Senior AI Engineer (2 year LTE)

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 157,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks a Senior AI Engineer to design, build, and deploy AI solutions for global staff. You will translate complex problems into scalable, secure AI systems and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver production-ready results.

The role emphasizes hands-on coding with Python, LLMs, and Azure-based services, while ensuring data privacy and security. This is a 24-month, hybrid position based in Seattle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience.
• Strong Python programming skills.
• Hands-on with AI-assisted coding tools.
• Experience deploying ML/LLM systems in production.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and deploy AI solutions for enterprise needs.
• Develop agentic AI systems with multi-step workflows and orchestration.
• Integrate AI capabilities into enterprise apps via APIs and microservices.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to align AI solutions with requirements.
• Contribute to code reviews, testing, and CI/CD for reliable deployments.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize AI solutions on Azure.
• Ensure data privacy, security, and compliance in AI systems.
• Share knowledge and mentor teammates on AI best practices.
• Stay current with AI technologies and evaluate new approaches.

Skills

Python

Claude Code

GitHub Copilot

Codex

LLMs

Agentic systems

RAG architecture

Graph technologies

Embeddings

Tokenization

LangChain

LlamaIndex

ML/LLM production

Data privacy

Communication

Azure

Prototyping

Responsible AI

Scrum/Kanban

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Azure OpenAI

Azure Foundry

Azure AI Search

Job description

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The Team Within Business Operations and the IT organization, the Enterprise Data Solutions (EDS) team designs and delivers enterprise-scale platforms and services across Knowledge Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Engineering, Business Intelligence, Data Infrastructure, and Health Data Platforms. The EDS team’s mission is to empower the Foundation with reliable, innovative, and data-driven solutions that enable timely, informed decision‑making and support critical operational workflows. Central to this mission is the development of an AI‑powered intelligent data and AI platform that enables employees to discover and interact with connected knowledge through conversational experiences. The Knowledge Mgmt & Insights (KMI) is an AI‑first team and leverages technologies such as large language models (LLMs), knowledge graphs, and modern data platforms to deliver scalable, impactful enterprise‑wide AI solutions.

*This position is a limited‑term position for 24 months and located in our Seattle, Washington office. This is a hybrid role with a requirement of 50% in office.

Your Role

As a Senior AI Engineer, you are a highly skilled individual contributor responsible for designing, building, and deploying AI solutions that support foundation and affiliate staff around the world. You bring strong technical expertise and a hands‑on approach to developing scalable, secure, and reliable AI systems that address real organizational needs. You translate defined problem statements into effective technical solutions, partnering closely with the team and contributing directly to implementation and delivery. In this role, you play a key part in executing AI initiatives—designing solutions, integrating systems, and ensuring solutions are production‑ready and aligned with engineering best practices. You collaborate with Lead Engineers and cross‑functional partners to deliver high‑impact AI capabilities, while proactively identifying opportunities to improve performance, usability, and scalability. You contribute to code quality, documentation, and shared standards, helping strengthen the team’s engineering discipline. You also support other engineers through knowledge sharing and collaboration, while continuing to grow your own expertise in AI technologies and approaches. Your work enables innovative access to knowledge assets at the foundation, helping drive better decision‑making and streamline workflows to advance the organization’s mission globally.

What You’ll Do

• Develop and implement agentic AI systems, including multi‑step workflows, tool use, and autonomous task orchestration using LLM‑based frameworks
• Design, build, and deploy scalable AI/ML solutions using Python and cloud‑native services in Microsoft Azure (e.g., Azure OpenAI, Azure Foundry, Azure AI Search)
• Integrate AI capabilities into enterprise applications and workflows through APIs, microservices, and Azure‑based architecture
• Translate business and technical requirements into robust, production‑ready solutions, balancing performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and stakeholders to deliver AI solutions aligned to requirements
• Contribute to solution design and architecture discussions, including tooling and implementation trade‑offs
• Use AI‑assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot) to improve development efficiency while maintaining strong code quality
• Contribute to code reviews, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines to ensure reliable and secure deployments
• Deploy, monitor, and optimize AI solutions in Azure, addressing performance, cost and reliability
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues across development and production environments
• Contribute to reusable components, shared frameworks and engineering standards for AI development across the team
• Support data preparation, prompt engineering, and evaluation processes to improve model performance and outcomes
• Stay current with emerging AI technologies and proactively identify opportunities to apply them to enhance solutions where relevant

Your Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; typically requires an advanced degree or equivalent experience and a minimum of 8 years of prior relevant experience.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities, with a commitment to operational excellence, continuous learning, and raising the bar on engineering practices
• Strong programming skills in Python
• Hands‑on experience with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex or other AI‑assisted coding tools
• Hands‑on experience with state‑of‑the‑art LLMs, agentic systems, and RAG architecture, graph technologies and practical knowledge of embeddings, tokenization, evaluation, observability, and frameworks such as LangChain and LlamaIndex.
• Experience deploying, monitoring, and maintaining ML/LLM systems in production
• Deep understanding of data privacy, security, and compliance considerations when building AI‑powered systems
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage immediate and extended team, build consensus, and move work forward in ambiguous or rapidly evolving environments.
• 3+ years of professional experience with cloud technologies preferably Azure
• Proven ability to prototype, iterate, and productionize innovative AI solutions that deliver measurable business value.
• Knowledge of ethics in AI and responsible AI development.
• Experience with agile development methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel as needed.
• Ability to participate in on‑call duties
• Must be able to work effectively across geographic and cultural boundaries.
• Commitment to the foundation’s mission and values, including diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• *Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship. The Foundation does not provide immigration‑related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (eg: H‑1B, O‑1, L‑1, E, OPT, STEM‑OPT, CPT, TN, J‑1, etc.).

The salary range for this role is $157,400 to $236,000 USD. We recognize high‑wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $173,100 to $259,700 USD. As a mission‑driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job‑related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

Hiring Requirements As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact [e-mail] with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices. All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity. Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we work with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, we aim to ensure that everyone—especially those with the fewest resources—has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life.

Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Bill Gates and our governing board.