AI Architect

Job Description SUMMARY

The AI Architect is responsible for designing and delivering production‑ready AI solutions across the organization. This individual will manage a small team of AI Engineers and occasionally flex roles from UX, front‑end, and subject matter experts to create innovative solutions that leverage machine learning for enterprise‑wide impact. The AI Architect will provide direct oversight of AI solution design, infrastructure, and deployment using standardized coding best practices.

This position will mentor team members in technical development and ensure alignment with business objectives in the K12 and broader enterprise context. The AI Architect is deeply experienced, passionate about applied AI, comfortable building end‑to‑end ML pipelines in cloud environments, and able to set priorities and organize the collaborative work of a small technical team. They will drive the timely delivery of AI products directly linked to actionable business decisions.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

• Drives the conception, prototyping, and deployment of machine learning models—particularly in natural language processing (NLP) and recommender systems—across multiple product lines;
• Leverages AWS and Azure ecosystems, containerization, and infrastructure‑as‑code tools to create and maintain production‑ready AI systems that can scale efficiently;
• Working from proof‑of‑concept through full productization, including data ingestion, model training, deployment, monitoring for performance drift, and iteration for continuous improvement;
• Informs, influences, and supports product decisions.
• Directly supervises 1–3 AI Engineers and occasional flex contributors on specific projects. Provides guidance on coding best practices, model development, and data governance;
• Works closely with Product, Engineering, IT Managers, Data Stewards, and high‑level executives to align AI initiatives with organizational objectives. Ensures that AI solutions adhere to governance and compliance requirements, including student data privacy;
• Provides critical input and execution support, identifying practical opportunities for applied AI to drive business outcomes;
• Ensures that AI deliverables are well‑documented, reproducible, and monitored for ongoing performance and data integrity. Partners with governance teams and legal to adapt to evolving data privacy regulations and responsible AI practices;
• Stays abreast of emerging trends and tools—such as large language models—and evaluates their applicability. Advocates for robust Dev Ops/MLOps, agile methodologies, and cross‑functional collaboration to maximize the impact of AI deployments;
• Aligns K12’s AI capabilities with the needs of our schools & school services teams that will drive the adoption and use of actionable data to deliver improved outcomes;
• Identifies and defines strategic opportunities for leveraging data science across other businesses and functions in support of K12’s mission, vision and long‑term strategy;
• Demonstrates a passion for education and the K12 experience, actively motivating and encouraging the same passion in employees.

Directly supervises 1 - 3 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) regular employees and/or contractors. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Math, Physics, Engineering, or related quantitative field AND
• Six (6) years’ related experience; OR
• Equivalent combination of education and experience

None required. Certifications such as AWS Solutions Architect or Azure Solutions Architect are a plus but not mandatory.

• Experience designing and deploying machine learning models—especially NLP and recommender systems—using Python and common…