Principal AI Engineer

The Principal AI Engineer provides technical leadership and direction for a team of AI Engineer, overseeing the end-to-end development and deployment of significant AI initiatives. This role involves driving technical strategy, setting best practices, mentoring team members, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, impactful AI solutions that align with business objectives.

Focus: End-to-End Initiative Leadership, AI/ML Strategy & Mentorship

The difference you will make:

• Provide technical leadership, guidance, and mentorship to a team of AI Engineer.
• Architect, design, and oversee the implementation of complex AI/ML systems and platforms from conception to production.
• Drive the technical roadmap for AI projects, translating business requirements into technical specifications and actionable plans.
• Champion best practices in AI/ML engineering, MLOps, software development, code quality, and testing.
• Lead technical discussions, architectural reviews, and problem-solving sessions within the team and across departments.
• Collaborate closely with product management, data science, and other engineering teams to define project scope, technical feasibility, and resource allocation.
• Identify and evaluate new technologies, tools, and methodologies to enhance the team's capabilities and efficiency.
• Conduct performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback to team members, contributing to their professional growth.
• Act as a primary technical point of contact for stakeholders regarding AI solutions.
• Hands-on contribution to critical code components, architectural design, and complex problem-solving.

What you will bring to the role:

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related quantitative field. Master's degree or Ph.D. highly preferred.

Experience: 

• 8+ years of extensive experience in AI/ML engineering, with at least 2-3 years in a technical leadership or lead engineer role, successfully leading significant AI projects from end-to-end.

Technical Skills:

• Expert proficiency in Python and deep expertise in multiple AI/ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras).

• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing large-scale, production-grade AI systems, including distributed training and serving.

• In-depth knowledge and practical experience with MLOps principles, tools, and platforms (e.g., Kubeflow, MLflow, Airflow, Docker, Kubernetes).
• Strong architectural skills for building robust, scalable, and maintainable AI infrastructures.
• Proficiency in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their AI/ML services.
• Excellent understanding of data engineering principles, data governance, and database technologies.
• Ability to evaluate and make sound technical decisions on complex trade-offs.

Soft Skills:

• Exceptional leadership, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and persuade stakeholders at all levels, including executive leadership.
• Proven ability to think strategically and translate complex business challenges into innovative and impactful data science initiatives.
• Strong mentoring and coaching skills, with a passion for developing the talents of junior team members.
• Excellent collaboration and negotiation skills, with the ability to work effectively across diverse, cross-functional teams and build strong relationships.

Finaira is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.