Senior MLOps Lead for AI Test Platform & Scale

TechDigital Group; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology company is seeking an AI Engineer to build intelligent, data-driven platforms for Generative AI systems in Austin, Texas. The ideal candidate will have over 3 years of backend experience and a proven track record of deploying AI features at scale. Key responsibilities include developing automated tools for evaluation and conducting rigorous data analyses. Strong proficiency in Python, along with hands-on experience with Docker and Kubernetes, is essential. Qualified candidates will have experience integrating machine learning models effectively.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of backend or distributed systems experience.
• Experience shipping AI/LLM features serving real users.
• Proficient in Python for backend development.

Responsibilities

• Build automated evaluation tools for AI systems.
• Conduct statistical analyses to ensure reliability.
• Benchmark and integrate AI/ML models into systems.

Skills

Backend or distributed systems experience

Experience shipping AI/LLM features

Python proficiency

Cloud infrastructure experience (AWS/GCP/Azure)

Hands-on with Docker and Kubernetes

Understanding of LLM integration

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Build intelligent, data-driven platform. The focus is to support the development of next-generation test analytics and test agents that enable faster insights, improved diagnostics, and scalable infrastructure for Generative AI systems connecting test stations, line level data and pipelines . You will build automated evaluation tools, and conduct rigorous statistical analyses to ensure the reliability of both human and AI-based assessment systems.

Benchmark, adapt, and integrate AI/ML models into existing software systems. Independently run and analyze ML experiments for real improvements.
Must-Have Requirements
Requirement Details
Backend/Systems Experience 3+ years building production backend or distributed systems (pre-AI experience required)
Production AI Systems Has shipped AI/LLM features serving real users at scale — not just prototypes or demos
Agentic Systems Has built AI agents, skills, tools, or MCP (Model Context Protocol) integrations
Python Proficient for backend development
Secondary Language Working knowledge of Go, TypeScript, or Rust
Cloud Infrastructure Deep experience with AWS/GCP/Azure — cost optimization, compute decisions, not just deployment
Container & Orchestration Hands-on with Docker and Kubernetes — can build, deploy, debug, and scale services themselves
LLM Integration Understands token economics, context limits, rate limiting, structured outputs, API failure modes
LLM Evaluation Understands how to evaluate LLM outputs and the inherent challenges (non-determinism, quality measurement, regression detection)
Hands-On Engineer Not just an architect — writes code, debugs production issues, deploys their own work

Preferred / Differentiators
• Built multi-step agentic workflows with tool use and function calling
• Experience with agent orchestration frameworks (LangGraph, CrewAI, or custom)
• Built guardrails, fallbacks, or graceful degradation for AI systems
• Streaming inference and async agent orchestration
• Cost/latency optimization: caching, batching, prompt compression
• ML observability tools: Langfuse, Arize, Braintrust, W&B
• Retrieval systems (vector search, hybrid search) — as a tool, not the focus

Screening Questions for Candidates
1. "Describe a production AI agent or skill system you built. What broke and how did you fix it?"
2. "Have you built MCP servers/integrations or custom tool-use systems for LLMs?"
3. "How do you evaluate whether an LLM-based feature is working well? What makes this hard?"
4. "Walk me through how you'd deploy and scale an AI service on Kubernetes."

Not a Fit If
• Primarily a model trainer/fine-tuner (we're not training models)
• AI experience is mainly academic, research, or tutorial-based
• No production systems experience (only notebooks/demos)
• Looking for entry-level role with heavy mentorship
• Background is primarily data science/analytics rather than engineering
• "Architects" who don't write or deploy code themselves