Junior AI Engineer

MetLif; Cary (NC); Hybrid; USD 56,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plan

401(k) with employer matching

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Tuition assistance

Parental leave

Paid holidays

Volunteer time off

Job summary

MetLife is seeking a Jr. AI Engineer to join the Corporate Technology AI Accelerator in a hybrid role in North Carolina.

You will contribute to enterprise AI capabilities, working under senior engineers to build, test and support AI solutions at scale. You will gain hands-on experience with embeddings, vector search, Azure AI Search, and Teams integration while following responsible-AI practices and governance.

Qualifications

• Basic understanding of large language models and embeddings.
• Willingness to work under direct guidance and follow standards.
• Strong analytical and learning mindset.
• Clear written and verbal communication with cross‑functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop AI-enabled components and automation under guidance using Python and C#/.NET.
• Support retrieval-augmented workflows including vector search and prompt configuration.
• Assist in building employee-facing conversational experiences in Teams.
• Create REST API integrations between AI components and enterprise systems.
• Contribute to deployment tasks and IaC for AI workloads.
• Test model outputs with grounding checks and responsible-AI standards.
• Capture telemetry and support observability for deployed agents.
• Maintain prompts/workflows documentation and participate in Agile ceremonies.
• Learn and apply AI platform standards and human-in-the-loop design patterns.

Skills

Generative AI basics

Guidance under supervision

Analytical problem-solving

Clear communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / AI / ML / Data Science

Azure Fundamentals Certification (AZ-900)

Tools

Azure AI Search

Microsoft Teams development

Microsoft Agent Framework

Terraform

GitHub Copilot

Job description

When you join MetLife’s Global Technology team, you’ll be part of a forward-thinking group dedicated to shaping the future of digital solutions for customers worldwide. You’ll develop, maintain and support technology applications and delivery, leveraging AI, automation, and contemporary ways of working to enhance experiences and drive business outcomes. Your work will simplify complex processes, improve tech resiliency, and ensure high-performing, seamless solutions that power life’s most important moments. In this dynamic environment, you’ll collaborate with talented peers across teams and functions, expanding your skills in impactful ways. Ready to push boundaries and set new industry standards? Join us and help drive the future of technology forward.

The Opportunity

The Jr. AI Engineer is part of the Corporate Technology AI Accelerator , helping build, test and support reusable AI capabilities that enable corporate functions and business teams to solve meaningful problems at scale. Working under the direction of senior engineers , you will contribute to enterprise agents, knowledge retrieval, integration and automation while learning the common engineering patterns, governance and responsible-AI practices that help solutions move from idea to secure, reliable production. Guided by our purpose — always with you, building a more confident future — and our New Frontier strategy focused on stronger growth, attractive returns and all-weather performance, this is an opportunity to begin an engineering career on real enterprise AI, collaborate across product, platform and business teams, and help turn AI-first ambition into trusted employee experiences and measurable business impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop AI-enabled application components, integrations and automation logic under the direction of senior engineers, using Python and C#/.NET.
• Support implementation of retrieval-augmented workflows, including embeddings, vector search, Azure AI Search indexes and prompt configuration.
• Assist in building employee-facing conversational experiences delivered through Microsoft Teams, including Adaptive Cards and message extensions.
• Build and test REST API integrations between AI components and enterprise HR, workplace and line-of-business systems.
• Contribute to deployment tasks, operational checks and Infrastructure as Code activities for AI workloads, using established patterns and templates.
• Test and validate model and prompt outputs by applying grounding checks, guardrails and quality standards, escalating responsible-AI questions promptly.
• Capture telemetry and support basic observability and response-quality reporting for deployed agents.
• Maintain documentation for prompts, workflows, tools and AI system behavior, and participate in Agile ceremonies within the engineering team.
• Learn and apply approved AI platform standards, model integration practices, responsible AI guidance and human-in-the-loop design patterns.

Required Qualifications

• Foundational proficiency with generative AI: an understanding of large language models, embeddings and prompt-based development, together with the judgment to review AI-generated output critically and responsibly rather than accept it at face value.
• Willingness to work under direct guidance, act on feedback, and follow established engineering, security, privacy and responsible-AI standards.
• Analytical and problem-solving ability, with a demonstrated learning mindset.
• Clear written and verbal communication, and the ability to collaborate with engineering, product and business partners and to raise blockers early.

Preferred Qualifications

• Suggested 0–1 years of experience in AI, machine learning or software engineering involving large language models, including internships, academic projects or equivalent practical work.
• Exposure to enterprise agent development, or to Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams application development.
• Familiarity with the Microsoft agent stack, including the Microsoft Agent Framework, the Microsoft 365 Agent SDK, Azure AI Search or Azure AI Foundry.
• Exposure to retrieval-augmented generation, vector search, or Model Context Protocol tool integrations.
• Exposure to cloud platforms, Azure preferred, and to Infrastructure as Code using Terraform.
• Awareness of observability, telemetry and AI response-quality measurement.
• Experience using GitHub Copilot or a similar AI coding assistant.
• Azure fundamentals certification (AZ-900 or AI-900).
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science , AI, machine learning, data science, information systems, engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience , applied to software or AI engineering.

Location Expectation: This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office.

The expected salary range for this position is 55,800 - 75,000. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.

Benefits We Offer

Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more! For more information regarding MetLife’s U.S. benefits, please click here .

About MetLife

Recognizedon Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies",Fortune World’s 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companiesto Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of theworld’s leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities,employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutionalcustomers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positionsin the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We’re looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.

Our purposeis simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world atlarge create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our corevalues - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, andThink Ahead - we’re inspired to transform the next century in financialservices. At MetLife, it’s #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!

MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law (“protected characteristics”). If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [e-mail]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.

This posting is for a current vacancy and is anticipated to remain open for at least 90 days from the listed posting date.