Lead AI Engineer

AtScale•Boston, MA

About The Position

AtScale is hiring a Lead AI Engineer to lead the team building its GenAI capabilities. This player-coach role sets technical direction for how large language models and agents work with the semantic layer, plans and delivers the roadmap, and contributes production code every week. The role works closely with product management, core engine and platform teams, and DevOps to turn AI ideas into dependable customer-facing features. The Lead AI Engineer will hire, mentor, and grow AI engineers; define architecture and standards for GenAI work; translate product goals into plans, milestones, and sprint-level work; and design and productionize GenAI solutions. The role establishes methods for evaluating AI output and builds measurement and observability around model performance. It also partners across teams to integrate models into the AtScale platform, debug AI-generated responses, support smooth production operations, and communicate the team's direction and results to engineering leadership, product stakeholders, and customers.

Requirements

At least 2 years as a tech lead or engineering manager of an AI or ML team.
At least 10 years of software engineering experience, including at least 7 years developing AI algorithms or technologies.
Experience shipping GenAI features to production at scale.
Fluency in Python and the modern GenAI stack, including foundation model APIs, retrieval-augmented generation, embeddings, prompt and context engineering, and systematic evaluation.
Experience working with customers to debug their systems.
Experience with Docker/Kubernetes and Git/CI/CD.
Ability to turn ambiguous goals into executable plans and communicate clearly with engineers, product managers, and executives, both in writing and verbally.
Quality-focused approach, current knowledge of AI tooling, and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
Based in or able to work Eastern Time hours, overlapping with the 10 AM to 5 PM ET collaboration window.

Nice To Haves

Candidates in EST or CST are preferred.
Experience with semantic layers, BI, OLAP, or analytical SQL, and understanding of how analysts and business users query data.
Hands-on work with natural-language-to-query systems, agent frameworks, or the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Familiarity with Scala or the JVM ecosystem.
Experience building LLM evaluation harnesses, red-teaming, or AI governance programs for enterprise customers.
Contributions to open-source AI tooling, or talks and writing about applied GenAI.

Responsibilities

Hire, mentor, and grow a team of AI engineers; set expectations, provide timely feedback, and foster a culture of quality, ownership, and curiosity.
Define the architecture and standards for AtScale's GenAI work, including agent and tool-calling patterns and evaluation.
Translate product goals into actionable plans, milestones, and sprint-level work; scope projects, manage risks and dependencies, and keep stakeholders informed.
Design and productionize GenAI solutions using foundation model APIs and frameworks while contributing production code.
Lead by example in design reviews and code reviews.
Establish methods to evaluate AI output for accuracy, bias, latency, cost, and compliance.
Build measurement and observability to make model performance measurable and improvable.
Collaborate with DevOps, product, and software engineering teams to integrate models into the AtScale platform, debug AI-generated responses, and maintain production operations.
Communicate the team's direction and results to engineering leadership, product, and customers, and participate in technical customer conversations when useful.