AI Software Engineering Lead

RELX INC; Trenton (NJ); On-site; USD 136,000 - 218,000; Full time

Job summary

Elsevier is seeking an Engineering Lead to manage a six-person team, guide the CK AI Service, and own RAG workflow design and API expansion. You will drive delivery velocity, reduce bottlenecks, and standardize practices while mentoring engineers and aligning cross-functional teams for platform growth.

Lead the technical strategy, ensure scalable architecture, and collaborate with Data Science to shape the product roadmap in a fast-evolving AI-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams.
• 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.
• Proven ability to identify and eliminate single points of failure and improve system resilience.
• 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 of six direct reports.
• Driving and owning the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows and API expansion.
• Improving the 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 our Data Science team to help drive product road map and feature design forward.

Skills

Team leadership

Mentoring

Distributed systems

API design

RAG workflows

LLM integration

Vector search

Microservices

Performance optimization

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

Philadelphia, PA

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Delaware

Full time

R111099

Are you a collaborative Software Engineering Lead looking to work for a mission driven global organization?

About the role - 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 making sure your team is set up for success as they deliver products. This position serves as a subject matter expert for a specific team of Software Engineers. In addition to writing code on complex systems and applications, this position provides direction on project plans, schedules, and methodologies.

About the team, This team supports CK AI Service team. 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.

Requirements

• 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

• Proven ability to identify and eliminate single points of failure and improve system resilience

• 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 of six direct reports.

• Driving and owning the technical strategy and execution for the CK AI Service, including the design and governance of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows and API expansion.

• Improving the 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 our Data Science team to help drive product road map and feature design forward.

Elsevier is a renowned global information analytics company that primarily focuses on providing scientific, technical, and medical (STM) research content, tools, and services. It is one of the largest publishers of academic journals and scholarly literature in the world.

Elsevier operates in various domains, including science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and more. They publish a vast number of peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of disciplines. These journals act as platforms for researchers and academics to share their findings and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their respective fields.

In addition to publishing, Elsevier offers a suite of digital solutions and services to support researchers, scientists, and professionals in their work. They provide online platforms like ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Mendeley, which offer access to a vast repository of scholarly articles, research papers, and other scientific content. These platforms often serve as essential resources for software developers seeking to stay updated with the latest scientific advancements.

Furthermore, Elsevier offers tools and services to help researchers with tasks such as data management, article submission, and citation tracking. They also provide metrics and analytics to assess the impact and reach of scientific publications. Additionally, Elsevier hosts conferences and events to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration within the scientific community.

U.S. National Base Pay Range: $115,400 - $192,300. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates.

If performed in New Jersey, the base pay range is $136,213 - $217,587.

This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus.

We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact 1-855-833-5120.

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.

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers, enabling them to make better decisions, get better results and be more productive.

Our purpose is to benefit society by developing products that help researchers advance scientific knowledge; doctors and nurses improve the lives of patients; lawyers promote the rule of law and achieve justice and fair results for their clients; businesses and governments prevent fraud; consumers access financial services and get fair prices on insurance; and customers learn about markets and complete transactions.

Our purpose guides our actions beyond the products that we develop. It defines us as a company. Every day across RELX our employees are inspired to undertake initiatives that make unique contributions to society and the communities in which we operate.