Applied AI, Technical Lead, Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Mistral; Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Mistral AI seeks a Technical Lead, Applied AI to steer technical strategy and delivery for enterprise customers. You will lead a team of Applied AI Engineers, ensuring robust, scalable AI solutions across industries while collaborating with research, product, and engineering to shape offerings.

You will bridge cutting‑edge AI research and real‑world deployments, own technical discussions with strategic customers, and drive continuous innovation in fine‑tuning, RAG, and agentic workflows.

Qualifications

• Fluent in French and English; able to communicate with executives and engineers.
• PhD or Master’s in AI, ML, CS or related field.
• 7+ years in AI/ML with at least 2+ years in a technical leadership role.
• Proven track record delivering complex AI projects from prototyping to production.
• Deep expertise in fine‑tuning LLMs, RAG, agentic systems, NLP deployments at scale.
• Strong software engineering and API design skills; proficient in Python and modern ML tools.

Responsibilities

• Hands‑on IC work on critical code and de‑risking high‑impact projects.
• Lead Applied AI Engineers, mentor teams and promote best practices for GenAI deployments.
• Translate customer requirements into actionable AI solutions during pre‑sales and delivery.
• Design and oversee complex AI system implementations including fine‑tuning and RAG workflows.
• Evaluate emerging AI trends and advocate best practices for AI deployment.
• Collaborate with product, research, and engineering to align customer feedback with roadmaps.

Skills

French-English fluency

Technical leadership

Python

PyTorch

LangChain

Hugging Face

API design

Backend/full‑stack

System architecture

Communicating tech concepts

Education

PhD or Master's in AI/CS

Tools

LangChain

Hugging Face

AWS

GCP

Azure

MLOps

Job description

About Mistral

Mistral provides full-stack AI solutions: from frontier models to developer tools, applications, and compute. We partner with enterprises tackling the hardest problems—across high-stakes industries like finance, manufacturing, defense, healthcare, and the public sector—co‑creating customized AI systems that they can run on their terms. We are a dynamic, collaborative team passionate about AI and its potential to transform society. Our diverse workforce thrives in competitive environments and is committed to driving innovation. Our teams are distributed between Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. We are creative, low‑ego and team‑spirited.

About The Job

Mistral AI is seeking a Technical Lead, Applied AI to drive the technical strategy, execution, and delivery of complex AI solutions for our enterprise customers. In this role, you will lead a project team of Applied AI Engineers, ensuring the successful deployment of Mistral AI products and the development of high‑impact, scalable AI use cases. You will act as the primary technical point of contact for our most strategic customers, guiding them through the entire lifecycle—from pre‑sales to post‑implementation—while collaborating closely with research, product, and engineering teams to shape the future of our offerings. As a Technical Lead, you will bridge the gap between cutting‑edge AI research and real‑world enterprise applications, ensuring our solutions are robust, scalable, and aligned with both customer needs and Mistral’s technological vision.

What You Will Do

• Deliver as an IC the critical lines of codes of our complex projects, you’ll be hands‑on and de‑risk the critical parts of our complex projects. You’ll stay deeply involved in coding, reviewing, and optimizing AI solutions.
• Lead technical teams of Applied AI Engineers, providing mentorship, technical guidance, and best practices for deploying state‑of‑the‑art GenAI applications across industries.
• Lead technical discussions during pre‑sales, translating customer requirements into actionable solutions and communicating Mistral’s technological advantages to diverse stakeholders.
• Design and oversee the implementation of complex AI systems, including fine‑tuning, RAG, agentic workflows, and custom LLM applications, ensuring alignment with Mistral’s product roadmap and open‑source initiatives.
• Drive innovation by identifying emerging trends in AI, evaluating new tools and methodologies, and championing best practices for fine‑tuning, inference, and deployment.
• Work closely with product managers, researchers, and engineers to ensure seamless integration of customer feedback into Mistral’s product development cycle.

How We Work in Applied AI

• We care about people and outputs.
• What matters is what you ship, not the time you spend.
• Bureaucracy is where urgency goes to vanish. You talk to whoever you need to talk to. The best idea wins, whether it comes from a principal engineer or someone in their first week.
• Always ask why. The best solutions come from deep understanding, not from copying what worked before.
• We say what we mean. Feedback is direct, timely, and given because we care.
• No politics. Low ego, high standards.
• We embrace an unstructured environment and find joy in it.

About You

• You are fluent in French and English.
• You hold a PhD or Master’s degree in AI, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or a related field.
• You have 7/8+ years of experience in AI/ML, with at least 2+ years in a technical leadership role (e.g., Tech Lead, Engineering Manager, Staff Engineer or Solutions Architect) focused on AI products or enterprise solutions.
• You have a proven track record of leading teams to deliver complex AI projects, from prototyping to production, in industries such as tech, finance, healthcare, or industrial automation.
• You possess deep expertise in fine‑tuning LLMs, advanced RAG, agentic systems, and deploying NLP applications at scale.
• You are proficient in Python, PyTorch, and modern AI frameworks (e.g., LangChain, Hugging Face). Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and MLOps tools is a plus.
• You have strong software engineering skills, including API design, backend/full‑stack development, and system architecture.
• You excel in technical communication, with the ability to articulate complex concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences, including executives and engineers.
• You thrive in fast‑paced, collaborative environments and are passionate about mentoring and growing technical talent.

Ideally You Have

• Contributed to open‑source projects, particularly in the LLM or AI space.
• Experience in customer‑facing roles (e.g., Solutions Architect, Customer Engineer, or Technical Product Manager) with a focus on enterprise AI adoption.
• A track record of driving technical strategy and influencing product direction based on customer needs and market opportunities.

What We Offer

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your well‑being, growth, and work‑life balance. Benefits vary by country and may include healthcare coverage, parental leave, retirement plans, relocation support, wellness programs, meal and transportation allowances, and other location‑specific perks. For the most up‑to‑date details on benefits available in your location, please refer to our Benefits page.