Staff AI Engineer
HYBRID
RATE: $65 - 70/hr. C2C
Any Citizenship is Fine
Candidates MUST complete ROPES Assessment
Start Date: As soon as possible
Duration of the engagement: 6+ months
Location: Hartford, CT or Wellesley, MA
Work Model: Hybrid
Position Summary
We are looking for a highly skilled Staff Engineer to help build the next generation of conversational AI experiences across voice and chat. As a senior individual contributor and technical leader, you will design and deliver production-grade systems that power member, patient, and customer interactions at CVS Health scale.
You'll partner closely with product, design, data science, and other engineering teams to translate business needs into reliable, performant software. You'll set the technical direction for major components of our conversational AI platform, lead hands-on design and implementation of complex features, and elevate the engineering practices of those around you.
If you are passionate about conversational AI and have a proven track record of leading successful engineering teams in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you.
As a Staff Engineer, you will:
Lead the technical design and implementation of major components of our conversational AI platform (chat and voice)
Own end-to-end delivery of complex features — from design through deployment, monitoring, and iteration
Drive engineering excellence in code quality, testability, performance, scalability, and observability
Perform deep design and code reviews; raise the technical bar across the team
Integrate and evaluate Large Language Models, NLU/NLP engines, and STT/TTS components into production pipelines
Partner with data scientists and ML engineers to operationalize models, evaluation frameworks, and guardrails
Collaborate with cross-functional partners to translate ambiguous business requirements into clear technical solutions
Help deploy, operate, and maintain large-scale software in production with strong operational discipline
Mentor mid-level and senior engineers on advanced technical topics and best practices
Contribute to the long-term technical strategy alongside Principal Engineers and architects
Required Qualifications
8+ years of experience designing and building software engineering solutions in cloud environments (GCP, AWS, or Azure)
8+ years of experience in one or more modern languages, such as Python, Java, C#, JavaScript, SQL, etc.
8+ years of experience with APIs, microservices, and modern software patterns
3+ years of experience working with cross-functional stakeholders on complex requirements
Solid working knowledge of conversational AI technologies (e.g., chatbots, voice assistants, LLMs, STT/TTS, NLU/NLP engines)
Preferred Qualifications
Hands-on experience integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into production applications, including prompt engineering, RAG, and evaluation
Experience developing and supporting voice and text chatbots, including dialog design at scale
Experience with conversational AI platforms (e.g., Dialogflow, Lex, Rasa, Genesys, NICE, Twilio) and CCaaS/IVR Integrations
Familiarity with LLM evaluation, guardrails, observability, and A/B testing of dialog flows
Strong communication skills, capable of explaining technical concepts to both engineering and business audiences
Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, AI, or a related field
Education
Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or equivalent work experience.