Evaluation Engineer

0400 FBD USA LLP; New York (NY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields US LLP is seeking a QA engineer to build and run evaluations for the firm’s AI applications. You will prepare evaluation datasets, investigate failures and provide evidence of AI performance on legal and business tasks.

The role focuses on automated evaluation, test data management, and collaboration with senior engineers to ensure quality, reliability and controlled use of data across AI workflows.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years’ experience developing software using Python, Java or C#.
• Foundational understanding of large language models and evaluation criteria.
• Ability to use coding agents to support development, testing and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Implement automated evaluation cases and supporting scripts.
• Prepare and maintain test datasets and reference examples with legal specialists.
• Follow confidentiality and data-use requirements; use version control.
• Run evaluations of answer accuracy, citations, retrieval relevance and escalation.
• Apply scoring criteria and flag cases needing expert judgement.
• Execute functional and integration tests for AI workflows and document ingestion.

Skills

Python

Java

C#

LLM evaluation

Automated testing

Tools

Git

Jira

Jenkins

Job description

Role purpose

Build and run tests that assess the quality and reliability of the firm’s AI applications. Help maintain evaluation datasets, investigate failures and provide clear evidence of how AI systems perform on legal and business tasks.

Key responsibilities

• Implement automated evaluation cases and supporting scripts using established frameworks and guidance from senior engineers.
• Prepare and maintain test datasets, source documents and reference examples with legal specialists.
• Follow requirements for confidentiality, permitted data use and version control.
• Run evaluations of answer accuracy, completeness, citations, retrieval relevance, instruction following and appropriate escalation.
• Apply agreed scoring criteria and flag cases requiring expert judgement.
• Execute functional and integration tests for AI workflows, including document ingestion, tool calls, structured outputs and error handling, in coordination with application QA.
• Review outputs and execution traces to identify failures.
• Reproduce issues, document supporting evidence and help distinguish data, retrieval, model and application defects.
• Compare results across model, prompt and application versions.
• Report changes accurately, including uncertainty and limitations, rather than relying solely on headline scores.
• Support the calibration of automated graders by comparing their scores with human reviews and investigating inconsistencies.
• Maintain regression suites, contribute to CI/CD integration and turn approved production failure examples into new test cases.

Required skills and experience

• Required skills and experience Minimum five years’ experience developing software demonstrated through employment, placements or substantial projects using programming languages such as Python, Java or C#.
• Foundational conceptual understanding of large language models, including their capabilities, limitations and common failure modes, and an ability to apply that understanding when developing evaluation criteria, test cases and acceptance thresholds with guidance from senior engineers.
• Ability to use coding agents effectively to support development, testing and analysis, with awareness of best practices for prompting, context management, validation, security, responsible use of generated code and when to seek human review.
• Working knowledge of APIs, Git, automated testing and software development lifecycle practices and CI/CD tools such as Jira and Jenkins.
• Demonstrated curiosity and ability to learn in a rapidly evolving AI landscape, assess new models, tools and evaluation techniques, and apply relevant learning pragmatically with appropriate guidance.
• Foundational understanding of statistics and measurement, including sampling, precision and recall, together with strong analytical skills, attention to detail and the ability to document issues clearly and seek technical or legal guidance when needed.
• Practical experience evaluating AI applications is a plus but is not required, given the newness of the field; relevant academic, internship or project experience will also be considered.
• For individuals assigned and/or hired to work in NewYork and California, Freshfields is required by law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role.
• This compensation range is specific to the States of NewYork and California and takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
• The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.
• A reasonable estimate of the current range is $100,000 to $200,000.

EEO Statement

Freshfields US LLP is proud to be an equal employment employer. Our policies and practices will be free from unlawful discrimination based upon race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, citizenship, immigration status, ancestry, age, marital status, protected veteran status, military service, disability, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.

We strive to promote an atmosphere that encourages equal opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices, including sexual harassment.

Disability Accommodation for Applicants to Freshfields US LLP

Freshfields US LLP is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in job application procedures.

Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world’s leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments on ground-breaking and business critical mandates.

At Freshfields we seek to create a better future for our clients, our people and the communities in which we work. Our global teams bring together individuals with different experiences, skills and strengths in a culture where we support all to belong, engage and excel.