Lead AI Solutions Systems Engineer

Lead AI Solutions Systems Engineer

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Job Description

Airbus Digital is looking for a Lead AI Solutions Systems Engineer to join the team. This role can be based in Herndon, VA; Atlanta, GA; Sunnyvale, CA; or Mobile, AL .

Meet the Team

As a multinational company with a global footprint, our business needs protection from security threats and assurance that our end-users have access to the tools and data they need, when they need it. Our partners depend on us to be reliable and secure. Our information management professionals are highly motivated, dynamic and diverse – we value collaboration, teamwork, solidarity, helping each other, achieving results and always putting Airbus first.

Your Working Environment

The Washington, D.C. metro area is home to multiple Airbus offices, including the Airbus Experience Center, a collection of interactive, multimedia exhibitions, and the regional corporate headquarters adjacent to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Your Challenges

1) Technical Solution Strategy & Opportunity Framing (40%)

• Evaluate the technical feasibility, data readiness, and infrastructural viability of proposed AI initiatives.
• Act as the principal technical translator, formalizing complex business problems and translating them into rigorous mathematical, data engineering, and algorithmic requirements.
• Define and design technical validation metrics, including ML quality, precision, recall, system latency, data bias, drift, and LLM safety/alignment safeguards.
• Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders, helping them refine their goals and steer them toward highly viable, scalable AI architectures.
• Accompany the business throughout PoCs and their industrialization, from opportunity framing to production hand‑over.

2) High‑Level Solution Architecture & Prototyping (30%)

• Shape the technical response: design solution blueprints, evaluate build‑vs‑buy trade‑offs, and design staging plans.
• Collaborate with the AI Lead Developer to define local software development guidelines, API schemas, and MLOps release pipelines.
• Lead and frame assistant/agent coding practices across the team and its delivery partners, ensuring robust engineering discipline.
• Act as an active, hands‑on "doer": rapidly prototype initial Proof of Concepts (PoCs), establish development sandboxes, and actively co‑author code alongside delivery partners to accelerate industrialization.

3) Technology Evolution & Platform Governance (30%)

• Support the technical maturity ramp‑up of the team, raising the engineering and algorithmic capabilities of team members.
• Actively anticipate, de‑risk, and architect the late‑2026 transition to Gemini Enterprise, designing the migration paths from custom‑coded frameworks to robust no‑code agentic structures.
• Coordinate technically with European technical teams to align local implementations with global enterprise architectures, API standards, and corporate data governance frameworks.

4) Additional Responsibilities (10%)

• Other duties as assigned.

Your Boarding Pass

• Mandatory: Master’s degree in AI (ML/Data Science), Computer Science, or a highly quantitative field.
• Preferred: Specialization in NLP, Generative AI, or Agentic AI.

Experience

Mandatory

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in advanced analytics initiatives, mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mandatory mand
• Significant experience across corporate (HR, Finance, Facilities) and operations (Procurement, Supply Chain, Logistics); manufacturing experience is highly preferred.
• Proven technical leadership in designing and delivering production‑ready system architectures, with experience in database modeling and implementing microservices.
• Proven ability to shape both technical solutions and software architectures (frontend, backend, AI components).
• Robust experience in data modeling and data engineering, understanding business ontologies and modern data practices.
• Proven ability to frame complex business problems with non‑technical stakeholders, translating them into clear, production‑ready specifications.
• Experience in an innovation cell or startup environment, combined with experience in a large, matrixed global enterprise.

Preferred

• Experience in agent coding, or in framing and supporting an assistant/agent coding practice.

Travel Required

10% travel.

Citizenship

Authorized to work in the US.

Knowledge, Skills, Demonstrated Capabilities

Mandatory

• Technical & Scientific Rigor: mastery of mathematical, statistical, and algorithmic foundations of AI – from traditional ML to modern neural architectures – and ability to translate this knowledge into reliable, production‑ready designs.
• Software Engineering Blueprinting: expertise in SDLC, API contract design, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), regression testing, and deployment pipelines.
• Value‑Driven Mindset: prioritizes real‑world business outcomes and ROI over algorithmic sophistication.
• Open‑Mindedness: willingness to revisit established solutions when better options emerge.
• Organizational Tolerance: comfortable navigating complex corporate structures, data governance constraints, and dependencies on Europe‑led deployments.

Preferred

• Fluent in French.

Communication Skills

Mandatory

• Active Listening: exceptional listening and participatory communication.
• Influence & Collaboration: credibly defend solution choices, build consensus, and bring teams along.
• Coaching & Delegation: delegate responsibilities and coach junior/team members.

Technical Systems Proficiency

Mandatory

• Advanced Analytics & ML Platform: familiarity with SciKit and/or MLlib (PySpark) and reference platform for advanced analytics, ML pipelines, and operational data products. PyTorch, TensorFlow.
• Generative & Agentic AI Stack: Python/Langgraph or ADK; understanding of RAG and embeddings.
• DevOps & Cloud: Streamlit/React frontends, PostgreSQL/Firebase/BigQuery persistence, GCP Cloud Run, Python backend (Node/TypeScript possible).
• AI‑Assisted Coding Tools: proficiency in assistant/agent coding across supported technologies (Gemini CLI, Claude Code, Codex).

Preferred

• Familiarity with Palantir Foundry/Skywise.
• Optimizing LLM models using Vertex AI Studio on GCP.
• Experience in NLP and graph knowledge: Named entities, Spacy, FlairNLP, LLM‑Wiki, Neo4j, Spanner, GKG.
• Experience supporting teams to migrate from GitHub Copilot to Gemini CLI.

Physical Requirements

• Onsite: Hybrid (4 days in office / 1 day remote).
• Vision: daily ability to see and read computer screen and other electronic equipment.
• Hearing: daily ability to hear to participate in conversations in person and via teleconference or phone.
• Speaking: daily ability to speak in conversations and meetings.
• Equipment Operation: daily use of personal computer, telephone, copies, fax machine, and related office equipment.
• Carrying: daily ability to carry up to 10 lbs.
• Sitting: daily ability to sit for long periods on meetings or working on computer.
• Standing: daily ability to stand for discussions.
• Travel: 10% of the time independently and at short notice.
• Walking: daily ability to walk through office and production areas, including uneven surfaces.
• PPE: required PPE includes safety shoes, glasses, hearing protection, respirators/masks, and/or protective gloves as required by site.

Equal Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or other legally protected status.

As a leader in our field, Airbus provides relocation assistance for qualified positions and a comprehensive compensation and benefits package.

Airbus does not sponsor visas for U.S. positions unless specified. Only applicants with current work authorization will be considered.

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Company: Airbus Americas, Inc.

Employment Type: Direct Hire

Experience Level: Professional

Remote Type: Flexible

Job Family: Digital

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