Lead AI Engineer

EPAM Systems; Turkey; On-site; TRY 5,747,000 - 8,621,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private health insurance

English courses

Career development

Job summary

EPAM Systems is looking for a Lead AI Engineer to drive Generative AI initiatives and architect enterprise-scale AI systems. You will shape the technical roadmap, mentor engineers, and collaborate with clients to translate business goals into scalable AI solutions.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in AI/ML leadership, deep Python/NLP expertise, and proven ability to deliver measurable business impact in fast-paced environments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in Lead/Principal/Senior AI or ML role shipping production AI/ML solutions.
• At least 1 year of leadership experience.
• Master-level Python and NLP foundations (semantic similarity, NER, tokenization).
• Experience with Generative AI patterns, including RAG and multi-agent architectures.
• Experience with major LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Gemini).
• Ability to build UI/UX prototypes (Streamlit/Gradio) and present architectures.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive technical vision and architecture for scalable AI applications.
• Translate business goals into technical roadmaps with clients and stakeholders.
• Set engineering standards for code quality, data pipelines, and evaluation frameworks.
• Mentor and grow engineers to high performance.
• Guide research on emerging models and prototyping strategies.

Skills

Python

FastAPI

NLP

LLM APIs

RAG

Multi-agent

UI prototyping

English comms

Tools

LangGraph

LlamaIndex

Azure OpenAI

Databricks

Job description

We are looking 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)

We offer

• CONTINUOUS UPSKILLING, LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
  • Diversity of tasks and projects
  • Assessment center for objective review of competency level
  • Personal development plan
  • Mentoring programs and leadership development
  • Certification and professional development support
  • Access to learning platforms including more than 2,500 internal courses
  • English courses taught by certified teachers
• CORPORATE BENEFITS
  • Extra leave days
  • Referral bonuses
• COMPENSATION PACKAGE
  • Competitive compensation paid in USD
  • Regular salary and performance reviews
• MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE
  • Private health insurance
  • Well-being events
• WORKING ENVIRONMENT
  • Recreation areas and kitchens
  • Tea, coffee and snacks
  • Sports equipment and game consoles
  • IT Equipment
  • Microsoft’s Software Assurance Home Use Program (HUP)

Please note that our Talent Attraction Team reviews applications and CVs submitted in English.

EPAM is global leader in AI transformation engineering and integrated consulting, serving Forbes Global 2000 companies and ambitious startups. With over thirty years of expertise in custom software, product and platform engineering, we empower our clients to become AI-Native enterprises, driving measurable value from innovation and digital investments.