Senior AI Platform Engineer

Position Information

The Senior AI Platform Engineer is responsible for the technical design, development, and implementation of a comprehensive and scalable Generative AI platform for UC Riverside’s faculty, staff, and students. The role exists to provide the university with a robust infrastructure for leveraging advanced AI technologies within academic, research, and administrative applications. This position will lead the development of AI-driven microservices for university-wide application integration, develop campus chatbots for interacting with faculty, staff, students, prospective students, and the campus community, provide expert technical guidance and mentorship to development teams on generative AI best practices, and establish and maintain robust AI/ML Ops pipelines for efficient model deployment and management. The Senior AI Platform Engineer will serve as a technical subject matter expert, ensuring the platform's architecture and implementation meet the university's technical requirements for AI integration. Information Technology Solutions (ITS) is recruiting for two (2) positions. Both are classified as predominantly remote with occasional visits to campus as required. Working hours will be based on Pacific Standard Time (PST). The full salary range for the Senior AI Platform Engineer is $93,200 - $174,200 annually. However, the expected pay scale for this position is up to $135,000 annually. We base salary offers on a variety of considerations, such as education, licensure and certifications, experience, and other business and organizational needs. Applicants must have current work authorization when accepting a UCR staff position. Currently, UCR is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa for staff. As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Requirements

Educational Requirements

Degree

Bachelor's degree in related area and/or equivalent experience/training.

Requirement

Required

Degree

Master's degree in related area and/or equivalent experience/training.

Requirement

Preferred

Experience Requirements

Experience

6 - 10 years of related experience.

Requirement

Required

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced knowledge of secure software development.
• Highly advanced skills associated with software specification, design, modification, implementation and deployment of large-scale scope.
• Excellent project leadership and management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to understand functional needs and how systems can support those needs. Demonstrated ability to develop conversion and system implementation plans.
• Advanced experience with identification and use of code libraries and open-source forums.
• Advanced experience with planning for deployment and creation of feedback mechanisms.
• Demonstrated software repository skills.
• Experience developing and executing complex test plans.
• Demonstrated effective communication and interpersonal skills. Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information to technical and non-technical personnel at various levels in the organization.
• Self-motivated and works independently and as part of a team. Able to learn effectively and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated complex problem- solving skills.
• Expertise in Large Language Models (LLMs) and related frameworks (e.g., LangChain, Transformers)
• Proficiency in prompt engineering techniques for optimizing LLM performance
• Strong understanding of agentic AI concepts and experience in building agentic AI applications (e.g., using Google Agent Builder)
• Experience in designing and implementing AI/ML Ops pipelines for model deployment, monitoring, and management
• Proficiency in building and deploying RESTful APIs and microservices for AI integration
• Strong understanding of cloud platforms (e.g., Google Cloud Platform, AWS, Azure), particularly Google Vertex AI
• Experience in developing and deploying chatbot applications.
• Knowledge of data privacy and security principles related to AI and machine learning
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
  
  

Additional Information

In the Heart of Inland Southern California, UC Riverside is located on nearly 1,200 acres near Box Springs Mountain in Southern California; the park-like campus provides convenient access to the vibrant and growing Inland region. The campus is a living laboratory for the exploration of issues critical to growing communities' air, water, energy, transportation, politics, the arts, history, and culture. UCR gives every student, faculty and staff member the resources to explore, engage, imagine and excel.

UC Riverside is recognized as one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the country boasting several key rankings of which we are extremely proud.

• UC Riverside is proud to be ranked No. 12 among all U.S. universities, according to Money Magazine's 2020 rankings, and among the top 1 percent of universities worldwide, according to the 2019-20 Center for World University rankings.
• UC Riverside is the top university in the United States for social mobility. - U.S. News 2020
• UCR is a member of the University Innovation Alliance, the leading national coalition of public research universities committed to improving student success for low-income, first-generation, and students of color.
• Among top-tier universities, UC Riverside ranks No. 2 in financial aid. - Business Insider 2019
• Ranked No. 2 in the world for research, UCR's Department of Entomology maintains one of the largest collections of insect specimens the nation. - Center for World University Rankings
• UCR's distinguished faculty boasts 2 Nobel Laureates, and 13 members of the National Academies of Science and Medicine.
  
  

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories under state or federal law. It is the policy of the University of California to undertake affirmative action and anti-discrimination efforts, consistent with its obligations as a Federal and State contractor.

For information about our generous employee benefits package, visit: Employee Benefits Overview

Job Description Details

Generic Scope

Technical leader with a high degree of knowledge in the overall field and recognized expertise in specific areas; problem-solving frequently requires analysis of unique issues/problems without precedent and/or structure. May manage programs that include formulating strategies and administering policies, processes, and resources; functions with a high degree of autonomy.

Custom Scope

Applies advanced software concepts and objectives to medium to large projects of broad scope and complexity. Regularly resolves highly complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors. Selects tools, methods, techniques and evaluation criteria to obtain results.

Department Custom Scope

This senior-level position is responsible for the technical design, development, and implementation of a comprehensive and scalable Generative AI platform for UC Riverside’s faculty, staff, and students. The role exists to provide the university with a robust infrastructure for leveraging advanced AI technologies within academic, research, and administrative applications. This position will lead the development of AI-driven microservices for university-wide application integration, develop campus chatbots for interacting with faculty, staff, students, prospective students, and the campus community, provide expert technical guidance and mentorship to development teams on generative AI best practices, and establish and maintain robust AI/ML Ops pipelines for efficient model deployment and management. The Senior AI Platform Engineer will serve as a technical subject matter expert, ensuring the platform's architecture and implementation meet the university's technical requirements for AI integration.