Lead AI Optimization Engineer

Perficient•Boston, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Job Overview: Perficient currently has an exciting career opportunity for a Lead AI Engineer. In this role, you will join Perficient, where you will help create best-in-class experiences for our customers. We are looking for individuals with hands-on experience and training in modern AI technologies. Strong programming skills are essential, along with the ability to develop, debug, and optimize AI solutions. A passion for exploring and working with cutting-edge AI tools and frameworks will set you apart in this position. This position requires being onsite in Boston once a quarter. Perficient is always looking for the best and brightest talent and we need you! We’re a quickly-growing, global digital consulting leader, and we’re transforming the world’s largest enterprises and biggest brands. You’ll work with the latest technologies, expand your skills, and become a part of our global community of talented, diverse, and knowledgeable colleagues

Requirements

7+ years of software engineering experience with fluency in one or more languages, including Java and Python. You must be capable of code reviews and architectural prototyping.
Strong fluency across the GenAI landscape — including but not limited to agentic frameworks, orchestration platforms, LLM APIs, and deployment patterns.
Experience in various core cloud platform technologies, including AWS and GCP
Familiarity with the GCP AI stack: Vertex AI, BigQuery, Dataflow, and Kubernetes Engine (GKE).
Hands-on experience designing and deploying LLM-backed applications in high-throughput production environments. Experience goes beyond API calls to include fine-tuning, quantization, and context-window optimization.
Solid understanding of distributed systems design, microservices, and API design principles (gRPC/REST). You understand CAP theorem, latency vs. throughput trade-offs, and how to design for failure.
Demonstrated ability to leverage AI tools to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and support data-informed task execution. Familiarity with AI-enhanced platforms is a plus.
A solid understanding of AI capabilities and limitations including ethical considerations is expected.
Proven ability to lead "whiteboard-to-production" journeys.
Experience navigating ambiguity, influencing client stakeholders, and driving technical consensus across cross-functional engineering and product teams.
Demonstrated ability to translate business problems into high-level solution architectures
Excellent communication and collaboration skills
B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or a related field or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting production environments, including production support activities and/or managed services programs, is considered an asset.
Certification (Professional Cloud Architect or ML Engineer) is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Identify opportunities for improvement across the portfolio to drive technical efficiency through AI initiatives
Partner with cross-functional teams to evaluate recurring manual tasks and identify automation opportunities
Design and develop software tools and workflows to automate tasks and ensure long-term maintainability
Demonstrate feasibility of AI use cases and implement client-approved models to enhance support operations and reduce manual effort
Develop and pilot proof-of-concept (POC) solutions to validate new ideas and technologies before full-scale implementation.
Work independently to build full-stack prototypes that illustrate thought process and direction
Evaluate and recommend tooling improvements or integrations to streamline operational workflows.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams and researchers to design, develop, deploy, and fine-tune AI-driven features for platform optimizations
Profile and optimize AI models for use in various applications
Build AI Applications leveraging agentic frameworks.
Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI research, model conversion, and industry standards.
Provide thought leadership by researching and introducing emerging technologies, market trends, and innovative approaches to enhance service delivery.
Work closely with client stakeholders and internal SMEs to ensure alignment, compliance, and prioritization of initiatives
Lead a small team of global engineers