Associate Director -AI/ML Engineering

Verizon; Bakersfield (CA); Hybrid; USD 126,000 - 242,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401(k) matching

Paid vacation

Job summary

Verizon seeks a senior AI leader to partner with AI Platform Engineering, guide principal engineers, and ensure compliance with Responsible AI frameworks. This hybrid role blends leadership with hands-on governance of AI deployments.

You will steer data-driven models, oversee scalable ML tasks, and maintain data science code quality while aligning with enterprise standards and safety policies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or four or more years of work experience.
• Ten or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through work/military experience or specialized training.
• Three or more years of managing high-performing engineering/AI teams.
• Experience in AI Science/Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with AI Platform Engineering leaders who guide product owners for compliance.
• Direct a specialized team of Principal AI Engineers and Scientists.
• Rely on compliance policies and AI safety standards to guide decisions.
• Utilize dashboards, cloud governance, and AI evaluation architecture for deployment go/no-go decisions.
• Leverage data tools to redefine raw data into scalable data science models.

Skills

AI architecture

LLMOps

Distributed systems

Team management

AI Science/Engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree or 4+ years experience

Tools

AWS

GCP

Engram

Agent Registry

Job description

When you join Verizon

You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely — even if they’re daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love — driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together — lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife.

What You’ll Be Doing…

• Partner closely with AI Platform Engineering leaders who build the models, and they guide BU-level AI product owners to ensure compliance.
• Direct a specialized team of Principal AI Engineers and Scientists
• Rely on Verizon's corporate compliance policies, RIL (Responsible AI, Integrity, Legal) frameworks, and industry AI safety standards (e.g., NIST AI RMF).
• Utilizes executive dashboards, cloud governance frameworks (AWS/GCP), AI registration hubs (Engram, Agent Registry), and the 4-Quadrant AI Evaluation architecture to make strategic go/no-go deployment decisions.
• Responsible for the leveraging of big data tools and programming frameworks to ensure that the raw data gathered from data pipelines are redefined as data science models that are ready to scale as needed.
• Manages a team of employees including planning work and dividing it among employees.
• Ensures that production ML tasks are working properly and that data science code is maintainable and scalable using subject matter expertise.

What We’re Looking For…

You’ll need to have:

• Bachelor’s degree or four or more years of work experience.
• Ten or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training
• Three or more years of managing high-performing engineering/AI teams
• Experience in AI Science/Engineering

Even better if you have one or more of the following:

• Experience in AI/GenAI architecture, LLMOps, enterprise risk management, and distributed systems.
• Masters in Computer Science or AI Science
• Ten or more years of AI Science/Engineering

Where you’ll be working

In this hybrid role, you'll have a defined work location that includes working from home and a minimum of three days per week in the office, which will be set by your manager. Employees are responsible for maintaining compliance with hybrid work policies.

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Equal Employment Opportunity

Verizon is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Benefits And Compensation

Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of Verizon. From health and wellness benefit options including: medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, AD&D insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance and group home & auto insurance. We also offer a matched 401(k) savings plan, up to 8 company paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition assistance, plus other incentives, we’ve got you covered with our award-winning total rewards package. Depending on the role, employees have the opportunity to receive compensation in the form of premium pay such as overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, allowances, etc. Newly hired employees receive up to 15 days of vacation per year, which grows with additional service. For part-timers, your coverage will vary as you may be eligible for some of these benefits depending on your individual circumstances.

The salary will vary depending on your location and confirmed job-related skills and experience. This is an incentive based position with the potential to earn more. For part-time roles, your compensation will be adjusted to reflect your hours.

The annual salary range for the location(s) listed on this job requisition based on a full-time schedule is: $126,000.00 - $242,000.00.