AI Engineer, Ontologies & Knowledge Graphs

Cadence Design Systems; Livonia (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Cadence Design Systems in Livonia, MI seeks an engineer to build the data and interface layer that makes complex software surfaces programmatically understandable. You will design schemas, construct knowledge graphs, and expose them through typed programmatic interfaces for downstream consumption.

You will develop ETL/ELT pipelines, parsers, and data-access layers, collaborating with domain engineers to enable retrieval and indexing of product knowledge.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or similar.
• Strong Python; experience building and consuming REST APIs.
• Experience building data pipelines (ETL/ELT) over structured and unstructured data.
• Familiarity with graph databases and/or semantic/ontology modeling (RDF, OWL, property graphs, or equivalent).
• Experience with at least one agent framework (LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, CrewAI, or similar).
• Understanding of how LLMs consume context and call tools (retrieval, RAG, embeddings).
• Exposure to CAE/FEA/CFD or a related physical-simulation or engineering domain.
• Comfortable working within unfamiliar or undocumented codebases.
• Systems thinker — able to decompose a complex legacy workflow into discrete, callable steps.

Responsibilities

• Build ETL/ELT pipelines that extract data from source code, APIs, file formats, and documentation and load it into a structured knowledge store.
• Design and maintain schemas and semantic data models capturing entities, relationships, and capabilities.
• Construct and maintain knowledge graphs over heterogeneous product data.
• Develop source and metadata parsers (including source-code/AST parsing) to extract structure automatically.
• Build typed programmatic interfaces and data-access layers over the knowledge layer.
• Implement retrieval and indexing layers (e.g., embeddings, RAG) over product knowledge.
• Work with domain engineers to decompose complex product workflows into discrete, callable operations.
• Assess data sources for coverage, quality, and schema completeness across multiple products.

Skills

Python

REST APIs

ETL/ELT pipelines

Graph databases

Semantic modeling

LangChain

LangGraph

AutoGen

CrewAI

LLM context

Education

BS/MS in CS or Engineering

Tools

RDF

OWL

Property graphs

LangChain

LangGraph

AutoGen

CrewAI

Job description

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology. We are looking for an engineer who builds the data and interface layer that makes complex software products programmatically understandable. Many powerful products expose rich but heterogeneous surfaces — source code, scripting APIs, file formats, data structures, and workflow logic. This role builds pipelines that extract and transform those surfaces into structured, queryable knowledge — designing the schemas, constructing the knowledge graphs, and exposing them through clean, typed programmatic interfaces for downstream consumption.

Job Responsibilities

• Build ETL/ELT pipelines that extract data from source code, APIs, file formats, and documentation and load it into a structured knowledge store.
• Design and maintain schemas and semantic data models capturing entities, relationships, and capabilities.
• Construct and maintain knowledge graphs over heterogeneous product data.
• Develop source and metadata parsers (including source-code/AST parsing) to extract structure automatically.
• Build typed programmatic interfaces and data-access layers over the knowledge layer.
• Implement retrieval and indexing layers (e.g., embeddings, RAG) over product knowledge.
• Work with domain engineers to decompose complex product workflows into discrete, callable operations.
• Assess data sources for coverage, quality, and schema completeness across multiple products.

Job Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or similar.
• Strong Python; experience building and consuming REST APIs.
• Experience building data pipelines (ETL/ELT) over structured and unstructured data.
• Familiarity with graph databases and/or semantic/ontology modeling (RDF, OWL, property graphs, or equivalent).
• Experience with at least one agent framework (LangChain, LangGraph, AutoGen, CrewAI, or similar).
• Understanding of how LLMs consume context and call tools (retrieval, RAG, embeddings).
• Exposure to CAE/FEA/CFD or a related physical-simulation or engineering domain.
• Comfortable working within unfamiliar or undocumented codebases.
• Systems thinker — able to decompose a complex legacy workflow into discrete, callable steps.

Additional Skills/Preferences

• Vector databases.
• Data-access and API interface development.
• Parsing structured file formats.
• Surrogate modeling or related numerical methods.

Additional Information

Works across multiple products, building structured knowledge and interfaces over their capabilities. Collaborates closely with domain engineers who provide subject-matter expertise. Works with data pipelines, graph databases, and product API surfaces. Travel is not an expectation for this role. Occasional travel may occur for broad team alignment workshops, but these are infrequent. We're doing work that matters. Help us solve what others can't.

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Cadence Description

Cadence plays a critical role in creating the technologies that modern life depends on. We are a global electronic design automation company, providing software, hardware, and intellectual property to design advanced semiconductor chips that enable our customers create revolutionary products and experiences. Thanks to the outstanding caliber of the Cadence team and the empowering culture that we have cultivated for over 25 years, Cadence continues to be recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Our shared passion for solving the world's toughest technical challenges, our dedication to pushing the limits of the industry, and our drive to do meaningful work differentiates the people of Cadence. Cadence is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, basis of disability, or any other protected class.