Senior AI Engineer

Technology Innovation Institute (TII) is a publicly funded research institute based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is home to a diverse community of leading scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and researchers from around the globe, focused on transforming challenges into pioneering research and technology prototypes that advance society.

This role is part of TII’s Robotics Research Center. We are looking for a highly skilled Senior AI Engineer with deep expertise in Large Language Models (LLMs), Vision-Language Models (VLMs), and agentic model architectures. The ideal candidate should have a strong foundation in both research and engineering, with hands-on experience in developing, fine-tuning, and deploying advanced AI systems. The selected individual will contribute to building scalable, production-ready AI applications, integrating multimodal reasoning, and pushing the boundaries of autonomous intelligent agents.

Key Responsibilities:

• LLM/VLM Development & Integration: Design, train, fine-tune, and optimize LLMs and VLMs for real-world applications.
• Agentic AI Systems: Develop autonomous agent frameworks capable of multi-step reasoning, planning, and tool use.
• Engineering & Deployment: Build scalable, low-latency inference systems for large models using frameworks like DeepSpeed, vLLM, TensorRT, or ONNX Runtime. Implement distributed training and optimize deployment for edge devices, GPUs, and cloud-based platforms.
• Research & Innovation: Stay updated with the latest advancements in LLMs, multimodal models, and autonomous agents.

Core Competencies:

• AI/ML Expertise: Strong understanding of LLMs, VLMs, transformers, and multimodal architectures, along with experience in fine-tuning and evaluation techniques.
• Agentic Frameworks: Familiarity with frameworks such as LangChain, OpenAI Agents, and multiple coordination systems.
• Development Tools & Libraries: Proficient in core AI frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, and supporting tools such as vector databases and monitoring frameworks.
• Programming Skills: Proficient in Python and C++ for AI research and optimization.
• Systems & Infrastructure: Knowledge in Docker, GPU optimization, and cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, and Azure.

Qualifications:

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, AI/ML, Robotics, or a related field.
• Proven track record of working with LLMs, VLMs, or agentic frameworks, and experience in productionizing AI systems at scale.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with reinforcement learning.
• Background in robotics, simulation environments, or embodied AI.
• Publications in AI conferences.

At TII, we are dedicated to helping society overcome significant hurdles through scientific discovery and inquiry, utilizing state-of-the-art facilities and collaboration with leading international institutions.