AI Engineer

S3/Strategic Staffing Solutions has an AI Engineering opportunity for a leading Utilities client in Houston, TX. Please read further if you are interested in joining a leading organization! Title: AI Engineer Duration: 12 months + possible extension Pay Rate: $130-140/hr. W2. W2 only, sorry we cannot do C2C or transfer H1 at this time Location: Houston, TX - 4x per week on site, 1x remote Core hours: 8-3 PM CT Experience Requirements • 5+ years of experience in software engineering, AI engineering, or machine learning engineering roles • Proven experience delivering production AI or ML solutions in a cloud environment • Experience collaborating with cross functional teams across data science, engineering, and architecture Required Technical Skills • Strong experience with Microsoft Azure, including AI/ML services and cloud native architectures • Hands on experience deploying and operating ML pipelines using Azure Machine Learning • Proficiency in Python and modern software engineering practices • Experience with automation and configuration management, including Ansible • Solid understanding of MLOps, model lifecycle management, and CI/CD for AI systems • Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) • Working knowledge of security, identity, and access control in enterprise cloud environments Preferred Skills • Experience with Microsoft Foundry • Experience implementing or operating agentic AI systems • Familiarity with data engineering tools such as Databricks, Spark, Azure Data Factory • Experience integrating AI services (e.g., cognitive services, computer vision, unstructured data processing) As an AI Engineer, you will: • Partner with business and technical stakeholders to identify and implement agentic AI and machine learning solutions that improve decision making, workflows, and automation • Design and implement cloud native AI architectures using Microsoft Azure services and established AI design patterns • Collaborate with Data Scientists and other AI Engineers to transform prototypes into production ready, scalable solutions • Build, deploy, and operate enterprise scale machine learning pipelines, emphasizing reliability, performance, and security • Orchestrate and configure infrastructure that enables low latency, resilient AI workloads, leveraging infrastructure as code and automation • Contribute to reusable accelerators, templates, and patterns that improve delivery speed and consistency across teams • Support CI/CD, monitoring, and operational practices for AI and ML systems in production environments Ways of Working • Ability to work independently as a contractor while integrating effectively with existing teams • Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly • Results oriented mindset with a focus on delivering business value quickly and reliably