AI Architect Specialist

City: Washington DC Company: IDB Posting End Date: 3/5/2026 11:59 PM EST We improve lives The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment. About this position We are looking for an experienced professional to join the Technology & Data Assurance Division (TTD/TDA) as an AI Architect Specialist , responsible for designing and evolving the AI Core Services architecture that enables the Bank’s next generation of AI-driven solutions. The ideal candidate combines hands-on expertise in artificial intelligence, data and analytics, and cloud-native architecture with a strategic mindset for enabling modular, secure, and reusable AI components. This role will help the Bank integrate advanced AI capabilities, including Generative AI, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), and intelligent orchestration, into institutional platforms and operational products that support development effectiveness. What you’ll do You will report to the Enterprise Architecture Team Leader at the TTD/TDA Technology Data and Assurance Division, working in close coordination with and actively participating in Products an Enablers teams. Following are the most important activities you will be doing to move forward the IT Project and Portfolio Management program towards its goals: Architect and evolve the AI Core Services, establishing reference models, architectures, reusable components, and standards for scalability, interoperability, composability, and governance across business and corporate AI initiatives. Design and maintain architectural artifacts (standards, roadmaps, patterns, diagrams, and guidelines) related to AI orchestration, retrieval, and multi-model integration in hybrid and cloud environments. Serve as technical authority on AI data architecture, advising internal product teams, product owners, and external partners on solution design, technology choices, and implementation trade-offs. Define the AI/ML reference architecture for the Bank, covering large language models (LLMs), RAG/GraphRAG, agent orchestration, and autonomous systems. Design AI Core Services APIs and orchestration mechanisms, including model routing, embedding management, semantic caching, tool usage (MCP, and multi-agent communication (A2A). Support the design and integration of vector and graph databases for non-structured data (e.g., Azure AI Search, Pinecone, Neo4j, CosmosDB), ensuring quality, scalability, and secure interoperability. Define frameworks and standards for AIOps, LLMOps, and MLOps to ensure observability, versioning, evaluation, and continuous improvement of AI models. Codesign governance mechanisms, including data lineage, content safety, and bias and skew mitigation in collaboration with the Data Governance and Security teams.Provide architecture guidance and mentorship to solution architects and development teams on AI architecture patterns, systems design decisions, and best practices. Support product teams in integrating AI Core Services within agile development cycles, ensuring alignment with Enterprise Architecture and the Bank’s operating model. Lead proofs-of-concept and pilots for emerging AI technologies, assessing scalability, cost, and adoption potential, and translating outcomes into reference patterns. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align AI solutions with enterprise objectives, sustainability principles, and operational efficiency.Maintain up-to-date architectural artifacts and contribute to governance processes to ensure compliance and transparency. What you'll need Education: Master’s degree (or equivalent advanced degree) in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems or related area. Certifications in AI/ML, data architecture, or cloud computing are an asset. Experience: Successful candidates should be able to demonstrate experience in the following areas (minimum five years total, with at least two years specialized in AI architecture or cloud AI enablement): Cloud & Infrastructure Proven experience designing and maintaining Azure and/or AWS IaaS/PaaS solutions with emphasis on cost, security, and scalability.Strong understanding of networking, containerization (Docker Containers, Kubernetes), and Infrastructure-as-Code. Data & AI Architecture Expertise in designing enterprise-scale data and AI platforms (Data Lakes, Lakehouses, Data Mesh, or hybrid architectures). Experience architecting end-to-end AI solutions, integrating LLMs, embeddings, and retrieval systems into production environments. Knowledge of vector databases (Pinecone, FAISS, Azure AI Search) and graph databases (Neo4j, CosmosDB, Neptune). Hands-on experience with LangChain, LlamaIndex, LangGraph, or equivalent frameworks for multi-agent and tool-calling orchestration. Governance & Security Proven ability to embed security, privacy, compliance, and responsible-AI principles into architecture designs. Familiar with OAuth2, Azure AD, encryption standards, and audit/lineage frameworks. Programming & DevOps Proficiency in Python and SQL, and solid understanding of modern software engineering best practices. Experience with DevOps and MLOps automation, including CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, evaluation and lifecycle management of Software and AI systems.Knowledge of microservices, event-driven, and domain-driven architecture. Applied AI & Generative AI Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering Generative AI and ML solutions, including LLM-based applications, RAG pipelines, agentic workflows, and evaluation frameworks.Exposure to MLOps and evaluation frameworks for quality, latency, and cost optimization. Languages: Proficiency in English is required and one of the other Bank official languages (Spanish, French or Portuguese) is a plus. Requirements Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries. We may offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your eligible dependents. Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab. Type of contract and duration Staff: International staff contract, 36 months initially, renewable upon mutual agreement. What we offer The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee's life. These benefits include: A competitive compensation package. Leaves and vacations : 2 days per month of contract + gender- neutral parental leave. Health Insurance : the IDB Group provides a monthly allowance for the purchase of health insurance. Savings plan : The IDB Group cares about your future, depending on the length of the contract, you will receive a monthly savings plan allowance. We offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your family when it applies. Hybrid and flexible work schedules. Development support: We offer learning opportunities to boost your professional profile such as seminars, 1:1 professional counseling, and much more. Health and wellbeing: Access to our Health Services Center which provides preventive care and health education for all employees. Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, and others. Our culture At the IDB, we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work while finding their purpose. Our people consistently strive for excellence, and we recognize and celebrate the impact of their contributions. In our efforts to drive innovation, we intentionally include all voices, cultivate a sense of belonging and champion fairness. We welcome individuals from underrepresented groups to join us and share their unique perspectives. We ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job interview process. If you require an accommodation to complete this application, please email us at accommodations@iadb.org .