Fellow AI Architect, Generative AI

UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group); Toronto; On-site; CAD 280,000 - 403,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading workforce management software company in Toronto is seeking a Fellow AI Architect. The role requires extensive experience in generative AI, architectural strategy, and collaboration with cross-functional teams to drive innovation. The ideal candidate will have a PhD and 12+ years in software development. This position offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Wellness programs

Tuition reimbursement

Flexible expense reimbursement program

Qualifications

• 12+ years in software development and AI.
• At least 5 years hands-on experience in generative AI.
• Experience architecting large-scale AI/ML systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive generative AI architecture strategy.
• Provide technical guidance in advanced AI methods.
• Collaborate with executive leadership and engineering.

Skills

Programming languages (e.g., Python, Java)

Generative AI methodologies

NLP skills

Deep learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)

Cloud platforms

Education

PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

AWS

Google Cloud

Azure

Job description

Company Overview

With 80,000 customers across 150 countries, UKG is the largest U.S.-based private software company in the world. And we’re only getting started. Ready to bring your bold ideas and collaborative mindset to an organization that still has so much more to build and achieve? Read on.

At UKG, you get more than just a job. You get to work with purpose. Our team of U Krewers are on a mission to inspire every organization to become a great place to work through our award-winning HR technology built for all.

Here, we know that you’re more than your work. That’s why our benefits help you thrive personally and professionally, from wellness programs and tuition reimbursement to U Choose — a customizable expense reimbursement program that can be used for more than 200+ needs that best suit you and your family, from student loan repayment, to childcare, to pet insurance. Our inclusive culture, active and engaged employee resource groups, and caring leaders value every voice and support you in doing the best work of your career. If you’re passionate about our purpose — people —then we can’t wait to support whatever gives you purpose. We’re united by purpose, inspired by you.

About the Role

We are searching for an exceptionally skilled and visionary Fellow AI Architect with deep expertise in building, deploying, and scaling generative AI applications. As a key individual contributor at the Technical Fellow level, you will drive the architecture, strategy, and development of groundbreaking AI technologies that support our long-term mission.

The Fellow AI Architect will lead the technical vision, strategy, and architectural direction for our GenAI initiatives. As a recognized thought leader, you will help guide the company to stay at the forefront of AI innovation, continuously integrating the latest advancements in generative AI into our products and processes. This role demands a blend of technical depth, visionary thinking, and the ability to influence and elevate company-wide AI practices. You will play a pivotal role in shaping a transformative journey, empowering our organization to harness GenAI in profound ways across all products.

Responsibilities

• Architectural Vision & Strategy: Define and drive the generative AI architecture strategy, ensuring UKG remains at the leading edge of AI innovation. Develop and communicate a cohesive architectural vision that aligns with business goals, enabling the seamless integration of GenAI capabilities across our product suite.
• Technical Leadership: Serve as the primary technical visionary for generative AI, providing hands-on guidance in advanced methods (e.g., transformer models, diffusion models, GANs) and setting technical standards that ensure scalability, security, and efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with executive leadership, product management, data science, and engineering teams to establish and prioritize GenAI initiatives. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on requirements and objectives, driving the infusion of AI capabilities across products.
• Innovation & Research: Conduct hands-on, advanced research in generative AI, staying current with emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices. Lead the exploration and implementation of state-of-the-art GenAI techniques to enhance product value and drive a competitive edge.
• Mentorship & Culture Building: Mentor and influence senior engineering leaders, fostering a culture of AI excellence, thought leadership, and continuous innovation. Champion best practices in AI/ML development, CI/CD processes, and quality assurance to ensure high standards across the organization.
• Community Engagement: Act as an ambassador for generative AI internally and externally, representing UKG in the AI community through publications, speaking engagements, and industry forums.
• Scalable Solutions: Oversee the deployment of large-scale AI models, ensuring they are optimized for performance, cost, and resource efficiency in production environments. Establish guidelines for high-quality, production-ready AI/ML systems that can scale with business needs.
• Governance & Standards: Define and enforce development methodologies, CI/CD standards, and architectural guidelines for AI solutions. Maintain documentation of architectural decisions and technical roadmaps, ensuring a sustainable foundation for future AI-driven capabilities.

Qualifications

• Educational Background: PhD in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Experience: 12+ years in software development and AI, with at least 5 years of hands-on experience in generative AI, NLP, or related fields. Proven expertise in architecting and deploying large-scale AI/ML systems in production environments.
• Technical Proficiency: Expert-level skills in programming languages (e.g., Python, Java) and AI frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch). Strong understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) and MLOps practices for large-scale model training and deployment.
• AI Methodologies: In-depth knowledge of generative AI methodologies, including transformer models, diffusion models, GANs, large language models, and multi-modal architectures. Familiarity with NLP and machine learning algorithms, such as linear and logistic regression, decision trees, and clustering methods.
• Industry Influence: Recognized thought leader in AI, with a record of publications in top-tier AI conferences/journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR) and a strong network within the AI research community.
• Problem-Solving & Strategy: Exceptional problem-solving skills and a proven ability to influence and implement long-term AI-driven strategic initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Compliance & Responsible AI: Experience working in high-compliance environments or with privacy-preserving AI techniques. Strong familiarity with trends in responsible AI, model interpretability, and ethical AI practices.
• Optimization Expertise: Proven record of optimizing AI models for cost-efficiency at scale through model compression, distillation, and efficient deployment strategies.
• Cloud & DevOps Knowledge: Strong experience with cloud-native architectures, containerization (e.g., Kubernetes), and CI/CD pipeline automation (e.g., Terraform, GitHub Actions).

Where we’re going

UKG is on the cusp of something truly special. Worldwide, we already hold the #1 market share position for workforce management and the #2 position for human capital management. Tens of millions of frontline workers start and end their days with our software, with billions of shifts managed annually through UKG solutions today. Yet it’s our AI-powered product portfolio designed to support customers of all sizes, industries, and geographies that will propel us into an even brighter tomorrow!

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ultimate Kronos Group is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive work environment. All qualified applicants will receive considerations for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws.

View The EEO Know Your Rights poster (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/EEOC_KnowYourRights_screen_reader_10_20.pdf)

UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here (https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf).

Disability Accommodation

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [e-mail].

The pay range for this position is $202,300 to $290,800, however, base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and location. This position is also eligible for a short-term incentive and a long-term incentive as part of total compensation. Information about UKG’s comprehensive benefits can be reviewed on our careers site at https://www.ukg.com/careers

NOTICE ON HIRING SCAMS

UKG will never ask you for a copy of your driver’s license, social security card, or passport during a job interview. For new hires, we do not ask for payment for equipment purchase, cost for training, or to receive onboarding documents. UKG does not make job offers outside of our formal hiring process. To help protect yourself against potential hiring scams, learn more about our formal hiring process, outlined here (https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/faqs).

ABOUT OUR JOB DESCRIPTIONS

All job descriptions are written to accurately reflect the open job and include general work responsibilities. They do not present a comprehensive, detailed inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required for the job. Management reserves the right to revise the job or require that other or different tasks be performed if or when circumstances change.

It is the policy of Ultimate Software to promote and assure equal employment opportunity for all current and prospective Peeps without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. This policy governs all matters related to recruitment, advertising, and initial selection of employment. It shall also apply to all other aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-offs, terminations, leave of absence, and training opportunities.