Lead AI Engineer

We are searching for a skilled, innovation-driven Lead AI Engineer to join our team and spearhead the development of cutting-edge Generative AI solutions. If you're passionate about artificial intelligence and adept at building systems that deliver measurable business impact, this opportunity is ideal for you. You will work with a dynamic group of professionals to create and deploy AI-driven technologies that tackle real-world challenges — all within a highly collaborative, supportive, and forward-focused environment.

As a technical leader, you won't just write code; you will shape our AI technical roadmap, architect complex enterprise-grade systems, act as a trusted advisor to our clients, and mentor and grow a high-performing engineering team.

If you love Python, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and driving innovation at the intersection of AI strategy and software craftsmanship, we want to hear from you!

Responsibilities:

• Drive technical vision and architecture by leading the design and implementation of highly scalable, robust enterprise AI applications, including complex multi-agent workflows, custom search engines, and end-to-end AI systems

• Partner closely with clients and business stakeholders to translate business goals into technical roadmaps and recommend high-impact, feasible LLM-driven solutions

• Establish engineering standards by setting the benchmark for code quality, architectural patterns, robust data pipelines, smart prompt management, and automated evaluation frameworks

• Foster a culture of learning and high performance through design reviews, development best practices, and active mentorship of junior and senior developers

• Direct R&D and innovation by guiding research on emerging models, framing prototyping strategies (PoCs), and standardizing the tools and frameworks used to stay on the bleeding edge of Generative AI

• 5+ years of experience in a Lead, Principal, or Senior AI/Software Engineering role, with a track record of architecting and shipping complex, production-grade AI or ML-based solutions

• At least 1 year of relevant leadership experience

• Master-level proficiency in Python (specifically FastAPI or equivalent web frameworks) and a strong foundation in core NLP concepts (semantic similarity, tokenization, NER, text classification)

• Expertise in modern Generative AI design patterns, particularly RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), autonomous multi-agent networks, and tool integration

• Production experience with major LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, Gemini) and framework orchestration tools such as LangGraph or LlamaIndex

• Background in optimizing AI applications for performance, security (prompt injection mitigation, data privacy), cloud costs, and system evaluation using programmatic or LLM-as-a-judge approaches

• Capability to quickly direct and build intuitive UI/UX prototypes using Streamlit, Gradio, or equivalent

• Outstanding leadership and communication skills to lead engineering discussions, bridge the gap between technical and non-technical audiences, and present technical architectures to executives and clients

• Strong English communication skills (B2 level or higher)

• Enjoyable working environment, whether it is the vibrant office or the comfort of your own home 
• Opportunity to work abroad for up to two months per year 
• Relocation opportunities within our offices in 55+ countries
• Corporate and social events   
• Leadership development, career advising, soft skills and well-being programs 
• Certifications, including GCP, Azure and AWS
• Unlimited access to EPAM's internal learning database
• Free English classes with certified teachers 
• Discounts in local language schools, including online courses for the Kazakh language
• Medical & family care package   
• Six trust days per year (sick leave without a medical certificate)   
• Benefits package (sports activities, a variety of stores and services)
• Housing support program: preferential mortgage access via Otbasy Bank partnership