AI Engineer

Umain is looking for an AI Engineer to build production-ready AI tools, workflows, and agentic systems for clients. This full-time role is based in Chicago, IL (onsite) and focuses on integrating LLMs and vision-capable models, designing agent architectures, and shipping reliable applications with evaluation and observability.

You’ll work with startups and global enterprises, moving from early problem framing to implementation, deployment, and continuous improvement. The role also includes technical leadership across client delivery, proposals, and internal frameworks that shape how Umain delivers AI solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with clients to clarify challenges, determine whether AI is appropriate, and assess feasibility and risk, including data security, privacy, licensing, and responsible AI.
• Design, prototype, build, and ship AI-powered applications, workflows, and agents for client use cases.
• Architect agentic systems, including context management, memory, orchestration, and tools, skills, and MCP integrations agents rely on.
• Select, integrate, and adapt foundation models such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others, including fine-tuning or combining models when needed.
• Design around model limitations in both architecture and product experience, using techniques like retrieval, chunking, embeddings, and redlining, and debugging AI systems when they misbehave.
• Build evaluation and observability into delivery, including stochastic test cases, trace-based analysis, and tools to benchmark and monitor models, prompts, and agents.
• Build the software, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructure to run AI products reliably at scale on Azure, GCP, or AWS.
• Own parts of project delivery and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders, leading client and internal workshops.
• Provide AI technical credibility for new business by joining pitches, shaping proposals and RFP responses, and communicating what is feasible.
• Help define Umain’s AI offerings and grow internal capability through frameworks, playbooks, knowledge sessions, and engineering standards.

Requirements

• Approximately 8 years engineering experience, with at least 4 years building AI-powered systems, or equivalent hands-on experience shipping AI in production.
• Hands-on experience with LLMs, embeddings, vector databases, prompt and context engineering, retrieval setups, fine-tuning, and model evaluation.
• Experience building agents, including memory, tool use, and orchestration, using at least one modern agent framework.
• Experience integrating AI services such as OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and Meta models.
• Strong software engineering skills in TypeScript and/or Python, including backend systems and data pipelines.
• Full-stack product thinking, with frontend or backend experience beyond traditional AI development, enabling end-to-end delivery.
• Proven experience deploying and running scalable applications in Azure, GCP, or AWS.
• Experience with Docker, CI/CD, and modern DevOps practices.
• A track record of delivering AI solutions, not just prototypes.
• Pragmatic judgment on when AI is the right fit and when it is not.
• Ability to turn ambiguous requests into concrete technical solutions for clients.
• Strong communication skills and comfort working in multidisciplinary teams.
• Curiosity about emerging AI capabilities and creativity in applying them.

Technologies

• TypeScript, Python
• LLMs, embeddings, vector databases
• OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Google Gemini, Meta
• Azure OpenAI, retrieval, chunking, redlining
• MCP, Docker, CI/CD
• Azure, GCP, AWS

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits that prioritize employee well-being, reflecting Nordic heritage.
• Healthcare benefits, including fully subsidized insurance premiums for employees and their families.
• Flexible time off with a minimum of 3 weeks off per year.
• Encouragement to take vacations in 2-week increments.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with machine learning, computer vision, generative images, and/or multimodal models.
• Experience in consultancy or client-facing environments.

Work Location / Schedule

• This full-time role is based in Chicago at the West Loop office.
• You must be in Chicago or willing to relocate, with a requirement of minimum 3 days in-office per week.

Compensation: USD 130,000 - 170,000 per year.