Lead AI Engineer

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Kforce has a client in Charlotte, NC that is seeking a Lead AI Engineer to lead IVR and Conversational AI initiatives, designing scalable LLM and NLP solutions for high-volume customer interactions. This role will drive architecture, best practices, and innovation across voice AI systems.

Key Responsibilities:

• Architect and develop AI-driven IVR and conversational systems using Python
• Build NLP models for text classification and clustering to support intent detection and call routing
• Perform data analysis using SQL on large-scale IVR and interaction datasets
• Design and deploy LLM workflows (prompt engineering, RAG, evaluation) for voice and chat use cases
• Lead development of agentic AI workflows for multi-step customer interactions
• Establish LLMOps best practices, including monitoring, evaluation, and lifecycle management
• Partner with IVR platform, speech engineering, and product teams
• Mentor offshore and junior AI engineers

REQUIREMENTS:

• 12+ years of experience in AI / ML
• Very strong proficiency in Python
• Proven expertise in NLP, including: Text classification; Clustering
• Strong experience in data analysis using SQL
• Hands-on experience with LLMs: Prompt engineering; Evaluation frameworks; Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Nice to have:

• Experience with Agentic AI and multi-agent orchestration
• Experience with LLMOps/MLOps in production environments
• Familiarity with IVR platforms and speech technologies (ASR, NLU, TTS)
• AWS/Google Cloud Platform

Libraries & Tools:

• Python/ML: NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, XGBoost
• NLP: spaCy, Hugging Face Transformers, NLTK, Sentence-Transformers
• LLM Frameworks: LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI SDK
• Agentic AI (Good to Have): LangGraph, AutoGen, CrewAI
• Data & SQL: Oracle, MySQL, SQLAlchemy
• Vector Databases: FAISS, Pinecone, Weaviate, Qdrant
• LLMOps/MLOps (Good to Have): MLflow, Weights & Biases, BentoML, Airflow

The pay range is the lowest to highest compensation we reasonably in good faith believe we would pay at posting for this role. We may ultimately pay more or less than this range. Employee pay is based on factors like relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, location, performance, union contract and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.

We offer comprehensive benefits including medical/dental/vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), and life, disability & ADD insurance to eligible employees. Salaried personnel receive paid time off. Hourly employees are not eligible for paid time off unless required by law. Hourly employees on a Service Contract Act project are eligible for paid sick leave.

Note: Pay is not considered compensation until it is earned, vested and determinable. The amount and availability of any compensation remains in Kforce's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified in its discretion consistent with the law.

This job is not eligible for bonuses, incentives or commissions.

Kforce is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.

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