AI-Driven Discovery Tech Lead

Code4lib; Cambridge, Northern (MA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Harvard University IT seeks an IT Project Technical Lead to guide architectural decisions for the Collections Explorer and related Reimagining Discovery initiatives. You will steer AI/ML integration, search and metadata pipelines, and API‑driven development in a hybrid work setting.

You will mentor engineers, ensure production readiness, and collaborate with cross‑functional teams while upholding Harvard IT standards and security practices.

Qualifications

• Seven years of post‑secondary education or equivalent work experience.
• Two+ years with ML/AI technologies including data preprocessing and feature engineering.
• Two+ years testing, maintaining, or launching software products; one year in design/architecture.
• Experience with search, data pipelines, metadata systems, AI/ML-enabled applications, or related tech.
• Experience with API-driven development and secure software practices.
• Clear communication of technical concepts to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Architect and design technical solutions; guide architectural decisions.
• Monitor AI/ML advancements to inform project direction.
• Lead decisions on search, APIs, metadata, and AI features with responsible use.
• Estimate work; break down requirements; assist with planning and scheduling.
• Review code for quality and architectural alignment; ensure reliability of AI features.
• Troubleshoot and resolve development issues.
• Set and enforce coding standards across the codebase.
• Support production readiness: reliability, performance, monitoring, logging.
• Collaborate with project management; communicate status to non‑technical teams.
• Identify and prioritize technical debt for resolution.
• Adhere to Harvard IT standards and code of conduct.

Skills

Python

FastAPI

React/NextJS

API tooling

Elasticsearch/OpenSearch

Vector databases

Secure software

CI/CD

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Jira

GitHub

OpenSearch/Elasticsearch

React

Next.js

Job description

Harvard University IT seeks an IT Project Technical Lead to guide architectural decisions for the Collections Explorer and related Reimagining Discovery initiatives. You will steer AI/ML integration, search and metadata pipelines, and API‑driven development in a hybrid work setting.

You will mentor engineers, ensure production readiness, and collaborate with cross‑functional teams while upholding Harvard IT standards and security practices.