Applied AI - Forward Deployed Engineer - Defense

About the job

The Applied AI for Defense team is Mistral’s specialized unit dedicated to delivering high-impact, secure AI solutions for institutions and organizations operating in highly regulated and strategic environments. We work hand-in-hand with clients to design, deploy, and maintain AI systems that meet the highest standards of reliability, security, and operational excellence.

Our team combines deep technical expertise with a rigorous approach to compliance and risk management, ensuring that every solution is both cutting-edge and fully aligned with the unique constraints of our partners.

Mistral AI is seeking an Applied AI Engineer to join this team. You will be responsible for the technical design, implementation, and deployment of AI solutions tailored to the needs of critical infrastructure and sovereign institutions. Your work will directly contribute to projects with significant societal and operational impact.

What you will do

• Individually deploy AI solutions into production for use cases with significant operational and strategic impact.
• Develop state-of-the-art GenAI applications tailored to the specific needs of sovereign institutions and critical infrastructure, driving technological transformation in collaboration with our customers.
• Work closely with our researchers, AI engineers, and product teams on complex customer projects involving advanced fine-tuning, LLM applications, and contributions to our open-source codebases for inference and fine-tuning.
• Participate in pre-sales discussions to understand the needs, challenges, and aspirations of potential clients, providing technical guidance on Mistral’s products and technologies to diverse stakeholders.
• Collaborate with our product and science teams to continuously improve our offerings based on customer feedback, with a focus on security, compliance, and performance.

How we work in Applied AI

• We care about people and outputs.
• What matters is what you ship, not the time you spend on it
• Bureaucracy is where urgency goes to vanish. You talk to whoever you need to talk to. The best idea wins, whether it comes from a principal engineer or someone in their first week.
• Always ask why. The best solutions come from deep understanding, not from copying what worked before
• We say what we mean. Feedback is direct, timely, and given because we care.
• No politics. Low ego, high standards.
• We embrace an unstructured environment and find joy in it.

About you

• Fluent in English.
• PhD or Master's in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or related field.
• 2+ years of experience in AI/ML
• Proven track record of leading teams to deliver complex AI projects from prototyping to production.
• Deep expertise in fine-tuning LLMs, advanced RAG, agentic systems, and deploying NLP applications at scale.
• Proficient in Python, PyTorch, and modern AI frameworks (LangChain, HuggingFace). Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and MLOps tools a plus.
• Strong software engineering skills: API design, backend/full-stack development, system architecture.
• Excels in technical communication with technical and non-technical audiences, including executives.
• Thrives in fast-paced collaborative environments and is passionate about mentoring technical talent.

It would be great if you

• Have experience with React or other frontend frameworks.
• Have experience with Deep Learning in PyTorch
• Contributed to open-source projects in the LLM or AI space.
• Have experience in customer-facing roles with a focus on enterprise AI adoption.

Security & Compliance criteria

• Eligibility: must hold citizenship in the target territory (France for now).
• Clearable: must meet all local requirements for high-level security clearance (e.g., no criminal record, fulfillment of national service obligations).

What We Offer

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your well-being, growth, and work-life balance. Benefits vary by country and may include healthcare coverage, parental leave, retirement plans, relocation support, wellness programs, meal and transportation allowances, and other location-specific perks.