Lead AI Engineer

We are searching for a skilled, innovation-driven Lead AI Engineer to join our team and spearhead the development of cutting-edge Generative AI solutions. If you're passionate about artificial intelligence and adept at building systems that deliver measurable business impact, this opportunity is ideal for you. You will work with a dynamic group of professionals to create and deploy AI-driven technologies that tackle real-world challenges — all within a highly collaborative, supportive, and forward-focused environment.

As a technical leader, you won't just write code; you will shape our AI technical roadmap, architect complex enterprise-grade systems, act as a trusted advisor to our clients, and mentor and grow a high-performing engineering team.

If you love Python, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and driving innovation at the intersection of AI strategy and software craftsmanship, we want to hear from you!

Responsibilities

• Drive technical vision and architecture by leading the design and implementation of highly scalable, robust enterprise AI applications, including complex multi-agent workflows, custom search engines, and end-to-end AI systems
• Partner closely with clients and business stakeholders to translate business goals into technical roadmaps and recommend high-impact, feasible LLM-driven solutions
• Establish engineering standards by setting the benchmark for code quality, architectural patterns, robust data pipelines, smart prompt management, and automated evaluation frameworks
• Foster a culture of learning and high performance through design reviews, development best practices, and active mentorship of junior and senior developers
• Direct R&D and innovation by guiding research on emerging models, framing prototyping strategies (PoCs), and standardizing the tools and frameworks used to stay on the bleeding edge of Generative AI

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in a Lead, Principal, or Senior AI/Software Engineering role, with a track record of architecting and shipping complex, production-grade AI or ML-based solutions
• At least 1 year of relevant leadership experience
• Master-level proficiency in Python (specifically FastAPI or equivalent web frameworks) and a strong foundation in core NLP concepts (semantic similarity, tokenization, NER, text classification)
• Expertise in modern Generative AI design patterns, particularly RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), autonomous multi-agent networks, and tool integration
• Production experience with major LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Gemini) and framework orchestration tools such as LangGraph or LlamaIndex
• Background in optimizing AI applications for performance, security (prompt injection mitigation, data privacy), cloud costs, and system evaluation using programmatic or LLM-as-a-judge approaches
• Capability to quickly direct and build intuitive UI/UX prototypes using Streamlit, Gradio, or equivalent
• Outstanding leadership and communication skills to lead engineering discussions, bridge the gap between technical and non-technical audiences, and present technical architectures to executives and clients
• Strong English communication skills (B2 level or higher)

Nice to have

• Full-stack capabilities with TypeScript
• Experience incorporating AI into the SDLC to boost team efficiency using tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or specialized agents for automation
• Cloud architecture expertise in AWS or Azure (specifically Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, or cloud-native containerized deployments)
• Familiarity with Databricks (MLflow, Agent Bricks, Unity Catalog) for orchestrating data pipelines and model lifecycles
• Knowledge of advanced search/retrieval systems (hybrid search, vector databases, custom rerankers and ranking algorithms)
• Familiarity with emerging open-source protocols (like Model Context Protocol - MCP) and LLM monitoring tools (like LangSmith or Arize Phoenix)

Benefits

We connect like-minded people

• Delivering innovative solutions to industry leaders, making a global impact
• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your own home
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events

We invest in your growth

• Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs
• Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS
• Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database
• Free English classes with certified teachers

We cover it all

• Participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Monetary bonuses for engaging in the referral program
• Comprehensive medical & family care package
• Five trust days per year (sick leave without a medical certificate)
• Benefits package (sports activities, a variety of stores and services)

We connect like-minded people

• Delivering innovative solutions to industry leaders, making a global impact
• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your home
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events

We invest in your growth

• Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs
• Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS
• Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database
• Free English classes with certified teachers

We cover it all

• Participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Monetary bonuses for engaging in the referral program
• Comprehensive medical & family care package
• Four trust days per year for personal needs
• Discounts for fitness clubs
• Benefits package (hotels, restaurants, stores and services)

We connect like-minded people:

• Delivering innovative solutions to industry leaders, making a global impact
• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your own home
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events

We invest in your growth:

• Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs
• Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS
• Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database
• Free English classes with certified teachers
• Discounts in local language schools, including online courses for the Kazakh language

We cover it all:

• Participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Monetary bonuses for engaging in the referral program
• Medical & family care package
• Six trust days per year (sick leave without a medical certificate)
• Coverage of psychology sessions of your choice
• Benefits package (sports activities, a variety of stores and services)
• Housing support program: preferential mortgage access via Otbasy Bank partnership

We connect like-minded people:

• Delivering innovative solutions to industry leaders, making a global impact
• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your own home
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events

We invest in your growth:

• Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs
• Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS
• Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database
• Free English classes with certified teachers

We cover it all:

• Monetary bonuses for engaging in the referral program
• Medical & family care package
• Six trust days per year (sick leave without a medical certificate)
• Coverage of psychology sessions of your choice
• Discounts for fitness clubs and sports programs
• Benefits package (sports activities, a variety of stores and services)

We connect like-minded people:

• Delivering innovative solutions to industry leaders, making a global impact
• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your own home
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events

We invest in your growth:

• Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs
• Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS
• Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database
• Free English classes with certified teachers
• Discounts in local language schools, including offline courses for the Uzbek language

We cover it all:

• Monetary bonuses for engaging in the referral program
• Medical & family care package
• Four trust days per year (sick leave without a medical certificate)
• Discounts for fitness clubs, dance schools and sports programs
• Benefits package (sports activities, a variety of stores and services)