Consultancy – MTIT/BSS – Innovation – AI Engineer

The Division of Information Technology provides support to the IAEA in the field of information and communication technology (ICT), including information systems for technical programmes and management. It is responsible for planning, developing, and implementing an ICT strategy, for setting and enforcing common ICT standards throughout the Secretariat and for managing central ICT services. The IAEA’s ICT infrastructure comprises hardware and software platforms, and cloud and externally hosted services. The Division has implemented an IT service management model based on ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) and Prince2 (Projects in a Controlled Environment) best practices.

The Business Solutions Section provides information systems development and support services to IAEA programme areas and to the IAEA.

The Innovation Team partners with IAEA business areas and other MTIT teams to conceive, champion and develop new approaches to solving problems as well as pursue innovations according to a strategic focus. The Innovation Team is part of the Business Solutions Section, which is situated in the Division of Information Technology.

Main Purpose

The AI Engineer will be part of the Innovation Team, Business Solutions Section. This role is a technical specialist and a key contributor to the development and integration of advanced AI-driven functionalities into applications. The AI Engineer provides expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, and data engineering to enhance business processes and systems, applying technical knowledge to design, build, and implement effective AI solutions. The AI Engineer plays several roles in the team:

AI Specialist, collaborating with internal clients to understand their needs, define challenges, and devise appropriate AI-driven solutions.

Solution Designer, defining sustainable AI solutions that integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) and other cloud-based AI services.

Machine Learning Engineer, developing, implementing, and supporting AI solutions, and performing other technical tasks as a member of a project/product team.

Data Engineer, designing, implementing, and managing data pipelines for structured and unstructured data, processing large datasets, and ensuring the efficient flow of data to support AI models.

Technical Expert, participating in activities such as quality assurance, continuous process improvement, and providing AI development expertise across the organization.

The ideal candidate will have a background in machine learning and data engineering, and experience working with agile teams to deliver AI-based solutions, including solutions to enhance and automate business processes.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• Analyses client and business needs to define user and system requirements for AI-driven solutions.
• Designs and implements AI solutions using Large Language Models (LLMs) and other cloud-based AI services following our technological stack on Microsoft Azure native services, integrates LLMs into various applications and troubleshoots and resolves technical issues.
• Develops and maintains data pipelines to ensure efficient data processing and integration for AI models as well as collaborates with other data engineers as required
• Implements prompt engineering techniques to enhance the performance and capabilities of language models.
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams to understand requirements and deliver high-quality AI solutions.
• Provides technical expertise and guidance on AI development across the organization and communicates complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders effectively
• Ensures quality assurance and continuous process improvement in AI solution development.
• Develops and implements best practices for AI and machine learning projects.
• Evaluates and integrates new AI technologies and frameworks to enhance existing systems.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Required:

• Change Management

• Client orientation

• Information Architecture

• Software Analysis
• Project Management

Assets:

• Persuasion and influencing

• Analytical thinking

• Computer Programming

Qualifications and Experience

• University degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, IT Security, or a related field
• At least 3 years of experience integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) or other cloud-based AI services into applications to provide advanced AI-driven functionalities is required. Experience on the .NET/Azure stack is preferred.
• At least 3 years of experience in data engineering and data pipeline development (e.g. Azure Data Factory)
• Experience in the development of prompt engineering techniques to enhance the performance and capabilities of language models.
• Experience in developing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) based solutions.
• Strong understanding of machine learning algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) techniques.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as .NET, Python, or similar.
• Experience in cloud-based development (Azure, AWS or Google Cloud) and the use of common frameworks.
• Experience with Azure services, .NET development, Azure OpenAI, Azure Foundry, API integration is desirable.
• Familiarity with AI frameworks and libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar is desirable.
• Experience with several popular LLM Foundational Models, such as GPT-4, BERT, LLaMA, Mistral is desirable.
• Experience with model training or fine-tuning is desirable.
• Good oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

Remuneration

The remuneration for this consultancy is a daily fee of up to a maximum of € 375, based on qualifications and experience. In case duty travel is required within the assignment, a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and travel costs are provided. Health coverage and pension fund are the responsibility of the incumbent.