AI Engineer (Temporary)

Cornell University•Ithaca, MI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The AI Engineer (Temporary) will be an integral part of Cornell University’s AI Program, a pioneering initiative that harnesses the power of generative AI to address real-world challenges critical to the university's mission. Reporting to the Program Manager, this position will work at the intersection of cutting-edge AI technologies and practical implementation, building bespoke solutions that empower university departments, faculty, and students to optimize their workflows, improve decision-making, and unlock new opportunities for innovation. The position combines technical excellence with user-focused development to ensure AI solutions enhance equity, accessibility, and transparency, reinforcing Cornell’s commitment to fostering inclusion and innovation across its campus. The position will not only collaborate on transformative projects but also shape how higher education harnesses AI to do the greatest good. This is a unique opportunity to engage in high-priority, high-impact projects while shaping how AI transforms higher education in the years to come. As an individual contributor you will model and support a culture of inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture. While position responsibilities vary greatly, the Skills for Success and Leadership Skills for Success are foundational to what is expected of every employee and leader working at Cornell. These skills are essential for individual and organizational success. Staff Skills for Success; Leadership Skills for Success. Additionally, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or related field, with at least 1 year of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Proficiency in using Python, AI APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, etc.), machine learning algorithms, and software development frameworks.
Familiarity with building agentic solutions using frameworks/tools such as workflow automation platforms, agentic coding tools (Claude Code), LangChain, LangGraph, Agents SDK, etc.
Strong understanding of advanced AI models and architectures, including generative AI models (including LLMs).
Practical experience in deploying AI apps to production, including containerization technologies such as Docker.
Familiarity with modern cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), MLOps pipelines, and version control (Git) to support scalable AI workflows.
Proven ability to distill complex organizational needs into robust AI solutions.
Experience addressing real-world challenges using AI, ideally in academic, research, or collaborative environments.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
Proactive stakeholder engagement skills to refine project goals and ensure user-focused solution development.
Demonstrated commitment to ethical AI practices, ensuring that AI tools are implemented responsibly.
Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.
Sound judgment about data risk, permissions, and architectural constraints, and the ability to communicate tradeoffs clearly while aligning work with Cornell-approved platforms and responsible AI practices.
A passion for translating cutting edge AI into real world solutions within a vibrant academic community.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree.
Experience building conversational agents or other generative AI applications in higher education or similar environments.
Proficiency in relational, non-relational, or graph databases.
Familiarity using frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Hugging Face.
Familiarity with academic workflows, from course management to research collaboration tools.
Prior contributions to academic publications, open-source projects, or AI community initiatives.

Responsibilities

Leveraging AI to tackle challenges such as improving academic advising processes, designing dynamic learning tools, enhancing operational efficiency, and scaling administrative tasks.
Working on highly visible projects, from creating AI-driven dashboards for personalized student advising to developing natural language processing (NLP) based tools that streamline faculty research searches for media inquiries.
Collaborating closely with stakeholders across the university, including faculty, researchers, staff, and students, focusing on both immediate problem-solving and long-term innovation.
Serves as Tech Lead for selected projects, translating stakeholder needs into clear, buildable solutions; facilitating sprint-based work; supporting student engagement where applicable; and contributing to internal operational tools and offboarding documentation.
Manages AI-related service workflows in TDX, supports access provisioning and ticket triage, builds automation for repeatable processes, and helps deliver consultations, AI Exploration sessions, onboarding materials, guides, and reusable knowledge resources.