About the AI Engineer Role at Robert Half

Robert Half is thrilled to partner with a leading Austin-based innovator seeking a talented AI Engineer for an exciting contract opportunity. This onsite role in Austin, Texas, places you at the forefront of AI transformation, where you'll create, implement, and optimize cutting-edge AI and machine learning solutions. These solutions directly enhance engineering processes, streamline operations, and revolutionize enterprise workflows across the organization.

As an AI Engineer, you'll serve as the vital bridge between sophisticated AI technologies and practical business applications. Your work will deliver measurable value, turning complex data into actionable insights and automation. Ideal candidates possess deep technical expertise in AI/ML frameworks alongside proven success in data-intensive, process-oriented environments. This position offers the chance to work with state-of-the-art tools and collaborate in Austin's booming tech ecosystem.

Why This AI Engineer Role Stands Out

Join a forward-thinking company leveraging AI for competitive advantage. You'll contribute to production-grade systems that power real-world outcomes, from predictive analytics to generative AI applications. With Austin's vibrant tech scene as your backdrop, this onsite contract role provides hands-on experience with enterprise-scale AI deployments.

Key Responsibilities

Your impact will span the full AI lifecycle, from ideation to deployment and beyond. Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and deploying robust AI/ML models tailored for automation, predictive insights, predictive maintenance, and innovative generative applications that drive operational efficiency.
• Transforming proof-of-concept prototypes into scalable, production-ready systems utilizing industry-leading frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Scikit-learn.
• Collaborating closely with data engineering teams to design and implement reliable data pipelines, feature stores, and scalable architectures optimized for high-volume data processing.
• Mastering ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes and leveraging big data technologies like Apache Spark, Hadoop, or Kafka to meticulously clean, structure, and prepare diverse datasets for advanced modeling.
• Deploying AI solutions seamlessly on cloud platforms including Azure Machine Learning services, Databricks, AWS SageMaker, and integrating them frictionlessly into existing digital ecosystems and enterprise applications.
• Championing MLOps best practices to manage the complete model lifecycle—from training and versioning to continuous monitoring, retraining, and performance optimization in production environments.
• Fostering cross-functional partnerships with engineering, IT infrastructure, and business operations teams to ensure AI initiatives align precisely with strategic organizational objectives and KPIs.
• Distilling intricate AI/ML concepts into compelling, accessible narratives for non-technical executives, stakeholders, and end-users to facilitate adoption and buy-in.
• Upholding rigorous compliance with organizational standards for data security, ethical AI governance, bias mitigation, and responsible AI deployment practices.
• Maintaining comprehensive, living documentation that captures model assumptions, architectural decisions, performance metrics, and evolution over time for knowledge transfer and auditing.
• Proactively tracking and evaluating emerging AI innovations, including agentic AI systems, multimodal large language models (LLMs), and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architectures.
• Actively contributing to internal innovation labs, hackathons, and AI centers of excellence to pioneer next-generation solutions.

Required Qualifications

To excel in this AI Engineer position, bring:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or related quantitative field.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience building and deploying AI/ML solutions in production environments.
• Deep proficiency in Python and core ML libraries (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Hugging Face Transformers).
• Proven expertise in data engineering practices, ETL pipelines, and big data tools (Spark, Kafka, Airflow).
• Strong cloud platform experience, particularly Azure ML, Databricks, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated MLOps implementation using tools like MLflow, Kubeflow, or CI/CD for ML.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills for cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Familiarity with AI ethics, security, and governance frameworks.
• Passion for staying ahead of AI trends and rapid prototyping.

Why Join Us?

Partner with Robert Half to advance your AI career in Austin's tech hub. Enjoy competitive hourly compensation around $85/hr (equivalent to $160K-$190K annually), onsite collaboration in a dynamic environment, and exposure to enterprise AI at scale. This contract offers growth potential, skill expansion with bleeding-edge tech, and the satisfaction of delivering business-transforming AI solutions. Apply now to shape the future of AI with a top Austin innovator through Robert Half's trusted recruitment expertise. (Word count: 812)