Lead AI Engineer

About the Position

We are searching for a skilled, innovation-driven Lead AI Engineer to join our team and spearhead the development of cutting-edge Generative AI solutions. If you're passionate about artificial intelligence and adept at building systems that deliver measurable business impact, this opportunity is ideal for you. You will work with a dynamic group of professionals to create and deploy AI-driven technologies that tackle real-world challenges - all within a highly collaborative, supportive, and forward-focused environment.

Responsibilities

• Drive technical vision and architecture by leading the design and implementation of highly scalable, robust enterprise AI applications, including complex multi-agent workflows, custom search engines, and end-to-end AI systems
• Partner closely with clients and business stakeholders to translate business goals into technical roadmaps and recommend high-impact, feasible LLM-driven solutions
• Establish engineering standards by setting the benchmark for code quality, architectural patterns, robust data pipelines, smart prompt management, and automated evaluation frameworks
• Foster a culture of learning and high performance through design reviews, development best practices, and active mentorship of junior and senior developers
• Direct R&D and innovation by guiding research on emerging models, framing prototyping strategies (PoCs), and standardizing the tools and frameworks used to stay on the bleeding edge of Generative AI

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in a Lead, Principal, or Senior AI/Software Engineering role, with a track record of architecting and shipping complex, production-grade AI or ML-based solutions
• At least 1 year of relevant leadership experience
• Master-level proficiency in Python (specifically FastAPI or equivalent web frameworks) and a strong foundation in core NLP concepts (semantic similarity, tokenization, NER, text classification)
• Expertise in modern Generative AI design patterns, particularly RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), autonomous multi-agent networks, and tool integration
• Production experience with major LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Gemini) and framework orchestration tools such as LangGraph or LlamaIndex
• Background in optimizing AI applications for performance, security (prompt injection mitigation, data privacy), cloud costs, and system evaluation using programmatic or LLM-as-a-judge approaches
• Capability to quickly direct and build intuitive UI/UX prototypes using Streamlit, Gradio, or equivalent
• Outstanding leadership and communication skills to lead engineering discussions, bridge the gap between technical and non-technical audiences, and present technical architectures to executives and clients
• Strong English communication skills (B2 level or higher)

Nice to Have

• Full-stack capabilities with TypeScript
• Experience incorporating AI into the SDLC to boost team efficiency using tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or specialized agents for automation
• Cloud architecture expertise in AWS or Azure (specifically Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, or cloud-native containerized deployments)
• Familiarity with Databricks (MLflow, Agent Bricks, Unity Catalog) for orchestrating data pipelines and model lifecycles
• Knowledge of advanced search/retrieval systems (hybrid search, vector databases, custom rerankers and ranking algorithms)
• Familiarity with emerging open-source protocols (like Model Context Protocol - MCP) and LLM monitoring tools (like LangSmith or Arize Phoenix)

We Offer

• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your own home
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events
• We invest in your growth: Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs, Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS, Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database, Free English classes with certified teachers
• We cover it all: Participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Monetary bonuses for engaging in the referral program, Comprehensive medical & family care package, Five trust days per year (sick leave without a medical certificate), Benefits package (sports activities, a variety of stores and services)

About the Company

We connect like-minded people: Delivering innovative solutions to industry leaders, making a global impact.