AI Developer

Itron, Inc.•Raleigh, NC

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

Itron is innovating new ways for utilities and cities to manage energy and water. We create a more resourceful world to protect essential resources for today and tomorrow. Join us. We are seeking an AI Developer to design and build AI‑powered solutions using Microsoft’s AI ecosystem, primarily Azure, GitHub, Copilot Studio, and Azure AI Foundry. In this role, you will develop and integrate conversational copilots, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) experiences, and automation workflows into enterprise applications. You will collaborate closely with product, engineering, security, and business stakeholders to deliver scalable, compliant, and measurable AI capabilities that support utility and energy customers.

Requirements

Experience building software solutions using Azure, including at least one of the following: Functions, App Service, Storage, SQL, or API Management.
Hands‑on development experience with Azure DevOps and/or GitHub, including pull request workflows, branching strategies, issue tracking, and CI/CD.
Experience developing AI‑driven applications, including at least one of the following: Copilots, chatbots, or conversational user experiences
Retrieval‑based solutions (RAG) and enterprise search
Prompt engineering and prompt or version management
Tool/function calling or agentic workflows
Ability to work with REST APIs and integrate AI solutions with enterprise systems.
Strong software engineering fundamentals, including data structures, API design, testing, and troubleshooting.
Clear communication skills with the ability to explain AI concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Copilot Studio, including topics, actions, connectors, publishing, and governance.
Experience with Azure AI Foundry, including prompt flows and orchestration, evaluation, deployments, and observability.
Familiarity with Azure OpenAI or other large language model providers and model lifecycle concepts.
Experience with enterprise identity solutions, including Entra ID, OAuth2, role‑based access control, and secure data patterns.
Knowledge of monitoring and observability tools such as Application Insights, Log Analytics, and dashboards.
Experience with Power Platform, Logic Apps, or other integration and automation platforms.
Comfort working in agile delivery models with a collaborative, innovative, and accountable approach.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain AI solutions leveraging Azure AI Foundry, including model selection, prompt orchestration, evaluation, and deployment patterns, with a focus on reliable and customer‑centric outcomes.
Develop and configure copilots using Copilot Studio, including topics, actions, plugins/connectors, and inclusive conversation design.
Implement AI integration patterns such as retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), tool/function calling, and agent‑based workflows into applications and internal tooling.
Create and maintain API services (for example, Azure Functions, App Service, and containerized services) to expose AI capabilities to enterprise business systems.
Design and implement secure and accountable data access patterns for enterprise knowledge sources, including SharePoint, Azure SQL, and Blob Storage.
Use Azure DevOps and GitHub for source control, pull requests, code reviews, branching strategies, and release management in a collaborative and agile environment.
Build CI/CD pipelines that support automated testing, security scanning, and deployments to Azure.
Apply engineering best practices, including unit and integration testing, telemetry, error handling, performance tuning, and clear documentation.
Follow secure‑by‑design practices, including identity and access management (Entra ID), secrets management (Key Vault), and least‑privilege access.
Support responsible AI and governance requirements, including logging, auditing, evaluation, content safety, and prompt and security guardrails.
Partner with security and compliance teams to ensure AI solutions align with enterprise policies and regulatory requirements common in the utilities and energy sector.
Translate business needs into AI solution designs, user stories, and technical delivery plans that are practical and measurable.
Work cross‑functionally with product, engineering, and business partners to define success metrics, validate outcomes, and iterate based on feedback and analytics.
Provide guidance and enablement to teams adopting Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry patterns, fostering shared ownership and continuous learning.