Project Lead AI projects

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a21.ai is at the forefront of AI innovation, helping companies build large language model (LLM) applications and bespoke GenAI solutions. We are dedicated to delivering scalable, secure, and data-confidential AI solutions that cater to a diverse range of industries, including CPG, retail, and finance. As we continue to scale our engineering capabilities, we are seeking an experienced technical leader to execute our GenAI projects and guide the engineering team.

We are seeking a technical leader with 5+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, including at least 2 years in a leadership capacity, to run the AI projects for a21ai's customers. The ideal candidate should possess in-depth expertise in building production-grade agentic AI systems, RAG pipelines, and vector search solutions, combined with a proven ability to lead technical teams and drive architectural decisions. It is important to have the intuition to solve business problems.

This is a highly client-facing role.

Technical Leadership

• Architect and oversee implementation of multi-LLM agentic systems using frameworks like LangGraph, LangChain, or custom orchestration
• Define technical standards and best practices for RAG pipelines, vector databases (Pinecone, Qdrant, OpenSearch, Weaviate, FAISS), and GenAI solutions
• Lead design reviews and provide technical guidance on complex AI engineering challenges
• Drive R&D initiatives and evaluate emerging AI technologies for production readiness
• Own end-to-end technical architecture for enterprise-scale AI deployments

Team Management

• Build, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of GenAI engineers
• Conduct technical interviews and establish hiring standards for AI engineering roles
• Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning
• Provide career development guidance and conduct performance reviews
• Facilitate knowledge sharing through tech talks, code reviews, and pair programming

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead and coordinate multiple concurrent client projects across the team
• Manage project scope, timelines, and resource allocation for GenAI engagements
• Lead technical discovery sessions with clients to understand business requirements
• Translate complex business problems into scalable technical architectures
• Manage technical aspects of client relationships and project delivery
• Act as a trusted advisor on AI strategy and implementation approaches

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner with Data Engineering, MLOps, and Product teams to deliver integrated solutions
• Collaborate with sales and business development on solution scoping and estimation
• Work with infrastructure teams on cloud and on-prem deployment strategies
• Ensure alignment between technical decisions and business objectives

Required

• Expert-level Python programming with deep knowledge of transformer libraries (Hugging Face, OpenAI, Anthropic, Llama, etc.)
• Experience in architecting and deploying LangChain/LangGraph or similar orchestration frameworks
• Experience in architecting and deploying enterprise-grade solutions at scale
• Familiarity with vector databases, embedding pipelines, and retrieval optimization
• Advanced knowledge of RAG system design, prompt engineering, and context management strategies
• Production experience with containerization & orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Strong understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their AI/ML services
• Experience designing cloud-agnostic and on-prem deployable solutions
• Solid understanding of MLOps, CI/CD, and production ML monitoring

Preferred

• Experience with model fine-tuning, PEFT techniques (LoRA, QLoRA), and domain adaptation
• Knowledge of LLM observability tools (LangSmith, Weights & Biases, Arize) and running Evals
• Expertise in multi-agent systems, tool use, and function calling patterns
• Experience integrating AI into enterprise systems (CRMs, ERPs, data warehouses)
• Understanding of AI safety, responsible AI, and model governance
• Immediate joiners!
  

Leadership Development

• Direct exposure to company leadership and strategic decision-making
• Customer-facing role allowing for building a personal brand outside the company
• Opportunities to shape technical direction and engineering culture
• Potential for rapid career growth as the company scales

Technical Environment

• Autonomy to make architectural decisions and drive technical strategy, and work directly with customer
• Opportunity to work on diverse, challenging problems across multiple industries

Work Environment

• Startup culture with direct impact on company direction
• Competitive compensation including equity participation
• Flexible work arrangements with focus on outcomes
• Cross-functional collaboration with product, engineering, and business teams
• Regular tech talks, knowledge sharing, and team building activities

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Performance-based bonuses and equity options

a21.ai is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We especially welcome applications from underrepresented groups in AI/ML and are committed to building diverse technical leadership