Lead AI Engineer

The Judge Group; California; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The Judge Group is seeking a Lead Conversational AI Engineer in the United States (California) to drive the responsible adoption of conversational AI. You will set technical direction, governance standards, and deliver scalable solutions that align business needs, technology strategy, and regulatory requirements.

You’ll lead architecture, design flows, and performance optimization while mentoring engineers and collaborating with product, security, and operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in CS or related field.
• 5+ years in conversational AI and software engineering.
• 4+ years with conversational AI platforms.
• Experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, APIs, and system integrations; leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and architecture of conversational AI solutions, workflows, and integrations.
• Establish standards, governance frameworks, and operational practices for AI development and administration.
• Define conversational AI architecture, orchestration patterns, and integration approaches.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and provide adoption recommendations.
• Develop and maintain roadmaps aligned with business and technology objectives.
• Review and approve solution designs, configurations, and implementation approaches.
• Ensure solutions meet performance, scalability, and security requirements.

Skills

Conversational AI

Architectural Leadership

Governance & Compliance

Mentorship

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree in CS/IS/related field

Job description

Job Title: Lead Conversational AI Engineer

What our client is looking for: You champion the responsible adoption of conversational AI by setting technical direction, establishing governance standards, and delivering solutions that align business needs, technology strategy, and regulatory requirements. You are a collaborative problem solver and trusted advisor who translates business objectives into intelligent conversational experiences, establishes best practices and governance standards, and guides teams in the successful adoption of emerging AI technologies. You lead complex AI initiatives from concept through optimization, leveraging conversational design, prompt engineering, integrations, and analytics to create scalable experiences that drive efficiency and enhance member and employee interactions.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:

Conversational AI Strategy & Architecture

• Lead the design and architecture of conversational AI solutions, workflows, and integrations
• Establish standards, best practices, and governance frameworks for conversational AI development and administration
• Define conversational AI architecture, orchestration patterns, and integration approaches
• Evaluate emerging technologies, platforms, and AI capabilities and provide recommendations for adoption
• Develop and maintain conversational AI roadmaps aligned with business and technology objectives

Solution Design & Delivery

• Lead the design of conversation flows, prompts, tool configurations, knowledge sources, and escalation workflows
• Review and approve solution designs, configurations, and implementation approaches
• Ensure solutions meet performance, scalability, security, and usability requirements

Governance, Compliance & Operational Excellence

• Establish governance controls, guardrails, standards, and operational practices for conversational AI solutions
• Ensure compliance with security, privacy, accessibility, and regulatory requirements
• Oversee documentation standards, change control processes, release management, and operational readiness activities
• Lead audit, risk management, and compliance-related activities for conversational AI platforms
• Monitor platform health, solution effectiveness, and business outcomes

Performance Optimization & Innovation

• Define and monitor key performance indicators for conversational AI solutions
• Analyze conversational data, operational metrics, and user feedback to identify improvement opportunities
• Lead prompt optimization, workflow improvements, knowledge management, and AI performance tuning efforts
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance automation, operational efficiency, and user experience
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to conversational AI engineers and team members
• Collaborate with business, product, technology, operations, security, and compliance teams to define requirements and solution strategies
• Partner with vendors and platform providers to maximize platform capabilities and resolve complex issues
• Communicate solution strategies, risks, recommendations, and outcomes to leadership and stakeholders
• Support project planning, prioritization, estimation, and resource planning activities

QUALIFICIATIONS AND PREFERENCES:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience required
• 5+ years years of experience in conversational AI, software engineering, platform administration, business systems analysis, or a related field required
• 4+ years of experience working with conversational AI platforms required
• Experience with large language models (LLMs), prompt engineering, APIs, and system integrations. Experience leading conversational AI implementations or enterprise technology initiatives. Experience mentoring team members and providing technical leadership.