Junior AI Engineer - Application Security & AI Systems

Junior AI Engineer - Application Security & AI Systems - Contract - Remote - $60.00 - $76.66/hr. The final salary or hourly wage, as applicable, paid to each candidate/applicant for this position is ultimately dependent on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate's/applicant's qualifications, skills, and level of experience as well as the geographical location of the position. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Sponsorship not available.

Our client is seeking Junior AI Engineer - Application Security & AI Systems for a Remote Opportunity
Role Description
Development & Enforcement
Design, develop, and maintain AI-powered applications, services, and intelligent automation solutions under the guidance of senior engineers. Contribute to the development of reusable APIs, frameworks, libraries, and tooling that support AI adoption across engineering teams. Implement security controls and automated checks within development workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and AI-enabled engineering environments.

Participate in secure code reviews and support remediation efforts for applications developed in Python, JavaScript, Go, Java, and related technologies. Follow secure coding standards, responsible AI guidelines, and software development best practices. Support DevSecOps initiatives by helping integrate security controls throughout the software development lifecycle. Collaboration & Expertise
Collaborate with engineering, architecture, product, security, and operations teams to develop secure AI-enabled solutions. Assist in designing and implementing AI applications and cloud-native services.

Participate in architecture discussions, design reviews, sprint planning sessions, and technical workshops. Work with software engineers to incorporate security and responsible AI practices into development workflows. Support enterprise AI adoption efforts by contributing technical insights and implementation support. Analysis & Configuration
Assist with application security assessments, vulnerability analysis, and remediation planning. Evaluate AI-powered applications and workflows for risks such as prompt injection, unauthorized access, data exposure, and misuse.

Participate in threat modeling activities for applications, APIs, and cloud-native environments. Help configure security controls across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises platforms. Create and maintain technical documentation, implementation guides, standards, and operational procedures. Operational Support
Support production AI systems, applications, and development platforms to maintain reliability and security. Troubleshoot application issues, security findings, and operational incidents. Assist with responding to application security events, AI misuse concerns, and data protection issues.

Monitor application performance, operational health, and security metrics. Contribute to platform maintenance, optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives. Participate in scheduled deployment activities, production support rotations, after-hours maintenance windows, and on-call support as required. Contribute to team training initiatives focused on AI technologies, secure software engineering, and emerging tools. Promote a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.

Innovation and Research
Research emerging AI, cybersecurity, and software engineering technologies and best practices. Prototype new AI capabilities, automation solutions, and developer productivity tools. Assist in evaluating agentic AI systems and intelligent automation opportunities. Explore secure implementation patterns for LLM-powered applications and RAG-based architectures.

Skills & Requirements
3-5 years of professional software engineering experience building, deploying, and supporting enterprise or cloud-based applications.
1-2 years of hands-on AI experience, including LLMs, generative AI applications, RAG architectures, AI agents, or intelligent automation solutions. Programming experience in Python, JavaScript, Go, Java, or similar modern languages. Familiarity with APIs, cloud platforms, containers, CI/CD pipelines, and Git-based development workflows.

Basic understanding of secure coding principles, application security concepts, and common software vulnerabilities. Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills. Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work across technical and non-technical teams. Ability to work a flexible schedule when required to support production deployments, operational incidents, maintenance activities, or on-call rotations.

Demonstrated willingness to continuously learn, evaluate, and adopt emerging technologies, AI frameworks, security tools, cloud services, and engineering platforms. Ability to adapt to changing business priorities, project requirements, and technology environments while maintaining high-quality delivery standards. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Information Systems, or a related technical field. Pluses, nice to haves?

Experience developing AI-powered applications or automation solutions in development, testing, or production environments. Benefits/Other Compensation
Medical, Dental, Life Insurance, 401K. Why Hays? You will be working with a professional recruiter who has intimate knowledge of the industry and market trends. Your Hays recruiter will lead you through a thorough screening process in order to understand your skills, experience, needs, and drivers.

You will also get support on resume writing, interview tips, and career planning, so when there's a position you really want, you're fully prepared to get it. Nervous about an upcoming interview? Unsure how to write a new resume? Visit the Hays Career Advice section to learn top tips to help you stand out from the crowd when job hunting. Hays is committed to building a thriving culture of diversity that embraces people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better we serve our candidates, clients, and employees.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer, and we comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, HIV-positive status, as well as any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. One of Hays' guiding principles is 'do the right thing'. We also believe that actions speak louder than words.

In that regard, we train our staff on ensuring inclusivity throughout the entire recruitment process and counsel our clients on these principles. If you have any questions about Hays or any of our processes, please contact us. In accordance with applicable federal, state, and local law protecting qualified individuals with known disabilities, Hays will attempt to reasonably accommodate those individuals unless doing so would create an undue hardship on the company.

Any qualified applicant or consultant with a disability who requires accommodation in order to perform the essential functions of the job should call or text . Drug testing may be required; please contact a recruiter for more information.
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