Lead AI Systems Engineer
Summary
Leads clean-slate architecture and deployment of an AI-powered assurance suite: builds private RAG pipelines (vector DBs, pgvector), hosts local/open-weight LLMs (vLLM/Ollama, Mistral/Llama) on EU cloud, and enforces a three-tier isolation layer air-gapping client data from public LLMs. 100% remote B2B contract with CET-hours overlap.
Compensation: No equity
Functional Stream: Platform Architecture, AI & Security (Green / Orange Stream) Reports To: SAME Engagement Type: Independent Contractor Agreement (B2B Retainer / 1.0 Dedicated FTE) Location: 100% Remote (Core CET business hours overlap required)
- Role Purpose & Business Impact Direct the clean-slate design, LLM orchestration, and deployment of the AI-powered assurance suite. This role owns system architecture, prompt engineering, private RAG pipelines, local/private LLM hosting, and the proprietary multi-stage concierge isolation layer that air-gaps client data from external public LLMs.
- Key Responsibilities Clean-Slate RAG Architecture: Deploy a production-grade Retrieval-Augmented Generation pipeline using vector databases and semantic search to ingest and benchmark client policies. Private & Locally Hosted Model Deployment: Architect private, locally hosted model environments (e.g., vLLM, Ollama, open-weights Mistral/Llama models, or private Azure/AWS EU enterprise endpoints) to satisfy strict data privacy requirements that prohibit public OpenAI/Claude ingestion. Three-Stage Concierge Isolation Layer: Build and enforce the three-tier architecture (Core Internal Application Concierge Application Layer External Public Data Gatherer) to guarantee zero proprietary data leakage to public models. Model Training on Client Standards: Purge legacy training configurations and re-train models specifically on client compliance standards and site assessment templates. Assurance Workflow Specialist Function: Lead technical setup and data mapping for specialized assurance workflows and audit compliance modules. Human-in-the-Loop QA Protocols: Build confidence-scoring thresholds and automated flag triggers that route ambiguous assessment sections to human experts for verification. Corporate IP Enforcement: Ensure all code, configurations, and API keys reside strictly within corporate GitHub repositories and enterprise accounts.
- Candidate Profile & Qualifications Experience: 6+ years in backend software engineering with 3+ years in production LLM/RAG system deployment and infrastructure security. Tech Stack: Python, LangChain/LlamaIndex, vLLM/Ollama, Private Cloud EU endpoints, FastAPI, PostgreSQL (pgvector), Docker. Compliance & Security: Working knowledge of GDPR data security mandates, tenant data isolation, and API encryption standards.