual-list-of-the-worlds-most-innovative-companies-of-2026)
  - Launched **Slingshot Portal** as a unified AI-driven platform [slingshot.space/news](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-launches-portal-an-ai-driven-platform-for-mission-ready-space-operations)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary sensor network** – Slingshot owns its sensing layer, enabling higher fidelity, revisit rates, and lower latency than third-party data providers.
- **Integrated SOIA stack** – Combines sensing, data fusion, AI decision support, and autonomous action in a single closed-loop system (Sense → Fuse → Decide → Act), unlike SDA-only competitors.
- **Deep government trust** – Proven contracts with U.S. Space Force and other defense agencies, including a $27M training contract.
- **AI-first approach** – Dedicated Chief of AI & Data Science and a team focused on AI agents, automation, and decision support. [slingshot.space/](https://www.slingshot.space/)

## Strategic Focus
- **Expanding AI-driven autonomy** – Increasing levels of autonomous mission coordination and real-time decision support.
- **Growing government & sovereign contracts** – Leveraging the $27M Space Force win to capture additional defense and allied nation deals.
- **International expansion** – Offices in the UK, Taiwan, Canada, and Texas; building a global presence.
- **Product platformization** – Unifying capabilities under Slingshot Portal to offer modular, scalable access (APIs, SaaS, on-premise).

## Why Work Here
- **Remote-first culture** with flexible PTO, stock options, and comprehensive medical/dental/vision coverage. [slingshot.space/careers](https://www.slingshot.space/careers)
- **Hybrid/remote flexibility** – Employees can work from offices in Colorado Springs, Austin, Washington DC, or the UK, or fully remote within the US. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace)
- **Mission-driven work** – Direct impact on space safety, security, and sustainability; work with cutting-edge AI and space technology.
- **Growth environment** – 30%+ headcount growth, recent Fast Company innovation award, and major government contracts signal strong momentum.
- **Benefits**: 401(k) with employer match, disability/life insurance, generous parental leave, commuter benefits, free snacks/drinks, employee resource groups. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace)
- **Engineering culture** – Roles span AI research, full-stack engineering, data engineering, signals engineering, and product management; emphasis on autonomy and real-time systems.

## Sources
1. [Slingshot Aerospace Careers Page](https://www.slingshot.space/careers)
2. [Slingshot Aerospace About Page](https://www.slingshot.space/about)
3. [Slingshot Aerospace Main Site](https://www.slingshot.space/)
4. [Slingshot Aerospace LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace)
5. [Built In Profile](https://builtin.com/company/slingshot-aerospace)
6. [Slingshot Aerospace News – Space Force Contract](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-awarded-27-million-space-force-contract-to-power-the-ai-driven-training-environment-for-space-warfare)
7. [Slingshot Aerospace News – Portal Launch](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-launches-portal-an-ai-driven-platform-for-mission-ready-space-operations)
8. [Slingshot Aerospace News – Fast Company 2026](https://www.slingshot.space/news/slingshot-aerospace-named-to-fast-companys-annual-list-of-the-worlds-most-innovative-companies-of-2026)

## Other roles at Slingshot Aerospace

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- [Sales Director, International Business Unit](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-director-international-business-unit-slingshot-aerospace-united-kingdom-z0mrxeb2ggzt) — United Kingdom
- [Senior Account Executive, DoW](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-account-executive-dow-slingshot-aerospace-huntsville-m8kmcyzxv61p) — Huntsville, AL
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