AI Architect

We are seeking an AI Lead / AI Architect to design, build, and lead the development of an enterprise AI platform within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem. This is a highly visible, high-impact role responsible for establishing the overall AI architecture, ensuring all internally developed and vendor-delivered AI solutions integrate into a unified, production-grade platform.

This individual will serve as the technical authority for all AI initiatives, combining hands-on development, architecture leadership, vendor oversight, and AI governance. The role will also help establish and lead an AI Center of Excellence and partner with business stakeholders to identify and prioritize AI use cases across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Design and own the enterprise AI platform architecture within Azure AI Foundry and the broader Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
• Define and maintain a unified AI platform architecture, including agent orchestration, tool/function calling, memory management, and API integration patterns.
• Serve as the technical authority across all AI initiatives, including oversight of external AI vendors and their deliverables.
• Take a hands-on role in building, deploying, troubleshooting, and remediating AI solutions as needed.
• Design and build multi-agent AI systems, including agent hierarchies, task delegation, inter-agent communication, and autonomous reasoning workflows.
• Develop and deploy custom AI agents, copilots, and automated workflows using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry.
• Design and implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, including document ingestion, embeddings, chunking strategies, and retrieval configuration.
• Collaborate with integration and enterprise teams to ensure AI services connect properly to enterprise systems and APIs.
• Lead the development and ongoing operation of the AI Center of Excellence, including standards, governance, and reusable AI components.
• Establish and enforce responsible AI and data governance practices, including PII handling, content filtering, bias mitigation, access controls, and compliance.
• Implement monitoring and observability for AI systems in production, including performance tracking, reasoning trace review, and failure detection.
• Partner with business stakeholders to identify and prioritize AI use cases based on feasibility and business value.
• Translate complex AI architecture decisions into clear business terms for leadership and non-technical stakeholders.
• Mentor and develop internal AI/ML engineers and data scientists.
• Stay current on emerging AI technologies, agent frameworks, and Azure capabilities and advise leadership on AI strategy and roadmap.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
• 7 years of experience in AI/ML engineering or architecture, including at least 3 years in a lead or architect-level role.
• Hands-on experience building and deploying AI solutions in Azure AI Foundry in a production environment.
• Strong experience with Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Machine Learning, Azure API Management, and the Microsoft Azure platform.
• Experience building custom AI agents, copilots, and AI-powered automation using Microsoft Copilot Studio.
• Experience designing and building multi-agent systems using frameworks such as Semantic Kernel, AutoGen, or LangChain.
• Experience designing and implementing RAG architectures and working with vector databases such as Azure AI Search, Pinecone, or Weaviate.
• Advanced prompt engineering experience for agent-based workflows, including reasoning frameworks and system prompt design.
• Experience managing and overseeing external AI vendors and ensuring alignment to enterprise architecture standards.
• Experience building or leading an AI Center of Excellence or AI governance function.
• Experience implementing monitoring and observability for AI systems in production environments.
• Familiarity with MLOps practices such as CI/CD for AI, model versioning, and deployment pipelines is preferred.
• Microsoft Fabric experience is a plus.
• Microsoft certifications such as Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) or Azure Solutions Architect Expert are preferred.
• Experience in manufacturing, e-commerce, or distribution/supply chain environments is a plus.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts into business terms.
• Strong customer service mindset and ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and effectively.