AI Software Engineering Lead — RAG & API Architect

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

Job summary

Elsevier is seeking a collaborative Software Engineering Lead to guide a small team of engineers, ensuring delivery excellence and setting the team up for success on complex systems and API-driven services. You will oversee six direct reports, drive the CK AI Service technical strategy and RAG workflows, mentor engineers, and coordinate with Data Science for road map and feature design while reducing bottlenecks and single points of failure.

Base pay ranges in the U.S.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams; manage performance and career development.
• Established track record of building high-performing, collaborative teams and reducing silos.
• Ability to remove blockers and improve delivery velocity across a team.
• Experience establishing scalable team structures and leadership models for growth.
• Deep expertise in designing and delivering distributed systems and APIs at scale.

Responsibilities

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

Skills

Team leadership

Mentoring

Delivery acceleration

API design

Distributed systems

Tools

API design

RAG workflows

Job description

Elsevier is seeking a collaborative Software Engineering Lead to guide a small team of engineers, ensuring delivery excellence and setting the team up for success on complex systems and API-driven services. You will oversee six direct reports, drive the CK AI Service technical strategy and RAG workflows, mentor engineers, and coordinate with Data Science for road map and feature design while reducing bottlenecks and single points of failure.

Base pay ranges in the U.S.