AI Integration Engineer

Citian; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) match

On-site gym

Commuter benefits

Generous PTO

Job summary

Citian, a Washington, DC-based AI-driven SaaS company, is seeking an AI Integration Engineer to bridge civil engineering knowledge with practical AI implementations. You will prototype ideas, assess models, and translate findings into product decisions with cross-functional teams.

You will lead AI image recognition, model prompting, and data integration efforts with the Research, Data, and Engineering teams, driving scalable, quality-first AI solutions for our infrastructure clients.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field.
• 5+ years of professional experience through work or personal projects.
• 3+ years of AI-focused experience ideally within a product environment.
• Strong understanding of CS topics such as optimization and algorithms.
• Experience with Python/SQL and backend data handling.
• Familiarity with RESTful APIs and backend concepts.
• Experience with AWS and scalable backend AI solutions.
• Experience with computer vision or AI image recognition.
• Exposure to civil engineering, transportation infrastructure, or geospatial data.
• Capacity to communicate solutions with teammates.

Responsibilities

• Bridge civil engineering knowledge with AI capabilities and ensure outputs meet real-world infrastructure standards.
• Collaborate with research on prompting, model capabilities, and domain adaptation.
• Lead enabling models with tool use and optimal prompts for best results.
• Interface with Data team on pre-training, RLHF, and ICL applications.
• Develop AI image recognition and computer vision strategies for asset data.
• Evaluate third-party AI tools and balance build-vs-buy with Engineering.
• Oversee QA/QC processes applying AI to improve data quality and integrity.

Skills

AI integration

Prototype & eval

Python/SQL

RESTful APIs

AWS cloud

Computer vision

Civil engineering domain knowledge

Communication & collaboration

Education

Bachelor's in Computer Science or Data Science

Tools

AWS Cloud Tools

Job description

Citian is a fast growing, venture backed SaaS technology company based in Washington, DC. Our software solutions revolutionize how our transportation and infrastructure systems – roads, rail, transit, bicycle, pedestrian – operate.

Our tech solutions:

• Reduce traffic fatalities
• Enhance pedestrian accessibility
• Empower system operators to save time & money

You’ll work with some of the brightest minds in the software and transportation industries. Our engineers and data scientists apply the latest in emerging tech, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning to build smarter, more advanced tools for our diverse client base. We work with clients across the United States, with global ambitions in the years ahead.

Who You Are

As an AI Integration Engineer at Citian, you'll lead efforts incorporating AI into our products, bridging civil engineering domain knowledge with practical AI implementation. You will work alongside our Engineering, Data, and Research teams to build scalable processes and find solutions to improve our data integrity. You will be expected to prototype ideas, assess third‑party tools and models, and translate technical findings into actionable product decisions. You are resourceful, innovative, and continuously seek opportunities to improve processes and drive efficiency. Your strong communication and collaboration skills enable you to work effectively with cross‑functional teams and stakeholders. If you are passionate about applied AI Engineering and are eager to contribute to the success of a startup, we would love to hear from you.

Expected Duties

• Serve as the domain bridge between civil/transportation engineering knowledge and AI capabilities, evaluating whether AI outputs meet real‑world infrastructure standards and directing the team accordingly.
• You will help to balance product strategy and research by working with our research team on prompting techniques, model capabilities, domain specific finetuning.
• Help lead our efforts to get models to perform how we want them to, including enabling models with tool use and other techniques to get the best out of the LLMs.
• Work closely with our Data team and specific datasets that can be used for continued pre‑training, RLHF, in‑context‑learning (ICL), and other applications.
• Lead AI image recognition and computer vision strategies for infrastructure asset data extraction assessing model approaches, overseeing implementation, and validating outputs against domain benchmarks.
• Contribute to fine‑tuning strategy for transportation/infrastructure‑specific models by collaborating with the research team on domain adaptation, benchmarking, and model evaluation.
• Evaluate and recommend third‑party AI tools, APIs, and foundation models relevant to Citian's use cases, balancing build vs. buy tradeoffs in coordination with Engineering.
• Own and manage the application of AI to QA/QC processes; directing strategy, evaluating outputs for domain accuracy, and iterating with the Data team to continuously improve data quality and integrity.

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field
• 5+ years of professional experience through work or personal projects
• 3+ years of AI focused experience ideally within a product environment
• Strong understanding of Computer Science topics such as optimization and algorithms
• Understanding of Python/SQL code and ability to retrieve and store data safely through a back end
• Familiarity with RESTful APIs and back‑end concepts sufficient to prototype, test, and evaluate integrations. Hands‑on implementation experience a plus but not required.
• Experience with cloud services, specifically AWS, and the ability to leverage its features for scalable back‑end AI solutions is highly desired. (S3, Lambda Functions)
• Experience with computer vision or AI image recognition applications, even at a prototyping or evaluation level.
• Meaningful exposure to civil engineering, transportation infrastructure, or geospatial data, sufficient to critically evaluate AI outputs in these domains and communicate credibly with domain experts.
• Capacity to communicate solutions with teammates

Your Citian Advantage

• Competitive salary and benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance and generous PTO.
• 401(k) company match and monthly commuter transportation benefit
• On‑site gym and free snacks in the office
• High‑growth potential and opportunities for advancement within a fast growing, venture‑backed SaaS startup!

Let’s build smarter cities together! Learn more about Citian here: www.citian.co

Citian is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, clients, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Persons with Disabilities