AI Engineer

Iowa State University; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Onsite childcare

WorkFlex options

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Information Technology Services (ITS) at Iowa State University seeks an AI Engineer to support the development, deployment, and maintenance of AI solutions in a higher education setting. This role emphasizes practical implementation, testing, and lifecycle support of AI features integrated into university services and platforms.

The successful candidate will design and build AI applications with a focus on Microsoft tools, collaborate with stakeholders across campus, and ensure production

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent and 3 years of related experience.
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without sponsorship is required.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with end users to gather AI requirements.
• Design, develop, test, and maintain AI applications.
• Integrate AI features into university systems using the Microsoft stack.
• Maintain secure access patterns and data protection for AI apps.

Skills

AI concepts

Stakeholder communication

Software debugging

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Azure cloud

Power Platform

Microsoft Foundry

Job description

Required Minimum Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalent and 3 years of related experience

Position Title

AI Engineer

Job Group

Professional & Scientific

Required Minimum Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalent and 3 years of related experience

Summary

Job Description: Information Technology Services (ITS) at Iowa State University is seeking an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer (Software Developer II) to support the development, deployment, and maintenance of AI solutions in a higher education research institution. This role is centered on the practical implementation of AI tools and features that support the university’s mission and improve institutional services. The ideal candidate will work closely with stakeholders to gather and refine AI requirements, build AI applications, and manage their ongoing performance in production environments. This position emphasizes practical implementation, testing, and lifecycle support of AI features integrated into institutional services and platforms.

Duties Include

• Collaborate with end users and stakeholders in a higher education, extension, and research environment to gather and document business and technical requirements for AI capabilities.
• Design, develop, test, and maintain AI applications and services using low-code Microsoft tools to meet institutional needs.
• Integrate AI functionality into university systems using the Microsoft technical stack.
• Design and implement multi-agent architecture elements in the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Troubleshoot, debug, and resolve issues in both custom and third-party applications.
• Monitor system health, analyze logs and metrics, and implement fixes as needed.
• Maintain secure access patterns, authentication, authorization, and data protection controls for AI applications using the Azure cloud platform.

This position is part of a new team at Iowa State focused on automation and AI innovation. You’ll work with cutting-edge technologies, help shape the university’s approach to AI implementation, and develop applications used by faculty, students, and staff across campus. It’s a dynamic environment where your work will make a tangible impact.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education, training, or certification in artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning.
• Develop and maintain AI-powered applications using Azure AI services, Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Copilot technologies.
• Integrate Copilot Studio agents with backend services using Power Automate, Azure Functions, APIs, and custom connectors.
• Create and administer Microsoft Foundry endpoints for AI models with Entra security for authentication.
• Configure and maintain pipelines in Power Platform to manage solution migrations and deployments.
• Design and implement API gateways and authentication mechanisms using Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Functions, and Azure Key Vault to provide secure, unified access to AI models hosted on Azure.

Desired Qualifications

• Integrate AI agents with enterprise platforms, such as Salesforce, for live-agent handoff and case creation via custom connectors and OAuth workflows.
• Implement telemetry, monitoring, and security controls across Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, Azure, and Power Platform.
• Implement security measures such as rate limiting via Azure Front Door or API Management (APIM).
• Utilize Microsoft Azure development tools to build AI solutions and integrate AI functionality into university services.
• Configure Copilot Studio topics, generative answers, plugins, actions, and knowledge sources to support university department-specific use cases.
• Build conversational and autonomous AI agents using Copilot Studio.
• Develop and manage advanced Power Automate flows to automate data ingestion and synchronization between platforms.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. on an ongoing basis without sponsorship. Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position.

For more information about Information Technology Services, please visit: Information Technology Services

Why Choose Iowa State University?

• Retirement benefits including defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Generous vacation, holiday, and sick time and leave plans
• Onsite childcare (Ames, Iowa)
• Life insurance and long-term disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various voluntary benefits and discounts
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellbeing program
• Iowa State offers WorkFlex options for some positions. WorkFlex offers flexibility on when, where, and how you do your work. For more information, please speak with the Hiring Manager.

If you have questions regarding this application process, please email [e-mail], or call 515-294-4800 or Toll Free: 1-877-477-7485.

Appointment Type

Regular

Number Of Months Employed Per Year

12 Month Work Period

Time Type

Full time

Pay Grade

PS810

Original Posting Date

August 28, 2026

Posting Close Date

September 3, 2026

Job Requisition Number

R19810

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Veteran. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Office of Equal Opportunity, 2680 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, Tel. [phone], email [e-mail].

General ISU compensation information can be found on the University Human Resources website. Please note that this is only a list of ranges and individuals will be paid commensurate with qualifications.