Senior Applied AI Engineer

Proven Recruiting; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Proven Recruiting is seeking a Senior Applied AI Engineer to lead AI strategy within the Innovation Group in Irvine, CA. This role focuses on steering AI direction across multiple domains rather than only building features.

You will drive production-ready AI solutions, collaborate across business lines, and translate research into enterprise-grade implementations. A strong background in ML, DL, and MLOps is essential.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of technical engineering experience across languages (C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python; C# preferred).
• 2+ years of Python with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar ML frameworks.
• Proven experience applying LLMs, generative AI, or agent-based frameworks to real business problems.
• At least one large-scale ML/AI application shipped on a cloud platform (Azure, AWS, or GCP).
• Strong grounding in ML algorithms, deep learning architectures, and applied optimization.

Responsibilities

• Set AI strategy and direction across multiple domains (CV, NLP, recommendation, analytics).
• Guide ML models from development to production with pipelines, evaluation, and monitoring.
• Partner cross-functionally to identify and scope AI opportunities.
• Translate research into production-ready solutions.

Skills

Engineering experience

Python

LLMs / Generative AI

Cloud ML platforms

ML algorithms & DL

MLOps (Docker/Kubernetes)

Cross-functional communication

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

MLflow

Job description

Who We Are

Proven Recruiting has partnered with a mortgage lender, to find a Senior Applied AI Engineer to join their growing Innovation Group. This is a senior technical leadership role, driving AI strategy and direction across the business rather than just building individual features.

Location:

Irvine, CA

What You'll Do

• Set AI strategy and direction across multiple domains including computer vision, NLP, recommendation systems, and predictive analytics


• Guide ML models from development through production deployment, establishing best practices for data pipelines, model evaluation, and monitoring


• Partner cross-functionally with other business lines to identify and scope new AI opportunities


• Translate research and experimental AI work into enterprise-grade, production-ready solutions

What You'll Need

• 5+ years of technical engineering experience (C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python — C# preferred)


• 2+ years of Python experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar ML frameworks


• Proven experience applying LLMs, generative AI, or agent-based frameworks to real business problems


• At least one large-scale ML/AI application shipped on a cloud platform (Azure, AWS, or GCP)


• Strong grounding in ML algorithms, deep learning architectures, and applied optimization


• MLOps familiarity — Docker, Kubernetes, MLflow


• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in AI, ML, Data Science, or a related field


• Experience with transformers, edge AI, federated learning, or real-time inference


• Open-source contributions, patents, or published research

We actively support and promote people of various background from race, religion, gender to geographical area, university, lifestyle, and personality type. Proven recruiting is minority-owned, majority women and is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the community.

What does this position pay?

Compensation is determined by several factors which may include skillset, experience level, and geographic location.

The expected range for this role is $170,000 to $220,000 per year. Please note this range is an estimate and actual pay may vary based on qualifications and experience.