Lead GenAI & AWS Platform Architect (CTO-Level) - LLMs, Bedrock, OpenSearch, Data Parsing (Rekognition, Comprehend, Transcribe, Etc)

NO 3RD / C2C PARTY FIRM CANDIDATES. DO NOT EMAIL TO ASK. AND NO, I CANNOT HIRE YOUR CONSULTANTS ON MY W2. THIS ROLE CAN BE DONE REMOTELY, BUT YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO WORK PACIFIC TIME ZONE 5 DAYS A WEEK. SOMEONE LOCAL TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT CAN DO ANY AMOUNT OF ONSITE IN IRVINE, CA, WOULD BE A BIG PLUS. KORE1, a nationwide provider of staffing and recruiting solutions, has an immediate opening for a Lead GenAI & AWS Platform Architect (CTO-Level) - LLMs, Bedrock, OpenSearch, Data Parsing (Rekognition, Comprehend, Transcribe, etc) We are a fast-growing company that builds next-generation AI experiences, combining storytelling, knowledge management, and interactive digital applications. Our mission is to create AI-driven platforms that engage users in novel ways-whether through chatbots, content generation, or intelligent recommendation systems. We're seeking a strategic yet hands-on technology leader with experience in startups or executive roles to architect, scale, and productize these innovative AI solutions. As a Lead AI & Data Platform Engineer (CTO-level), you will define and execute the technical vision for our AI platform. This is a hands-on, CTO-level role-you will design generative AI workflows, scale the platform from proof-of-concept to production, guide integrations, and lead a small, high-impact engineering team while making strategic technical decisions. Key Responsibilities: • GenAI Platform Architecture & Scaling: Design and implement scalable generative AI solutions using AWS AI/ML services, with optional support for Claude, Sonnet, or other LLM platforms. • Data Ingestion & RAG Pipelines: Build pipelines to ingest and process PDFs, emails, audio, and video, evaluating AWS tools (Textract, Transcribe, Rekognition, Comprehend, etc.) against open-source alternatives and selecting the best approach. • Interactive Applications & Storytelling: Translate AI models into engaging user-facing applications, including chatbots, interactive experiences, and content-generation workflows. • Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and orchestrate small engineering teams, fostering collaboration and technical excellence. • Project Oversight: Manage timelines, milestones, and deliverables for internal teams and external collaborators. • Hands-On Development: Contribute to system architecture, API design, and AI pipelines end-to-end. • Strategic Vision: Align engineering efforts with product strategy, driving the roadmap and feature prioritization. • Testing & QA Oversight: Ensure proper validation, functional testing, and monitoring of AI products in production. Required Qualifications: • Bachelor's degree required • Executive or startup experience with hands-on leadership in AI/technology platforms. • Deep experience with generative AI, LLMs, and RAG pipelines, preferably using AWS AI/ML services. • Proven ability to architect and scale AI platforms, including ingestion pipelines for PDFs, emails, audio, and video (AWS tools like Rekognition, Comprehend, Transcribe, or other open-source tools) • Strong backend/cloud development skills (Python, Java, or equivalent) with experience in AWS infrastructure and services, including AWS Bedrock, OpenSearch, S3, Lambda, EC2, etc. • Experience productizing AI models into user-facing applications, including web or mobile frontends, with a focus on usability, performance, and reliability. • Experience designing production-ready AI systems from proof-of-concept implementations. • Product mindset with the ability to translate AI technology into compelling user-facing applications. • Experience leading and mentoring cross-functional teams. • Exceptional communication skills, able to convey technical strategy to executives and stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications: • Experience building AI-driven storytelling, chatbot, or interactive applications. • Founder, CTO, or VP-level experience in AI-driven product startups. • Familiarity with academic-industry collaborations or applied AI research projects. • Experience with GenAI platforms such as Claude, Sonnet, or other LLM alternatives. Compensation depends on experience but is typically $80-125/hr. We are willing to send qualified candidates over budget.