AI Software Engineering Lead

Elsevier; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 115,000 - 192,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual incentive bonus

Job summary

Elsevier is seeking a Software Engineering Lead to guide a small team of engineers, delivering complex systems and products. You will shape project plans, schedules, and methodologies while contributing code on challenging components.

You will own technical strategy for the CK AI Service, drive RAG workflow design and API expansion, and collaborate with Data Science to influence roadmaps as the team scales.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams, including managing performance, career development, and team health.
• Established track record of creating high-performing, collaborative team environments and reducing knowledge silos.
• Ability to remove blockers, manage priorities, and improve delivery velocity across a team.
• Experience establishing scalable team structures and leadership models to support growth.
• Deep expertise in designing and delivering distributed systems and APIs at scale.
• Ability to define and execute technical strategies, balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform sustainability.
• Experience with microservices architecture, API design, and system integration.
• Hands-on experience designing and implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows.
• Understanding of LLM integration and orchestration, embeddings and vector search, retrieval pipelines and ranking strategies.
• Experience building AI-powered APIs and services for production environments.
• Ability to govern and standardize AI patterns, including evaluation, observability, and performance optimization

Responsibilities

• Managing and mentoring six direct reports.
• Driving and owning the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of RAG workflows and API expansion.
• Improving delivery velocity, reducing bottlenecks and single points of failure, driving standardization, mentoring, and cross-functional alignment as the platform matures.
• Establishing a sustainable leadership model to support the planned division and growth of the team.
• Collaborating with the Data Science team to help drive product roadmap and feature design forward.

Skills

Leadership

Distributed systems

API design

RAG workflows

LLM integration

Microservices

Team coaching

Job description

About the Role

Are you a collaborative Software Engineering Lead looking to work for a mission-driven global organization? As Engineering Lead, you will lead and manage a small team of engineers, fostering their growth and ensuring delivery excellence. You will be entrusted with ensuring your team is set up for success as they deliver products. In addition to writing code on complex systems and applications, you will provide direction on project plans, schedules, and methodologies.

About the Team

The team supports the CK AI Service. The new Lead Engineer will have six direct reports and will own the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows and API expansion. This role will improve delivery velocity, reduce bottlenecks and single points of failure, drive standardization, mentoring, and cross-functional alignment as the platform matures, and establish a sustainable leadership model to support the planned division and growth of the team.

Responsibilities

• Managing and mentoring six direct reports
• Driving and owning the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of RAG workflows and API expansion
• Improving delivery velocity, reducing bottlenecks and single points of failure, driving standardization, mentoring, and cross-functional alignment as the platform matures
• Establishing a sustainable leadership model to support the planned division and growth of the team
• Collaborating with the Data Science team to help drive product roadmap and feature design forward

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams, including managing performance, career development, and team health
• Established track record of creating high-performing, collaborative team environments and reducing knowledge silos
• Ability to remove blockers, manage priorities, and improve delivery velocity across a team
• Experience establishing scalable team structures and leadership models to support growth
• Deep expertise in designing and delivering distributed systems and APIs at scale
• Ability to define and execute technical strategies, balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform sustainability
• Experience with microservices architecture, API design, and system integration
• Hands‑on experience designing and implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows
• Understanding of LLM integration and orchestration, embeddings and vector search, retrieval pipelines and ranking strategies
• Experience building AI-powered APIs and services for production environments
• Ability to govern and standardize AI patterns, including evaluation, observability, and performance optimization

Benefits

U.S. National Base Pay Range: $115,400 - $192,300 (Geographic differentials may apply). If performed in New Jersey, the base pay range is $130,284 - $208,116.

This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus. Benefits are tailored to your location.

EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.