AI Architect

Total Quality Logistics; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Employee discounts

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Total Quality Logistics in Tampa, Florida is searching for an AI Architect to define and lead the AI architecture powering logistics and freight brokerage. The role involves partnering with cross-functional teams to develop AI capabilities that enhance business operations and productivity.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in AI/ML engineering, preferably with Azure, and possess exceptional communication skills. This position offers competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• 7-12+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering or cloud architecture.
• Proven experience architecting and delivering AI solutions on Azure.
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise-wide AI architecture that powers logistics automation.
• Design how AI services integrate with core applications.
• Evaluate and recommend AI models and platforms.

Skills

AI/ML engineering

Cloud architecture

Python

C# or Node.js

REST APIs

Microservices

Event-driven architectures

Git

Docker

Kubernetes

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science

Tools

Azure OpenAI

Azure Machine Learning

Microsoft Fabric

Lakehouse architectures

Job description

About the Role

As an AI Architect at TQL, you will define and lead the enterprise-wide AI architecture that powers next-generation intelligence and automation across our logistics and freight brokerage ecosystem. This role is responsible for setting how AI systems are designed, built, governed and scaled – ensuring solutions are secure, reliable, cost‑efficient and deeply embedded into business workflows.

You will partner closely with Engineering, Product Management, Data and Operations leadership to identify high-impact use cases and deliver AI capabilities that drive measurable improvements across pricing, capacity matching, customer service, claims, risk and operator productivity.

What’s in it for you

• Competitive compensation
• Opportunity to influence enterprise‑wide AI architecture
• High visibility partnership with executive leadership
• Long‑term career growth in a collaborative, AI‑driven organization
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Health, dental and vision coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Perks including employee discounts, financial wellness planning, tuition reimbursement and more
• Certified Great Place to Work and voted a 2019‑2026 Computerworld Best Places to Work in IT

What we’re looking for

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, AI/ML or a related field
• Azure certifications (Solutions Architect, Azure AI Engineer) preferred
• 7‑12+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, cloud architecture or enterprise software engineering
• Proven experience architecting and delivering production AI or ML solutions on Azure
• Experience with REST APIs, serverless functions, microservices and event‑driven architectures
• Backend development in Python with working knowledge of C# or Node.js
• Hands‑on experience with Azure OpenAI, Azure Machine Learning, Azure AI Search, Microsoft Fabric and Lakehouse architectures
• Experience with embeddings, vector databases, RAG patterns, LangChain, Semantic Kernel and MLflow
• Proficiency with Git, Azure DevOps CI/CD, Docker and Kubernetes
• Strong understanding of data modeling, governance, lineage and security
• Strong communication skills across technical and non‑technical audiences
• Ability to translate business workflows into scalable technical architectures
• Strong ownership mindset with focus on reliability, cost optimization and long‑term scalability
• Product mindset with ability to align AI architecture to business outcomes

What you’ll be doing

• AI Strategy & Enterprise Architecture
  • Evaluate and recommend AI models, APIs and platforms (e.g., Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google) based on security, reliability, cost and enterprise fit
  • Define the enterprise AI architecture across Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Microsoft Fabric, Azure ML, APIs, event‑driven systems and operator‑facing tools
  • Establish standards for building LLM applications, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) systems, intelligent agents and ML models at scale
  • Create reference architectures for AI‑powered solutions including real‑time workflows, automation, copilots and knowledge assistants
• Application Architecture & Integration
  • Design how AI services integrate with core applications, including broker tools, APIs, workflows and backend services
  • Establish patterns for serverless functions, microservices, REST APIs, event‑driven pipelines and end‑to‑end orchestration
  • Partner with application development teams to embed AI into product features with the right performance, security, authentication and data flow patterns
  • Ensure AI solutions meet enterprise CI/CD, observability, reliability and SLA standards
• Data & Integration Architecture
  • Partner with Data Engineering to ensure Fabric Lakehouse, Delta tables, warehouse layers and streaming systems support both training and inference workloads
  • Architect and optimize RAG pipelines using Azure AI Search, vector indexing, embeddings and metadata strategies
• MLOps, Governance & Operational Readiness
  • Define and implement enterprise MLOps standards for model lifecycle management, versioning, monitoring and retraining
  • Apply Responsible AI practices including content filtering, privacy, compliance and hallucination mitigation
  • Ensure AI systems are observable with performance and cost monitoring
• Innovation & Continuous Improvement
  • Evaluate emerging AI models, agent frameworks and Azure capabilities for use in logistics workflows
  • Lead proofs of concept (PoCs) and accelerate adoption of high-value AI initiatives
  • Develop reusable technical playbooks and architectural patterns to mature AI across engineering teams

Employment visa sponsorship is unavailable for this position. Applicants requiring employment visa sponsorship now or in the future (e.g., F‑1 STEM OPT, H‑1B, TN, J1 etc.) will not be considered.