Applied AI Engineer

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the Applied AI Engineer will play a pivotal role in developing AI applications for use by the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) community, functioning in a fast-paced and agile way focusing on developing extremely innovative solutions to some of the most challenging problems of the organization.

This role will focus primarily on supporting our administrative, research, clinical and educational missions. This position involves developing applications and systems using AI technologies including applications of leveraging LLM APIs, automation / RPA, and machine learning algorithms to drive efficiencies and new capabilities across various University functions. The successful candidate will collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, build, and maintain advanced AI models and applications.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on technologist with proven experience developing and deploying AI / ML solutions in real-world environments. They are intellectually curious and proactive—equally adept at responding to strategic requests and independently exploring emerging technologies to build foundational knowledge. Exceptional communication skills are essential, as the role requires translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical audiences through materials such as executive briefings, white papers, and live demos. They are also a self-directed project manager, capable of leading research investigations and AI initiatives from concept through execution with minimal oversight. Above all, the successful candidate is energized by solving difficult problems and applying innovative, responsible approaches to advance CUIMC’s mission in healthcare, education, and research.

Responsibilities

Essential Duties :

AI Development and Implementation

• Design, build, and maintain applications using retrieval-augmented generations (RAG) techniques to enhance knowledge retrieval, automate workflows, and support decision-making across CUIMC operations.
• Develop scalable AI tools that can be integrated into CUIMC’s administrative and educational systems.
• Translate stakeholder goals into actionable AI use cases and recommend suitable tools or frameworks.
• Evaluate tradeoffs between model performance, interpretability, and operational scalability when selecting AI approaches.
• Serve as a technical advisor on AI feasibility, integration strategies, and ethical considerations.

Research and Innovation

Technical Support and Documentation

Responsible AI and Institutional Alignment

Data Analysis

People

Other

Minimum Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with at least two of the following domains : Creating solutions with a foundational LLM (OpenAI, Claude, etc.) or with a framework such as Langchain.

Using LLM’s for Data Extraction and Analytics from structured and unstructured data.

Natural language processing (NLP) deployed on Text and Voice channels.

Deploying AI solutions to a major cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and their AI / ML services.