AI Engineer - Azure (Onsite)

Cognizant; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognizant in Washington, DC seeks an AI Engineer to design, build, and operate production-grade generative AI systems on Azure. You will own end-to-end RAG solutions from data ingestion to deployed services and APIs.

You will develop agentic AI workflows with LangChain/LangGraph, integrate Azure OpenAI, and optimize prompts for performance and cost, while ensuring observability and security. Proficient in Python, REST APIs, and containerized deployments.

Qualifications

• Hands-on Python experience for backend services and automation.
• Hands-on experience with LangChain and/or LangGraph.
• Experience with RAG, embeddings, and vector search.
• Hands-on experience with Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search.
• Proficiency with REST APIs, JSON, and Git.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement end-to-end RAG pipelines: data ingestion, embedding generation, vector database management, and retrieval optimization.
• Develop and maintain APIs that orchestrate RAG workflows, including retrieval, prompt handling, and model interaction.
• Build orchestration and multi-step reasoning workflows using Semantic Kernel, LangChain, or LangGraph, incorporating tool use and memory.
• Integrate LLMs such as Azure OpenAI, and tune prompts for accuracy, performance, and cost.
• Implement observability, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks using LangSmith and Azure monitoring tools to track output quality, latency, and hallucination rates.
• Deploy and manage AI services on Azure using CI/CD pipelines and containerization.
• Build and maintain scalable web applications using Python, Node.js, and React.
• Apply responsible AI practices, including guardrails, security controls, and compliance standards.

Skills

Python

LangChain

LangGraph

RAG

Embeddings

Vector search

Azure OpenAI

Azure AI Search

REST APIs

Git

Tools

Semantic Kernel

Azure Monitor/Application Insights

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

About The Role

We’re looking for an AI Engineer to design, build, and operate production-grade generative AI systems on Microsoft Azure. You’ll own retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions end to end, from data ingestion through to monitored, deployed services, and build the agentic workflows and APIs that put them in users’ hands.

About The Role

We’re looking for an AI Engineer to design, build, and operate production-grade generative AI systems on Microsoft Azure. You’ll own retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions end to end, from data ingestion through to monitored, deployed services, and build the agentic workflows and APIs that put them in users’ hands.

What You’ll Do

Build RAG systems

• Design and implement end-to-end RAG pipelines: data ingestion, embedding generation, vector database management, and retrieval optimization.
• Develop and maintain APIs that orchestrate RAG workflows, including retrieval, prompt handling, and model interaction.

Develop agentic AI workflows

• Build orchestration and multi-step reasoning workflows using Semantic Kernel, LangChain, or LangGraph, incorporating tool use and memory.
• Integrate LLMs such as Azure OpenAI, and tune prompts for accuracy, performance, and cost.

Ensure quality and reliability

• Implement observability, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks using LangSmith and Azure monitoring tools to track output quality, latency, and hallucination rates.
• Troubleshoot and improve retrieval quality, grounding accuracy, and response relevance.

Deploy and operate

• Deploy and manage AI services on Azure using CI/CD pipelines and containerization.
• Build and maintain scalable web applications using Python, Node.js, and React.

Build responsibly

• Apply responsible AI practices, including guardrails, security controls, and compliance standards.

Required

• Hands-on Python experience for backend services and automation
• Hands-on experience with LangChain and/or LangGraph
• Experience with RAG, embeddings, and vector search
• Hands-on experience with Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search
• Proficiency with REST APIs, JSON, and Git

Nice to Have

• JavaScript experience (React, Node.js)
• Docker and container-based deployments
• Experience with Azure services such as Azure Container Apps or AKS, Azure Functions, Azure Monitor/Application Insights, and Key Vault

Salary And Other Compensation

The annual salary for this position is between $110,000– $135,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits

Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer:

The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.