Principal AI Engineer

NOIRLab is seeking an accomplished Principal AI Engineer to define and lead the organizations artificial intelligence strategy technical architecture and AI engineering capabilities. This highly visible leadership role will establish the foundational AI platforms engineering practices and governance framework that enable scientists software engineers and operations teams to harness the power of artificial intelligence in support of groundbreaking astronomical research and observatory operations.

As NOIRLabs first dedicated AI engineering leader you will have a unique opportunity to shape how AI is adopted across one of the worlds premier astronomical research organizations. You will identify and prioritize high-impact AI opportunities build enterprise-scale AI capabilities and deliver innovative solutions that accelerate scientific discovery increase engineering productivity and improve operational efficiency.

This role combines strategic vision with hands-on technical leadership. You will partner closely with researchers software engineers data scientists and operational stakeholders to design prototype implement and deploy production-ready AI systems. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable defining long-term AI strategy architecting scalable AI platforms and personally contributing to the development of advanced AI solutions.

At NOIRLab we believe scientific discovery and technological innovation go hand in hand. We value intellectual curiosity continuous learning and a passion for solving complex problems. This position offers the rare opportunity to apply cutting-edge AI technologiesincluding machine learning generative AI large language models (LLMs) advanced analytics and agentic systemsto help answer fundamental questions about our universe while advancing the future of scientific computing.

If you are energized by the challenge of building AI capabilities from the ground up and motivated by the potential to make a lasting impact on science this is an exceptional opportunity to lead transformative innovation at a global research institution.

Key Responsibilities

AI Strategy & Technical Leadership

• Define and execute NOIRLabs enterprise AI strategy technical vision and multi-year roadmap aligned with scientific engineering and operational goals.
• Identify evaluate and prioritize high-value AI use cases that deliver measurable business and scientific impact.
• Establish AI engineering standards development methodologies reusable frameworks and best practices that support scalable adoption across the organization.
• Assess and implement emerging technologies including generative AI foundation models LLMs AI agents and advanced machine learning approaches.
• Develop governance frameworks model evaluation processes and lifecycle management practices that ensure responsible secure and effective AI deployment.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and success metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of AI initiatives.

AI Platform Architecture & Solution Development

• Design and implement secure scalable and production-ready AI platforms and applications that integrate with scientific research systems software platforms and operational workflows.
• Lead the development of LLM-powered applications Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems AI agents copilots and other advanced AI solutions.
• Establish platform capabilities that enable experimentation model deployment monitoring observability and continuous improvement.
• Partner with IT and enterprise technology teams to ensure AI systems meet organizational requirements for reliability scalability security and compliance.

Advanced Analytics & Scientific Computing

• Develop advanced analytics capabilities that support scientific discovery operational decision-making and organizational effectiveness.
• Apply machine learning statistical modeling and AI techniques to large-scale scientific datasets and computational workflows.
• Evaluate and optimize model performance accuracy explainability and operational effectiveness.
• Collaborate with researchers and technical teams to leverage AI in solving complex scientific and engineering challenges.

Technical Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the organizations senior technical authority for AI machine learning and advanced analytics.
• Mentor engineers scientists and technical teams in AI technologies architecture and responsible AI practices.
• Collaborate across scientific engineering and operations organizations to drive AI adoption and innovation.
• Engage with external research institutions observatories and scientific communities to promote collaboration interoperability and knowledge sharing.
• Foster a culture of experimentation continuous improvement and responsible innovation.

What Youll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data Science Software Engineering or a related technical field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 15 years of experience in software engineering artificial intelligence machine learning or related fields including experience serving as a Principal Engineer AI Technical Lead Architect or equivalent senior technical leadership role.
• Demonstrated success designing building and deploying production-scale AI and machine learning solutions.
• Deep expertise in machine learning generative AI large language models modern AI architectures and AI engineering best practices.
• Experience developing and deploying LLM applications RAG systems AI agents and foundation model-based solutions.
• Strong background in cloud-native architecture distributed systems data platforms and AI infrastructure.
• Experience implementing AI operationalization practices including model deployment monitoring evaluation governance and lifecycle management.
• Expertise in secure responsible AI development and model governance frameworks.
• Advanced software engineering skills and proficiency with modern programming languages frameworks and AI development ecosystems.
• Exceptional communication leadership and collaboration skills with the ability to influence diverse technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying AI machine learning or advanced analytics within scientific research environments.
• Familiarity with astronomical datasets observatory operations scientific instrumentation or related research domains.
• Experience with high-performance computing (HPC) large-scale data processing or scientific computing platforms.
• Contributions to open-source software AI frameworks or scientific computing communities.
• Experience building organizational AI capabilities and driving enterprise-wide AI adoption strategies.

Salary Range: $179000-$226000. The final salary will depend on skills qualifications experience and job location.

This position will remain open until it is filled. Please submit a cover letter and a CV or resume PDF files preferred.

Individuals needing assistance with the employment process can request assistance here.

Why Join NOIRLab

• Lead the AI vision for one of the worlds leading astronomical research organizations.
• Build AI capabilities from the ground up with executive visibility and organizational influence.
• Apply cutting-edge AI technologies to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation.
• Collaborate with world-class scientists engineers and researchers solving some of humanitys most fundamental questions.
• Make a lasting impact on both the future of AI and our understanding of the universe.