AI Software Engineer
$160K–$200K+ Offers For Graduates $160K–$200K+ Offers For Graduates 

3 weeks remote, 7 weeks onsite in Austin, TX
80–100 hours/week for 10 weeks
In-person
Short-term contract
full-time (90 hrs/week)

AI Software Engineer   $160K–$200K+ Offers For Graduates $160K–$200K+ Offers For Graduates 

Description

Engineers often speak of creating meaningful technology. Here is an opportunity to demonstrate it through action: consistent delivery, rigorous assessment, and operational AI systems that influence how the federal government functions. There is no reliance on academic pedigree, no abstract problem sets—only tangible production work delivered weekly under demanding conditions.

Gauntlet for America is a fully funded, competitive 10-week fellowship created to develop AI-native engineering talent for the United States government. It serves as a rigorous testing environment for experienced engineers prepared to prove their capability to design and deploy production-quality AI systems in contexts where dependability, security, and measurable impact are paramount.

Participants deliver work weekly, undergo continuous evaluation, and train in cohort with other high-caliber engineers. Upon successful program completion, graduates transition into federal GS-12 engineering positions (~$150K + comprehensive federal benefits), contributing to systems that directly influence government operations.

The fellowship spans 10 weeks: an initial 3 weeks conducted remotely, then 7 weeks onsite in Austin, Texas. Participants should anticipate a demanding schedule (80–100 hours/week) structured to accelerate skill development, demonstrate performance signal, and optimize career trajectory.

Program Outcomes:

  • 10+ production-ready AI systems delivered throughout the fellowship
  • Direct transition into a federal engineering position (GS-12 equivalent, ~$160K–$200K+ based on experience + full benefits)
  • Contribution to high-impact systems that define how the U.S. government develops and operates technology
  • Integration into a network of AI-native engineers operating at the leading edge of public sector innovation

If you are prepared to be assessed on what you ship—not your academic background—submit your application now.

What you will be doing

  • Deliver production-ready AI applications weekly under strict timelines
  • Develop systems using modern AI-first methodologies (agents, tool use, evals, retrieval, deployment)
  • Engage in collaboration and competitive benchmarking with elite engineering peers in a feedback-intensive setting
  • Address genuine, ambiguous problem domains comparable to government and enterprise environments
  • Convert real-world briefs into well-scoped, dependable, deployable systems

What you will NOT be doing

  • Attending theoretical lectures or passive instruction—every moment is dedicated to building and delivering
  • Experiencing delays of months before your work reaches production—you will ship functional systems each week
  • Depending on academic credentials, institutional prestige, or interview results to secure your placement—production output is the sole evaluation criterion
  • Operating in a risk-free testing environment—the systems you create function under genuine security and reliability requirements

Key responsibilities

Deliver production-grade AI systems operating under real-world constraints that validate readiness for federal engineering positions.

Candidate requirements

  • U.S. citizenship required (no exceptions; background check required)
  • Demonstrated engineering ability (new grads and experienced engineers considered)
  • Willing to relocate to Austin, TX for 7 weeks (full-time, in person)
  • Willing to relocate to the Washington, DC area upon program completion (no remote roles)
  • Strong problem-solving ability, learning speed, and clear reasoning under pressure
  • High responsiveness to feedback and ability to operate in high-intensity environments

Meet a successful candidate

Watch Interview
Fabiano Lucchese
Fabiano  |  SVP of Software Engineering
Brazil

Does your company encourage your natural creativity? This Brazilian engineering leader rediscovered his purpose after unleashing both his an...

Meet Fabiano

Applying for a role? Here’s what to expect.

Crossover's skill assessment process combines innovative AI power with decades of human research, to take the guesswork, human bias, and pointless filters out of recruiting high-performing teams.

Chat-style
screening interview.
STEP 1

Chat-style
screening interview.

Cognitive 
aptitude test.
STEP 2

Cognitive 
aptitude test.

Prove real-world 
job skills.
STEP 3

Prove real-world 
job skills.

Interview with the hiring manager.
STEP 4

Interview with the hiring manager.

Pass
proctored test.
STEP 5

Pass
proctored test.

Accept job offer.
STEP 6

Accept job offer.

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What you will learn

Phase 1: Remote (Weeks 1–3) — AI-First Engineering Foundations

  • AI-first development workflows (coding agents, MCP, real-time collaboration)
  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), embeddings, and vector databases
  • Rapid project sprints focused on shipping under constraints

Phase 2: Onsite in Austin (Weeks 4–10) — Production AI at Scale

  • Agent systems, evals, verification, and observability (LangChain/LangSmith/LangFuse/CrewAI)
  • Enterprise-grade delivery: QA, reliability, and high-standards execution
  • Fine-tuning + deployment patterns (LoRA/QLoRA + production integration)
  • Multi-agent modernization of real-world codebases
  • Multimodal AI builds (image/video/voice) and scalable infrastructure (AWS/Azure)

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The Olympics of work

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Premium pay for premium talent

Over 50% of new hires double or triple their previous pay. Why? Because that’s what the best person in the world is worth.

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