Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Senior AI Engineer

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation$173K — $259K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, typically requires an advanced degree
  • Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in AI engineering
  • Strong programming skills in Python
  • Hands-on experience with AI-assisted coding tools like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or Codex
  • Experience deploying and maintaining ML/LLM systems in production
  • Deep understanding of data privacy and security in AI systems
  • 3+ years of experience with cloud technologies, preferably Azure

Responsibilities

  • Develop and implement AI systems with multi-step workflows and autonomous task orchestration
  • Design, build, and deploy scalable AI/ML solutions using Python and Azure services
  • Integrate AI capabilities into applications through APIs and microservices
  • Translate business and technical requirements into production-ready solutions
  • Collaborate with engineers and product managers to align AI solutions with requirements
  • Contribute to design discussions, tooling, and implementation trade-offs
  • Optimize and monitor AI solutions in Azure for performance and reliability

Benefits

  • Hybrid work model with 50% in-office requirement
  • Collaborative team environment focusing on AI and innovative solutions
  • Opportunities for continuous learning and professional development
  • Involvement in impactful projects supporting the Foundation's mission
  • Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
Full Job Description

The Team

The Team
Within Business Operations and the IT organization, the Enterprise Data Solutions (EDS) team designs and delivers enterprise-scale platforms and services across Knowledge Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Engineering, Business Intelligence, Data Infrastructure, and Health Data Platforms.

The EDS team’s mission is to empower the Foundation with reliable, innovative, and data-driven solutions that enable timely, informed decision-making and support critical operational workflows.
Central to this mission is the development of an AI-powered intelligent data and AI platform that enables employees to discover and interact with connected knowledge through conversational experiences. The Knowledge Mgmt & Insights (KMI) is an AI-first team and leverages technologies such as large language models (LLMs), knowledge graphs, and modern data platforms to deliver scalable, impactful enterprise-wide AI solutions.

*This position is a limited-term position for 24 months and located in our Seattle, Washington office. This is a hybrid role with a requirement of 50% in office.

Your Role

As a Senior AI Engineer, you are a highly skilled individual contributor responsible for designing, building, and deploying AI solutions that support foundation and affiliate staff around the world. You bring strong technical expertise and a hands-on approach to developing scalable, secure, and reliable AI systems that address real organizational needs.

You translate defined problem statements into effective technical solutions, partnering closely with the team and contributing directly to implementation and delivery. In this role, you play a key part in executing AI initiatives—designing solutions, integrating systems, and ensuring solutions are production-ready and aligned with engineering best practices.

You collaborate with Lead Engineers and cross-functional partners to deliver high-impact AI capabilities, while proactively identifying opportunities to improve performance, usability, and scalability. You contribute to code quality, documentation, and shared standards, helping strengthen the team’s engineering discipline.

You also support other engineers through knowledge sharing and collaboration, while continuing to grow your own expertise in AI technologies and approaches. Your work enables innovative access to knowledge assets at the foundation, helping drive better decision-making and streamline workflows to advance the organization’s mission globally.

What You’ll Do

Your work will include:

  • Develop and implement agentic AI systems, including multi-step workflows, tool use, and autonomous task orchestration using LLM-based frameworks

  • Design, build, and deploy scalable AI/ML solutions using Python and cloud-native services in Microsoft Azure (e.g., Azure OpenAI, Azure Foundry, Azure AI Search)

  • Integrate AI capabilities into enterprise applications and workflows through APIs, microservices, and Azure-based architecture

  • Translate business and technical requirements into robust, production-ready solutions, balancing performance, scalability, and maintainability

  • Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and stakeholders to deliver AI solutions aligned to requirements

  • Contribute to solution design and architecture discussions, including tooling and implementation trade-offs

  • Use AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot) to improve development efficiency while maintaining strong code quality

  • Contribute to code reviews, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines to ensure reliable and secure deployments

  • Deploy, monitor, and optimize AI solutions in Azure, addressing performance, cost and reliability

  • Troubleshoot and resolve issues across development and production environments

  • Contribute to reusable components, shared frameworks and engineering standards for AI development across the team

  • Support data preparation, prompt engineering, and evaluation processes to improve model performance and outcomes

  • Stay current with emerging AI technologies and proactively identify opportunities to apply them to enhance solutions where relevant

Your Experience

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; typically requires an advanced degree or equivalent experience and a minimum of 8 years of prior relevant experience.

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a commitment to operational excellence, continuous learning, and raising the bar on engineering practices

  • Strong programming skills in Python

  • Hands-on experience with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex or other AI-assisted coding tools

  • Hands-on experience with state-of-the-art LLMs, agentic systems, and RAG architecture, graph technologies and practical knowledge of embeddings, tokenization, evaluation, observability, and frameworks such as LangChain and LlamaIndex.

  • Experience deploying, monitoring, and maintaining ML/LLM systems in production.

  • Deep understanding of data privacy, security, and compliance considerations when building AI-powered systems.

  • Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage immediate and extended team, build consensus, and move work forward in ambiguous or rapidly evolving environments.

  • 3+ years of professional experience with cloud technologies preferably Azure

  • Proven ability to prototype, iterate, and productionize innovative AI solutions that deliver measurable business value.

  • Knowledge of ethics in AI and responsible AI development.

  • Experience with agile development methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban

Additional Requirements
  • Ability to travel as needed.

  • Ability to participate in on-call duties

  • Must be able to work effectively across geographic and cultural boundaries.

  • Commitment to the foundation’s mission and values, including diversity, equity, and inclusion.

*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (eg: H-1B, O-1, L-1,  E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.). 

The salary range for this role is $157,400 to $236,000 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $173,100 to $259,700 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a private foundation founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. The foundation was launched in 2000 and is based in Seattle, Washington. The primary goals of the foundation are to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology. The foundation is one of the largest charitable organizations in the world, with an endowment of over $50 billion. The foundation has made significant contributions to global health, including the eradication of polio in India and the development of new vaccines for malaria and tuberculosis. The foundation also supports a variety of educational initiatives, including the development of new technologies for teaching and learning.
Learn more about Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Size
1,600 employees
Industry
Founded
2000

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