Job SummaryWe're looking for a motivated Software Development Engineer I with an interest in AI and machine learning to join our growing AI engineering team. In this role, you will work across a portfolio of AI initiatives, helping take them from prototype and proof of concept to production systems the business can rely on. The work spans applied LLM and agent systems, intelligent automation of engineering workflows, and modeling and simulation of complex systems, and the mix shifts as new opportunities come in.
This is a role for someone who is comfortable with variety, picks up unfamiliar domains quickly, and wants to build depth in production AI systems. Familiarity with Confluent Kafka, Google Cloud, and BigQuery is important to this role, and you'll be supported in growing that expertise.
You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers, data scientists, ML engineers, product managers, and infrastructure teams to bring cutting-edge innovations to production at scale.
Responsibilities- Contribute to the development and productionalization of AI-driven systems and services across multiple initiatives, under the guidance of senior engineers.
- Implement, test, and maintain well-scoped components of AI applications and the pipelines that feed them.
- Help build and maintain streaming and batch data pipelines using Confluent Kafka and stream processing tooling such as Flink and Kafka Streams.
- Write and maintain queries and datasets in BigQuery that support AI workloads and reporting.
- Build and maintain APIs and microservices that support AI workloads.
- Support agent, tool-calling, and retrieval integrations so AI systems can query authoritative internal systems and return grounded, verifiable answers.
- Assist with modeling and simulation work, including digital twin approaches to complex infrastructure, where it accelerates engineering decision-making.
- Participate in code reviews, write unit and integration tests, and contribute to CI/CD automation.
- Support deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting of AI services on Google Cloud.
- Follow AI best practices related to ethical AI, responsible data handling, and evaluation of AI output quality.
- Document the systems you work on so they are supportable by the wider team.
- Continuously build your skills in AI/ML and modern data engineering practices.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field required
- 2-3 years of professional software development experience
- Strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to give and receive feedback
- Proficiency in Python, along with working familiarity with JavaScript, GIT, NodeJS, and SQL
- Exposure to Confluent Kafka or another event streaming platform, with interest in developing depth in Confluent tooling such as Flink, Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, Kafka Connect, or ksqlDB
- Working knowledge of SQL and exposure to a cloud data warehouse; experience with BigQuery preferred
- Exposure to Google Cloud or another major cloud provider, with interest in building and productionalizing services on Google Cloud
- Foundational understanding of AI/ML concepts, including large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, and tool or function calling
- Interest in working across several projects at once and adapting to shifting priorities
- Familiarity with containers (Docker) and CI/CD pipelines
- Exposure to prompt engineering is an added advantage
- Foundational understanding of networking concepts (TCP/IP, routing, ACLs, and firewall policy)
- Exposure to modeling, simulation, or network configuration analysis tooling such as Batfish is a nice to have
- The person should be a strong team player
- The person should be in the New York area and ready for the hybrid work culture (3 days in the office)
- Familiarity with AI Tools and AI First mindset
At Optimum, every action and interaction we take part in, is driven by our three Guiding Principles: Do What's Right, Drive One Optimum, and Make It Happen. These aren't just words, they help us build trust, create real community, and embrace new ways of thinking. Our employees are empowered to do the right thing for our customers and co-workers and to recognize and reward these behaviors when we see them. It's all part of the bigger picture of "Be The Difference" where each employee knows they have the power to enact real change, share new ideas, and understand that learning never stop.
If you have the drive to succeed and are ready to embark on a thrilling career, seize this opportunity today, and join our winning team. Together, we'll shape the future of connectivity.
All job descriptions and required skills, qualifications and responsibilities for a particular position are subject to modification by the Company from time to time, in the Company's discretion based on business necessity.
Pay is competitive and based on a number of job-related factors, including skills and experience. The starting pay rate/range at time of hire for this position in the posted location is $83,538.00 - $137,241.00 / year. The rate/range provided herein is the anticipated pay at the time of hire and does not reflect future job opportunity.
We appreciate your interest in this opportunity. Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. Please note that at this time, we do not provide visa sponsorship for employment.
