Senior AI Engineer (Ph.D. required)
Exponent
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Job summary
Exponent seeks a Senior AI Engineer (Ph.D. required) for its Data Sciences Practice in Houston, TX. You will architect and deploy end-to-end AI solutions for diverse clients, including generative AI apps and agentic architectures.
Work alongside multidisciplinary experts to ground AI systems in real-world, regulated contexts. You will mentor teammates, contribute reusable AI assets, and communicate complex results to clients and stakeholders while advancing Exponent's capabilities in AI
Qualifications
- Ph.D. required in a relevant technical field.
- 5+ years of hands-on ML/AI production experience after Ph.D.
- Experience with generative AI, LLM apps, prompts, fine-tuning, and RAG architectures.
- Experience with agentic frameworks and orchestration tools.
- Strong Python and API/microservices/containerization skills.
- Hands-on cloud experience (AWS preferred).
- Familiarity with vector databases and knowledge graphs is a plus.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Presently legally authorized to work in the United States; no immigration sponsorship required.
Responsibilities
- Architect and deploy end-to-end AI solutions for clients.
- Build generative AI apps including RAG systems and copilots.
- Design agentic AI architectures with multi-agent workflows and human-in-the-loop controls.
- Develop knowledge representation layers (knowledge graphs, semantic search).
- Deploy and scale AI workloads on cloud infrastructure and MLOps pipelines.
- Prototype and iterate on models and analyses in client engagements.
- Collaborate across disciplines to embed domain expertise into AI solutions.
- Communicate approaches and results clearly to technical and executive stakeholders.
- Mentor junior team members and contribute to reusable AI assets.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Location: US-TX-Houston
Practice: Data Sciences
Position Type: Full-time
Workplace Type: On-Site
Exponent is the only premium engineering and scientific consulting firm with the depth and breadth of expertise to solve our clients' most profoundly unique, unprecedented, and urgent challenges.
Our vision is to engage multidisciplinary teams of science, engineering, and regulatory experts to empower clients with solutions that create a safer, healthier, more sustainable world. For over five decades, we've connected the lessons of past failures with tomorrow's solutions to advise clients as they innovate technologically complex products and processes, ensure the safety and health of their users, and address the challenges of sustainability.
Join our team of experts with degrees from top programs at over 500 universities and extensive experience spanning a variety of industries. At Exponent, you'll contribute to the diverse pool of ideas, talents, backgrounds, and experiences that drives our collaborative teamwork and breakthrough insights. Plus, we help you grow your career through mentoring, sponsorship, and a culture of learning. Thanks for your interest in joining our team!
- 950+ Consultants
- 640+ Ph.D.s
- 90+ Disciplines
- 30+ Offices globally
We are currently seeking a Senior AI Engineer for our Data Sciences Practice in Houston, TX. In this role, you will help design, build, and scale AI solutions - including generative and agentic AI systems - for client organizations across industries such as utilities, energy, life sciences, consumer electronics, and manufacturing. You will work alongside Exponent's multidisciplinary scientists and engineers to translate complex, real-world problems in safety-critical and highly regulated environments into production-grade AI applications.
- Architecting, developing, and deploying end-to-end AI solutions for clients, from data foundations through model development to production deployment
- Building generative AI applications, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, LLM-powered assistants, and domain-specific copilots grounded in enterprise knowledge
- Designing and implementing agentic AI architectures - multi-agent workflows, tool use, orchestration frameworks, and human-in-the-loop controls - for complex analytical and operational tasks
- Developing knowledge representation layers (knowledge graphs, ontologies, semantic search) that ground AI systems in trusted, domain-specific context
- Deploying and scaling AI workloads on cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred), including containerized services, vector databases, and MLOps/LLMOps pipelines
- Rapidly prototyping and iterating on models, analyses, and visualizations in fast-paced, client-facing engagements
- Implementing responsible AI practices, including evaluation frameworks, guardrails, observability, and alignment with client governance and regulatory requirements
- Collaborating with Exponent consultants across engineering and scientific disciplines to embed domain expertise into AI solutions
- Communicating technical approaches and results clearly to both technical and executive client stakeholders
- Mentoring junior team members and contributing to the growth of Exponent's AI capabilities and reusable assets
- Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field
- 5+ years of hands-on experience building and deploying machine learning and AI systems in production environments after the completion of the Ph.D.
- Demonstrated experience with generative AI, including LLM application development, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and RAG architectures
- Experience with agentic frameworks and orchestration tools (e.g., LangChain, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, or comparable)
- Strong software engineering fundamentals in Python; experience with APIs, microservices, and containerization (Docker, ECS/Kubernetes)
- Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS strongly preferred; Azure or GCP acceptable), including serverless and managed AI/ML services
- Familiarity with vector databases (e.g., pgvector, Pinecone, OpenSearch) and knowledge graph technologies is a plus
- Highly proficient in SQL, with the ability to work across large, complex enterprise datasets
- Experience working in consulting or client-facing roles, with the ability to manage ambiguity and deliver under tight timelines
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Presently legally authorized to work in the United States; no immigration sponsorship or processing required
- Experience applying AI in safety-critical, regulated, or physical-infrastructure industries (utilities, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation)
- Familiarity with AI governance frameworks, model risk management, and trustworthy AI principles
To learn more about life at Exponent and our impact, please visit the following links:
https://www.exponent.com/careers/life-exponent
https://www.exponent.com/company/our-impact
Attracting, inspiring, developing, and rewarding exceptional people with diverse backgrounds and expertise are central to our corporate culture. Our diverse team allows us to provide better value to our clients and enjoy an enriched work environment.
Our firm is committed to offering a variety of programs and resources to support health and well-being. We believe that providing competitive benefits as well as compensation and recognition programs empowers our staff to do work that makes a difference.
At Exponent, we have found that in-person interactions deepen employee engagement and are crucial for development, for realizing the full potential of our talented and diverse teams, and for building a more inclusive workplace where all have a sense of belonging. In our offices, you can expect a supportive culture and a collaborative, dynamic, multi-disciplinary work environment.
We value the rich lives our colleagues enjoy outside of work and understand that work/life balance is critical to our employees and their well-being. Consultants have the autonomy to balance their work and personal schedules so you can meet with clients, visit inspection sites, attend conferences, and make time for priorities outside of work, too. It is this flexible, agile work style and working hours that allow our teams to drive innovation and results in their own ways, while meeting the needs of clients.
Our consultants are rewarded for their technical and business contributions and have an opportunity to plan for future success and career growth. Exponent's total compensation plan is consistent with its expectations of the quality and quantity of work performed and with the professional standards set by Exponent. At the Associate and Senior Associate level, total compensation includes base salary, bi-weekly bonuses for high-intensity efforts, annual bonus and 401(k) employer contribution of 7% of base salary.
The base salary range for this position is dependent on experience and capabilities which will be assessed during the interview process.
Access benefits information on our Life@Exponent page:
https://www.exponent.com/careers/life-exponent
Exponent is a proud equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status.
If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may email us at HR-Accommodations@exponent.com.
US-TX-Houston
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