Senior AI Engineer

Datashift; Vlaanderen; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Datashift is seeking a Senior AI Engineer to craft production-ready AI solutions that solve real business problems. You will work with clients to reveal core challenges and select the best AI approach, from genAI to traditional ML, building scalable applications from proof-of-concept to production.

You will mentor junior colleagues, contribute to presales as a technical sparring partner, and help shape Datashift’s AI practice and roadmap. This role offers growth toward Lead or Expert tracks.

Qualifications

• At least 4 years of experience as AI Engineer in industry.
• Strong Python and SQL skills with robust data pipelines.
• Proven track record delivering AI applications to production.
• Experience with GenAI and traditional ML methods.
• Experience deploying AI solutions on cloud platforms.
• Proficiency with software engineering best practices and MLOps tooling.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, English required; Dutch a plus.

Responsibilities

• Translate client requirements into pragmatic AI solutions with rapid MVPs.
• Scale prototypes to production-grade, secure AI applications.
• Build end-to-end solutions from POC to fully integrated apps.
• Ensure security, privacy, and compliance from the start.
• Challenge clients to uncover underlying problems and quantify business value.
• Mentor junior and medior colleagues and coordinate technical work.
• Act as a presales technical sparring partner and support scoping.
• Share knowledge and contribute to the team’s AI practice evolution.

Skills

Python

SQL

GenAI

Data pipelines

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

DevOps/MLOps

English fluency

Dutch (bonus)

Tools

Docker

Git

pytest

Airflow

CI/CD

Job description

At Datashift, we’re looking for a Senior AI Engineer who excels in crafting challenging technical solutions that deliver business value. Do you build and leverage AI technologies as a means to solve real business problems? Do you have a proven track record of challenging assumptions on AI, uncovering the true need behind a client’s request, and developing tailored AI solutions that make a lasting impact?

As an AI Engineer, you’ll work closely with clients to reveal the core challenges before diving into solutions, selecting the best-fit approach—whether it’s generative AI, machine learning, statistical modeling, or something entirely different. You’ll build scalable applications from proof-of-concept to production.

As a Senior AI Engineer at Datashift, you’ll not only bedelivering projects — you’ll also coach and guide junior colleagues, act as a technical sparring partner during presales, and help shape how the team and Datashift’s AI practice evolve. This role is a natural stepping stone towards Lead or Expert, depending on where your interests lie.

Responsibilities

• We see AI as a means, not as a goal. We’re looking for a Senior AI engineer who always searches for the best technology to address specific data related business problems, whether it’s genAI, machine learning, statistical models, or other methods
• Translate fuzzy client requirements into creative, pragmatic solutions, delivering rapid MVPs to quickly validate ideas and show business value
• Scale and harden proven prototypes into robust, production-grade, and secure AI applications
• Build solutions from POC to fully integrated applications, ensuring customer constraints such as security and privacy are met from the start
• Understand business requirements and dare to challenge clients to clearly pinpoint the underlying problem
• Ensure AI solutions are reliable and measurable, using structured evaluation, monitoring, and responsible AI practices (e.g. evaluation frameworks, guardrails, bias/quality checks)
• Communicate effectively about your technical solution towards different stakeholders at all levels
• Act as a mentor and technical coordinator for junior and medior colleagues, providing structured guidance rather than ad-hoc support
• Initiate and participate in initiatives to share knowledge and leverage your expertise within the team
• Support presales and business development as a technical sparring partner — helping scope solutions, estimate feasibility, and advise clients before a project even starts

Job requirements

Qualifications

• At least 4 years of experience as AI Engineer in industry, including experience in consultancy as a big plus
• Strong quantitative or technical background (e.g. computer science, data science, mathematics, engineering, or equivalent through experience)
• Proven track record of bringing business impact with successful delivery of AI applications in production environment
• Strong Python & SQL skills, with a focus on data cleaning, preprocessing, and building robust pipelines
• Extensive knowledge of AI, combining traditional machine learning with modern GenAI solutions and tooling (e.g., RAG, agentic workflows, vector databases, fine-tuning)
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) to deploy and manage AI solutions
• Proven experience with software engineering best practices (clean, modular code, pytest, Git) and DevOps/MLOps tooling (Docker, CI/CD, orchestration tools such as Airflow)
• Excellent communication skills, and proven success in contributing to a team-oriented environment, with acting as a coach/mentor to junior colleagues as a plus
• Fluent in English. Fluency in Dutch is a big plus