Prompt Engineer

We are seeking aPrompt Engineer design test and refine interaction patterns for generative AI systems used across our client engagements. This role is central to shaping how users experience AI-powered applications and ensuring that LLM outputs are relevant reliable safe and aligned to mission needs. The Prompt Engineer will work closely with AI DevelopersLLMOpsEngineers Evaluation Scientists and product/design teams to craft prompts structure context improve retrieval strategies and create intuitive multi-turn interaction flows.

• Design iterate andoptimizeprompts templates and prompt chains that improve the accuracy reasoning and usability of generative AI outputs.
• Develop context management strategies including document selection summarization formatting role instructions andretrievalaugmentation patterns.
• Partner with developers to implement prompt engineering techniques within RAG pipelines agentic workflows evaluation harnesses andapplicationUX layers.
• Conduct structured experimentsincluding A/B tests and rubric-based evaluationsto measure prompt performance andidentifyopportunities for improvement.
• Collaborate with AI Evaluation Scientists to defineevaluationmetrics tied to quality relevance consistency safety and hallucination reduction.
• Work closely with UX and product design teams to develop interaction flows that guide user inputs clarify system capabilities and reduce cognitive load.
• Help translate complex subject-matter content into structured LLM-friendly formats that improve system reasoning and reduce error rates.
• Support the design of safe output behaviors by implementing guardrails filtering strategies and context constraints aligned with governance principles.
• Document prompt patterns style guides failure modes and best practices for internal reuse and team enablement.
• Stay up to date on emerging prompting strategies (e.g.CoT self-critique toolusescaffolding function calling agentic behaviors) and share insights with the team.
• You will contribute to the growth of our AI & Data Exploitation Practice!

• Ability to hold a position of public trust with the U.S. government.
• Bachelors degree in Computer Science Linguistics Cognitive Science Data Science ora relateddiscipline.
• 5 years of total experience.
• 2 years of experience in AI/ML NLP content design UX writing or similar roles involving structured interaction design.
• Demonstrated experience designing and testingprompts forLLMs in real applications (GPT-style models Claude Gemini Llama etc.).
• Familiarity with RAG architectures vector databases embeddings and context retrieval strategies.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to run structured experiments analyze model outputs and document findings.
• Proficiencywith Python and common AI frameworks (e.g.LangChainLlamaIndex) is preferred.
• Experience with UX design principles information architecture or conversational design is highly valuable.
• Understanding ofresponsible AI concepts including safety privacy bias and governance-aligned prompting strategies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate domain-specific content into clear effective AI instructions.
• Ability to collaborate across engineering product governance and evaluation teams to shape coherent user-AI interactions.

Steampunk relies on several factors to determine salary including but not limited to geographic location contractual requirements education knowledge skills competencies and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $115000 to $140000. The estimate displayed represents a typical annual salary range for this position. Annual salary is just one aspect of Steampunks total compensation package for employees. Learn more about additional Steampunk benefits here.

Identity Statement

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Steampunk is a Change Agent in the Federal contracting industry bringing new thinking to clients in the Homeland Federal Civilian Health and DoD sectors. Through our Human-Centered delivery methodology we are fundamentally changing the expectations our Federal clients have for true shared accountability in solving their toughest mission challenges. As an employee owned company we focus on investing in our employees to enable them to do the greatest work of their careers and rewarding them for outstanding contributions to our growth. If you want to learn more about our story visit .