App/AI Engineer (R&D)
About The Position
McCain Foods is seeking an experienced contract App / AI Engineer to support the design, development, and delivery of AI‑enabled data solutions within Research & Development (R&D). This is a highly hands‑on role focused on building production‑grade data applications and analytics that directly enable R&D decision‑making. You will work closely with R&D stakeholders and McCain’s Digital, Data, and AI partners to translate real business needs into scalable, secure, and maintainable data products. This role is ideal for an engineer who codes daily, leverages AI‑assisted development tools effectively, and sets a high bar for technical quality through strong code review and engineering standards.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science, or a related field
- Strong, hands‑on experience with Python for data engineering and analytics, including modular design, logging, configuration management, and automation
- Advanced SQL expertise, including query optimization and working with large, complex datasets
- Proven experience designing and optimizing data models that balance performance, usability, and analytics needs
- Experience with cloud‑based data platforms such as Databricks, Delta Lake, or equivalent technologies, including performance and cost optimization
- Demonstrated success building and launching applications or data products using AI‑assisted coding tools
- Ability to critically assess, refactor, test, and productionize AI‑generated code to enterprise standards
- Extensive experience with Git‑based workflows, including branching strategies, pull requests, and peer code reviews
- Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts and AI outcomes into clear, actionable insights
- Highly self‑directed, delivery‑focused, and comfortable working in fast‑moving, evolving data and AI environments
Nice To Haves
- Experience supporting R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, or scientific data environments
- Exposure to statistics, Design of Experiments (DOE), or advanced analytics workflows
- Experience building internal data tools or reusable analytics frameworks
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and maintain scalable R&D data capture, ingestion, and analytics systems supporting structured and semi‑structured data across the R&D lifecycle
- Develop production‑grade Python and SQL code for data pipelines, AI‑enabled analytics, and automation with a strong focus on performance, reliability, and maintainability
- Leverage AI‑assisted coding tools to accelerate delivery while ensuring solutions meet McCain’s security, data privacy, and quality standards
- Translate R&D and business requirements into fully functional data products and applications, not just proofs of concept
- Create interactive front‑end prototypes (wireframes, lightweight apps, or functional mock‑ups) to validate user workflows and reduce delivery risk
- Provide technical leadership through architecture input, code‑level guidance, and rigorous peer and AI‑generated code reviews
- Lead end‑to‑end User Acceptance Testing (UAT), including scenario design, edge‑case validation, and production readiness sign‑off
- Provide post‑deployment hypercare and aftercare, including monitoring, issue triage, bug fixes, access management, and data quality checks
- Evaluate third‑party AI platforms and tools, assessing technical fit, scalability, cost, and alignment with McCain IT and AI governance standards
- Communicate progress, risks, and design decisions clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
Benefits
- health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug)
- retirement savings benefits
- leave support including medical, family and bereavement
- vacation and holidays
- company-supported volunteering time
- mental health resources
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
