Lead AI Engineer

Lead AI Engineer

Company: Thoughtworks Location: Australia (Onsite) Industry: Technology

Thoughtworks is seeking a passionate and skilled Lead AI Engineer to spearhead our AI engineering practice at a team or program level. This is an exciting opportunity to guide the design and delivery of cutting-edge generative AI solutions, shape technical roadmaps, and uphold the highest standards of engineering excellence. You will provide technical leadership to a team, collaborate closely with product and business stakeholders, and serve as a trusted technical consultant.

About the Role

As a Lead AI Engineer, you will be instrumental in:

• Leading a cross-functional team of software engineers, data scientists, and specialists in delivering Generative AI (GenAI) solutions.
• Guiding the design and implementation of scalable, reliable, and production-ready AI-powered systems.
• Setting technical direction, ensuring AI solutions are optimized for performance, cost, and maintainability.
• Collaborating with product managers, designers, and stakeholders to align technical solutions with business objectives.
• Establishing and promoting best practices in AI engineering, including testing, guardrails, responsible AI, monitoring, and documentation.
• Uplifting the team by sharing knowledge, tools, and practices to enable effective contributions from both subject matter experts and generalists.
• Providing architectural guidance, balancing experimentation with delivery in short, safe cycles.
• Reviewing designs and code to ensure quality and consistency in AI-enabled features.
• Directing GenAI application optimization to enhance accuracy, performance, and cost-efficiency, and determining when model tuning is necessary.

Requirements

Technical Skills

• Strong expertise in Python and modern software engineering practices (CI/CD, testing, version control, system reliability).
• Proven ability to design and integrate end-to-end AI systems, ensuring scalability, maintainability, and performance.
• Deep experience with GenAI and agentic frameworks, with the ability to guide teams in their effective application.
• Expertise in building and scaling Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines and integrating vector databases into production systems.
• Experience deploying AI solutions on major cloud platforms, utilizing containers and CI/CD pipelines for reproducibility.
• Proficiency in LLMOps practices and monitoring production systems with observability tools.
• Experience with fine-tuning, model adaptation, and advanced use of ML/NLP frameworks.

Professional Skills

• Ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences and influence senior decision-makers.
• Proven ability to inspire, mentor, and develop high-performing engineering teams, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate technological trends and proactively shape the team's technical direction.
• Skilled in navigating complex internal and external dynamics, driving consensus, and achieving technical and business goals.

Learning & Development

At Thoughtworks, we believe in a personalized career journey. While you have autonomy over your development path, your growth is supported by interactive tools, numerous development programs, and a community of colleagues eager to help you succeed. We value mutual growth and empower our employees in their career journeys.

About Thoughtworks

Thoughtworks is a vibrant and inclusive community of bright, supportive colleagues dedicated to revolutionizing technology. As a leading technology consultancy, we push boundaries through purposeful and impactful work. For over 30 years, we have delivered extraordinary impact by helping clients solve complex business problems with technology as a key differentiator. Bring your expertise and commitment to continuous learning to Thoughtworks, and let's be extraordinary together.