Staff AI Engineer (m/f/d)

Join us on our mission to make education accessible for all.

Join our AI Engineering Team in full-time (40 hrs./week) as Staff AI Engineer (m/f/d).

This position is available as a full-time role at our IU office locations or remotely (must reside in Germany or the UK).

In this role, you’ll take ownership of high-impact AI initiatives, working closely with senior leadership to design and deploy scalable AI solutions for the largest European EdTech player.

• Drive AI innovation by leading and implementing AI automation initiatives, including customer service case routing and internal workflow optimization using LLMs (GPT-4, Claude, Mistral), LangChain, AutoGen, and CrewAI.

• Solve high-impact problems independently, developing AI-native applications and deploying LLM-based architectures with FastAPI, Python, and cloud-based deployments (AWS/GCP/Azure) to significantly reduce engineering time and effort.

• Lead AI-powered automation efforts, integrating LLMs with external APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face), databases (PostgreSQL, Pinecone, Weaviate, ChromaDB), and business logic to improve operational efficiency.

• Develop scalable and cost-efficient AI systems, optimizing LLM inference pipelines with vLLM, DeepSpeed, LoRA, and FSDP, and implementing best practices for AI observability, safety, and monitoring (Guardrails AI, Prometheus, Grafana, LangSmith).

• Foster collaboration and AI adoption, working closely with the CTO, senior engineers, data scientists, and process managers to ensure AI solutions align with business objectives and integrate seamlessly into MLOps pipelines (Kubernetes, Ray Serve, BentoML, CI/CD workflows).

• Proven ability to lead and take ownership of AI initiatives, solving ambiguous and complex engineering challenges with a solution-oriented mindset and strong problem-solving abilities.

• Deep curiosity and adaptability, always seeking new LLM advancements and finding creative ways to apply them in a fast-paced, evolving AI ecosystem using cutting-edge frameworks like Hugging Face, OpenAI API, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) techniques.

• Strong problem-solving mindset, comfortable working autonomously on high-stakes AI engineering projects, pushing boundaries in AI automation, generative AI applications, and multi-agent system architectures.

• Experience with AI development and integration, including prompt engineering, fine-tuning LLMs, vector search (FAISS, Pinecone), knowledge retrieval, and multi-agent collaboration using AutoGen and CrewAI.

• Collaborative and business-driven approach, able to translate AI potential into real-world impact by engaging with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to develop scalable, AI-powered automation solutions.

• Be you at IU: We support and empower you to achieve your personal and professional goals. After all, your happiness significantly contributes to a positive and productive environment.

• Work wherever you want…: Digitalization is part of our DNA. Decide for yourself which place sparks the most productivity in you. You love remote work? No problem! Would you like to work abroad for a while? Our WorkFlex Benefit makes it possible.

• … and flexible in terms of time: It’s your job; We trust you and give you the greatest possible freedom to organize yourself.

• Take your knowledge to a new level: Where else, if not with us? Enjoy free access to all our e-learning platforms. In addition, we will finance you a complete technology course of your choice.

• Make your journey sustainable: Whether it’s a DeutschlandTicket subsidized down to less than 9 euros or a Jobrad (bike leasing) offer, enjoy the freedom of mobility for both work and personal activities, while also making an eco-friendly choice.

• 33 days to rest: Taking breaks is important! In addition to 30 flexible vacation days per year, we also give you an extra day off on your birthday, as well as days off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

IU International University of Applied Science (IU) is Germany’s largest university of applied science – and we are not just an excellent choice for studying, but also an outstanding Great Place to Work®! As an Edutech company, we rely on state-of-the-art technology and data-driven approaches. That’s why AI-driven voice assistants and other GPT systems have long become part of our daily work routine, helping us to focus on exciting projects. Here at IU over 4,000 employees are dedicated to making a difference.

Become part of Data Science & AI team! We develop solutions to further increase our efficiency and productivity – through automation, a higher clock rate and better monitoring of our processes.

Sounds like the perfect job for you? Then apply now! Simple, fast and even without a cover letter.* If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Anita at Anita.Streitferdt@iu.org.

*Please note that, for data protection reasons, we are not allowed to process email applications.

Actions speak louder than words: We cherish our “Culture of Everyone” and would like to take this opportunity to empathize that we do not tolerate discrimination towards any race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. We welcome you as you are and look forward to nurturing our diverse community at the IU!