Software Architect AI Direct Hire

Job Title: Software Architect AI - Direct Hire

Overview
We are seeking an experienced Software Architect AI to define and evolve the technical architecture for AI-driven systems across manufacturing research and development and business operations. This role is responsible for establishing architectural direction enabling scalable and reliable AI solutions and partnering cross-functionally to ensure AI capabilities deliver measurable operational and business impact.

This is a senior hands-on technical leadership role for someone excited to build foundational AI systems in a high-growth technology-driven manufacturing environment.

• Design and own the end-to-end architecture for AI and machine learning systems including data ingestion model development deployment and monitoring.

• Establish architectural patterns and standards for scalable secure and maintainable AI platforms.

• Ensure AI systems integrate effectively with manufacturing systems (e.g. MES ERP) laboratory tools and enterprise applications.

• Partner with Manufacturing R&D Quality and Operations teams to identify high-value AI use cases such as process optimization quality prediction and anomaly detection.

• Translate business and technical requirements into robust AI system designs.

• Guide model lifecycle management including experimentation deployment retraining and performance monitoring.

• Serve as a technical authority and advisor on AI architecture best practices and technology trade-offs.

• Review technical designs mentor engineers and data scientists and elevate engineering standards across teams.

• Support build-versus-buy decisions and evaluate vendors tools and platforms.

• Collaborate closely with software data and infrastructure teams to ensure architectural alignment and successful execution.

• Partner with IT and Security teams to ensure AI systems meet reliability security and compliance requirements.

• Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• 10 years of experience in software engineering data platforms or AI/ML systems with demonstrated architectural ownership.

• Extensive experience building applications leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) including OpenAI Anthropic open-weight models or comparable technologies.

• Hands-on expertise with:

  • Prompt engineering and design

  • Function/tool calling

  • Structured outputs

  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures

  • Agent frameworks

• Proven experience integrating software with enterprise systems using REST APIs GraphQL message queues webhooks and ETL pipelines.

• Strong knowledge of cloud architecture with Azure experience preferred.

• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and orchestration platforms including Kubernetes and/or serverless environments.

• Demonstrated programming expertise in Python Rust and R.

• Strong understanding of modern AI/ML frameworks data pipelines cloud-native architectures and MLOps concepts.

• Experience integrating AI systems within operational or industrial environments is preferred.

• Ability to balance short-term delivery needs with long-term architectural strategy.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with the capability to thrive in ambiguous and fast-paced environments.

• Experience in manufacturing industrial or deep-tech environments.

• Advanced degree in Computer Science Engineering Data Science or a related field.

• Experience with edge AI time-series analytics or physics-informed machine learning.

• Passion for clean technology sustainable innovation or climate-positive initiatives.

• Equity participation through stock option grants.

• Comprehensive medical dental and vision insurance.

• Mental health benefits and support programs.

• 401(k) plan with company matching.

• Paid vacation sick leave and company holidays.

• Opportunity to work in a collaborative high-performing and innovative environment.