Lead AI Engineer

The Lead AI Engineer is a cornerstone of our AI development practice. This senior, hands-on role is responsible for guiding the design, development, and implementation of sophisticated AI applications and platform components.

The ideal candidate is a master builder who not only creates robust, scalable AI solutions but also actively seeks to automate and enhance their own workflows using the latest AI tools. You will be a key enabler for our engineering community, developing shared components for our Unified Agent Platform and evangelizing best practices to upskill the entire organization.

Your Day to Day

• Lead the hands-on design, coding, and deployment of complex AI-based solutions, from proof-of-concept to production. Ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, and deliver measurable business value.
• Architect and build reusable, shared components for our internal "Unified Agent Platform." Create documentation, examples, and starter kits to empower the broader product and engineering community to build their own AI-powered features.
• Act as a go-to expert for AI development. Mentor other engineers on the team and across the organization, providing guidance on best practices, new tools, and effective implementation of AI technologies.
• Proactively research, experiment with, and master emerging AI technologies and frameworks for the purposes of evaluating for future use and/or to build POCs. Maintain a deep understanding of the evolving landscape to ensure our solutions remain cutting-edge.
• Demonstrate a strong curiosity for leveraging AI to improve personal and team productivity. Actively find and implement AI-powered tools and workflows to make your own role and development processes more efficient.
• Diagnoses complex problems and lead/coordinate cross team collaboration to resolve.
• Act as subject matter expert in focus area(s) and acts as a lead role for both onshore and offshore vendor/supplier development teams

What We Need From You

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field of work or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience.

Experience

• Typically, a minimum of 10\+ years of progressive work-related experience with demonstrated proficiency in multiple disciplines, technologies, or processes related to the position.
• Experience working with a set of geographically dispersed team and bringing a holistic view of development projects.
• Proven experience in a senior or lead engineering role (e.g., Lead Developer, Principal Engineer, Senior Software Engineer) with a focus on building and shipping production-grade software.
• Demonstrated track record of designing and building architecturally sound solutions, with a strong grasp of system design, API development, and data modeling.
• Significant hands-on experience in developing and deploying AI/ML-powered applications.
• A history of mentorship and technical leadership, with a talent for explaining complex topics to diverse audiences.
• An innate curiosity and a portfolio or history that demonstrates a commitment to continually learning new technologies as they evolve.

Technical Skill \& Knowledge

• Deep understanding of modern AI concepts, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic workflows.
• Hands-on experience with major generative AI platforms and models. Direct experience building solutions with the Google Gemini family of models is preferred.
• Expert-level proficiency in Python and common AI/ML libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain, Hugging Face).
• Strong experience with a major cloud provider (GCP, AWS, Azure), including their AI/ML services. Familiarity with MLOps principles and tools for CI/CD, model deployment, and monitoring.
• Solid understanding of microservices architecture, API design (e.g., REST, gRPC), and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to display effective verbal and written communication skills when explaining complex technical issues to a variety of technical audiences, including clients, vendors, senior management and staff.
• Ability to establish and maintain a high level of customer trust and confidence in the software engineering team’s knowledge of the customer’s business needs.

Understands and implements work effectively utilizing agile best practices.

Travel - 10%

Location - Our hybrid work structure is an expectation of three (3) days a week in office. This expectation may be adjusted to evolve with the changing needs of the business.

The salary range for this role is $150,000 to $180,000\. This role is also eligible for bonus pay. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401K, and other benefits to employees.

#LI-ZY1

At IHG Hotels \& Resorts, we work together to deliver True Hospitality for Good on a global scale. With corporate offices and over 6,000 hotel destinations worldwide, a career at IHG is the perfect way to broaden your horizons. You’ll experience our unique culture and brilliant colleagues who will support and inspire you. With a host of corporate opportunities to choose from, wherever you are on your career journey, and whatever you want to achieve there’s Room for You at IHG.

Over recent years, we’ve transformed our company. We have bold ambitions to drive performance and maintain our relentless focus on growth in order to be the hotel company of choice that guests \& owners love.

We are a hospitality business at our core and value connections and being together helps us foster a unique sense of belonging that also supports productivity. That’s why here at IHG, we give our colleagues flexibility and balance – working in a hybrid way, blending office and remote working collectively. We recognise that every role is different, that’s why leaders work with teams to determine how and when they collaborate.

We provide a wide range of benefits designed to help you live your best work life. These include impressive room discounts across our many properties, recharge days and volunteering days throughout the year. Through our myWellbeing framework, we are committed to supporting wellbeing in your health, lifestyle, and workplace. We offer a unique and inclusive culture, where there is always Room for You to belong, grow and make a difference.

Our mission is to welcome everyone and create inclusive teams where we celebrate difference and encourage colleagues to bring their whole selves to work. IHG Hotels \& Resorts provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by applicable laws. We promote a culture of trust, support, and acceptance. Always welcoming different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

Don't quite meet every single requirement, but still believe you'd be a great fit for the job? We'll never know unless you hit the 'Apply' button. Start your journey with us today.

Important information:

• The salary range listed is the lowest to highest pay scale we, in good faith, believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s pay position within the pay range will be based on several factors, including relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, and business or organizational needs.
• No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until it is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, or other form of compensation allocable to a particular employee remain in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.
• If you require reasonable accommodation during the application process, please click here.
• IHG does not accept applications, inquiries, or unsolicited CVs/resumes from staffing or recruiting agencies. Please click here for our agency policy.
• If you are a resident of or applying to a job opening in the State of Washington, please click here to read about applicable benefits.