Developer, Applied AI, Penguin Random House (Open to Remote)

Penguin Random House; Buffalo (NY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Penguin Random House is seeking a Developer, Applied AI to join our Global Data Solutions team. You will build and maintain AI-enabled applications that help internal teams access and use enterprise data.

This role blends Python backend engineering with Azure cloud services, data integration, and practical AI work on LLMs, retrieval workflows, and APIs to solve business problems and improve processes.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional software development experience with strong Python skills.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and enhance production AI-enabled applications.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and propose technical solutions.
• Develop and test applications, support deployments, and ensure secure, maintainable production systems.
• Work across Python backend, Azure services, data integration, and AI workflows.

Skills

Python

Azure cloud

REST APIs

AI integration

CI/CD

SQL

Git workflows

Debugging

Communication

Stakeholder work

Tools

Azure Functions

Durable Functions

Azure OpenAI

Azure AI Search

Azure Document Intelligence

Blob Storage

Container Apps

Key Vault

Application Insights

LangChain

Pydantic

JSON Schema

Git

CI/CD

Docker

Terraform

Terragrunt

Job description

Company Description

Penguin Random House is the leading adult and children's publishing house in North America, the United Kingdom and many other regions around the world. In publishing the best books in every genre and subject for all ages, we are committed to quality, excellence in execution, and innovation throughout the entire publishing process: editorial, design, marketing, publicity, sales, production, and distribution. Our vibrant and diverse international community of nearly 300 publishing brands and imprints include Ballantine Bantam Dell, Berkley, Clarkson Potter, Crown, DK, Doubleday, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Little Golden Books, Knopf, Modern Library, Pantheon, Penguin Books, Penguin Press, Penguin Random House Audio, Penguin Young Readers, Portfolio, Puffin, Putnam, Random House, Random House Children's Books, Riverhead, Ten Speed Press, Viking, and Vintage, among others.

More information can be found at http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/.

Penguin Random House values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

Company Details

Penguin Random House LLC

New York, 1745 Broadway, United States

hybrid

USD 130,000 - 160,000 (Yearly)

Job Description

Penguin Random House is seeking a Developer, Applied AI to join our Global Data Solutions team. We are looking for a hands‑on developer who can help build, maintain, and enhance secure, reliable AI‑enabled applications that improve how internal business teams access, process, and use enterprise data.

This role sits at the intersection of Python backend engineering, Azure cloud services, enterprise data integration, document processing, and practical AI implementation. The successful candidate will work on applications that use large language models, Azure AI services, retrieval‑based workflows, and APIs to solve real business problems and improve internal processes.

As a key member of our team, the Developer will help support existing applications while also designing and building new solutions in response to evolving business needs. This includes working directly with stakeholders to understand requirements, recommending practical technical approaches, developing and testing applications, supporting deployments, and helping ensure solutions are secure, maintainable, and production‑ready.

This is a production development role focused on applying AI and cloud technologies in useful, reliable, and business‑focused ways. We do not expect candidates to have used every tool listed below; we are looking for strong Python engineering skills, practical AI experience, sound technical judgment, and the ability to learn new technologies quickly.

We are eager to welcome a practical, curious developer who enjoys learning new technologies and applying them to business problems. The ideal candidate can step into existing systems and improve them but is also comfortable building new applications from the ground up. If you are excited about developing useful AI‑enabled applications in a production environment and contributing to the future of applied AI at Penguin Random House, we would love to hear from you.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• 3+ years of professional software development experience, including strong hands‑on experience with Python. Candidates should also have practical experience in the following areas:
• Experience building, maintaining, or supporting production applications in a cloud environment, preferably Microsoft Azure
• Experience developing REST APIs and backend services using frameworks such as FastAPI, Flask, or similar
• Practical experience integrating generative AI or large language model capabilities into applications
• Familiarity with one or more practical AI application patterns, such as prompt design, structured outputs, retrieval workflows, document processing, or orchestration
• Experience using relevant Azure services in a production environment. This may include Azure Functions, Durable Functions, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Azure Document Intelligence, Blob Storage, Container Apps, Key Vault, Application Insights, or comparable services
• Familiarity with AI frameworks such as LangChain and structured‑output tools such as Pydantic, JSON Schema, or similar
• Experience with Git‑based development workflows, pull requests, code reviews, CI/CD pipelines, and deployment automation
• Ability to troubleshoot production issues using logs, monitoring tools, and application diagnostics
• Working knowledge of SQL or experience working with enterprise data sources
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work directly with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders

Additional Experience That Would Be Helpful

• Experience with retrieval‑augmented generation, vector search, embeddings, semantic chunking, or LLM‑powered extraction workflows
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Fabric Data Agents, Model Context Protocol, FastMCP, or other AI/data gateway patterns
• Experience with Docker, Azure Container Apps, Terraform, Terragrunt, or other containerization and infrastructure tools
• Familiarity with OAuth, JWT, Microsoft Entra ID, managed identities, On‑Behalf‑Of token exchange, or other enterprise authentication patterns
• Experience with OpenTelemetry, Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Log Analytics, or similar observability tools
• Working knowledge of pandas, NumPy, BeautifulSoup, markdownify, pypdf, python‑docx, openpyxl, or other data and document processing libraries
• Understanding of machine learning fundamentals, AI evaluation approaches, or common AI system design tradeoffs
• Familiarity with secure development practices, data privacy considerations, or responsible AI concepts
• Prior experience in publishing is a plus

Additional Information

The salary range for this position is $130,000-$160,000.

All positions are currently eligible for annual profit award or bonus, subject to Company results.

Full‑time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits include, but are not limited to, Medical/Prescription drug insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account, Pre‑Tax and Roth 401(k), Short and Long‑Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, Commuter Benefits, Student Loan Repayment Program, Educational Assistance & generous paid time off.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

We value the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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