What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Development Operations Engineer (Data Science) position at Altair Engineering, Inc.?
Transforming the Future with Convergence of Simulation and Data
Senior Development Operations Engineer (Data Science)
Job Summary:
Our client in Normal, IL is looking for a Senior Development Operations Engineer (Data Science). This is a contract position.
What You Will Do:
We are seeking a Staff AI/ML Engineer & Data Scientist with deep expertise in traditional machine learning, Deep learning and strong MLOps experience to lead the design, deployment, and maintenance of production-grade ML systems. You will architect robust ML pipelines, apply advanced statistical techniques, and ensure models are accurate, explainable, and scalable. While the primary focus will be on traditional supervised, unsupervised, and time-series modeling, light experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Needs to have devops experience for setting up Databases, CI/CD (Databricks end-to-end experience). This role required to visit site intermittently to Normal,IL site for initial understanding of the scope.
MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS/RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Strong databricks MLOPS, databricks AI/ML, and aws MLOPS and software experience.
- Traditional ML Expertise – Apply algorithms such as regression, tree-based models, SVMs, clustering, and forecasting to solve high-impact problems ,feature engineering and hyper parameter tuning (anamoly prediction). The vast majority of data generated today is unlabeled.
- End-to-End Model Development – Lead the full lifecycle from data preprocessing and feature engineering to training, validation, deployment, and monitoring.
- Statistical Analysis – Apply hypothesis testing, Bayesian methods, and model interpretability techniques to ensure reliable insights.
- Devops Experience – Experience with database setup, databricks, aws, CI/CD, DevOps/MLOps, VectorDBs, GraphDB.
- ML Technical Leadership – Define ML architecture, best practices, and performance standards for enterprise-scale solutions.
- Programming & Integration – Build scalable ML pipelines and APIs in Python (primary) and Golang (for backend services).
- MLOps Implementation – Design and manage CI/CD pipelines for ML, including automated retraining, model versioning, monitoring, and rollback strategies.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration – Partner with engineering, analytics, and product teams to align technical solutions with business objectives.
What You Will Need:
Basics:
- Masters degree or PHD is mandatory.
- 8 years of experience in applied ML or data science, including 3 years in a senior or staff-level role and devops experience.
- Expert proficiency in Python for ML development (Good to have: Golang for backend integration).
- Proven experience deploying traditional ML models to production with measurable business impact.
- Strong knowledge of ML frameworks (Scikit-learn, XGBoost, LightGBM) and data libraries (Pandas, NumPy, Statsmodels).
- Hands-on MLOps experience with tools like MLflow (preferred), Databricks(preferred), Kubeflow, Vertex AI Pipelines, or AWS SageMaker Pipelines.
- Experience with model monitoring, drift detection, and automated retraining strategies.
- Strong database skills (SQL and NoSQL).
- Strategic problem-solver with the ability to align AI solutions to business goals.
- Excellent communicator across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Preferred:
- Masters degree or PHD is mandatory.
- This role required analysis of manufacturing, sensors, PLC data.
- Exposure to retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and vector databases.
- Time-series analysis and anomaly detection experience.
- Cloud deployment expertise (AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Familiarity with distributed computing frameworks (Spark, Ray).
How You Will Be Successful:
- Envision the Future
- Communicate Honestly and Broadly
- Seek Technology and Business “First”
- Embrace Diversity and Take Risks
What We Offer:
- Competitive Salary
- Comprehensive Benefit Package
- 401(k) with matching contributions
- Paid Time Off
- Employee Discounts
- Free training on all Altair products
Why Work with Us:
Altair is a global technology company that provides software and cloud solutions in the area of data analytics, product development, and high-performance computing (HPC). Altair enables organizations in nearly every industry to compete more effectively in a connected world, while creating a more sustainable future. With more than 3,000 engineers, scientists, and creative thinkers in 25 countries, we help solve our customer’s toughest challenges and deliver unparalleled service, helping the innovators innovate, drive better decisions, and turn today’s problems into tomorrow’s opportunities.
Our vision is to transform customer decision making with data analytics, simulation, and high-performance computing.
For more than 30 years, we have been helping our customers integrate electronics and controls with mechanical design to expand product value, develop AI, simulation and data-driven digital twins to drive better decisions, and deliver advanced HPC and cloud solutions to support unlimited idea exploration. To learn more, please visit altair.com
Ready to go? #ONLYFORWARD
At our core we are explorers; adventures; pioneers. We are the brains behind some of the world’s most revolutionary innovations and are not only comfortable in new and unchartered waters, we dive headfirst. We are the original trailblazers that make the impossible possible, discovering new solutions to our customer’s toughest challenges.
Altair is an equal opportunity employer. Our backgrounds are diverse, and every member of our global team is critical to our success. Altair’s history demonstrations a belief that empowering each individual authentic voice reinforces a culture that thrives because of the uniqueness among our team.
