Actalent
Description
We’re seeking a senior architect to build and lead our enterprise AI Center of Excellence on Azure. You’ll define the technical strategy, stand up secure AI lab and MLOps foundations, evaluate and integrate commercial/open-source AI responsibly, and turn high‑value ideas into production outcomes. This is a remote, hands‑on architecture role spanning strategy, system design, governance, and delivery leadership. LLMs may be used where appropriate, but the near‑term emphasis is on classical ML and practical, data‑driven solutions.
What You’ll Do
Establish the AI COE mission, operating model, intake process, and KPIs.
Design and build secure Azure AI lab environments and MLOps foundations (networking, identity, secrets, observability).
Architect end‑to‑end AI solutions that integrate with enterprise platforms and data sources.
Translate business needs into actionable use cases and deliver proofs‑of‑concept.
Evaluate and integrate commercial/open‑source AI technologies with clear guardrails.
Partner with Data Engineering on data tagging, cataloging, and readiness for AI workloads.
Lead governance and risk management in partnership with the AI Council.
Deliver production‑ready solutions with measurable business impact.
Mentor teams and publish reusable patterns, templates, and best practices.
Track and report adoption, model performance, and value realization.
Outcomes
AI COE charter, intake, and KPI framework adopted across stakeholders.
Secure AI lab operational with reference architectures and baseline pipelines.
Vendor and technology evaluation rubric in use for AI initiatives.
Working POCs promoted to MVP/production with appropriate MLOps and monitoring.
Reusable solution patterns documented for training, batch, streaming, and serving.
Governance playbook in place for data handling, model risk, and approval workflows.
Required Qualifications
5+ years delivering production ML/AI systems.
Azure proficiency (Azure ML, Databricks/Delta/MLflow, ADLS, CI/CD, networking) with equivalent experience on AWS/GCP and a willingness to develop Azure skills.
MLOps skills including experiment tracking, model registry, and CI/CD for ML.
Working knowledge of common ML methods and predictive modeling.
Experience implementing security and governance for data/AI workloads (data classification, privacy, encryption/KMS, IAM/RBAC, secrets management, network isolation).
Ability to translate business objectives into scoped use cases and executed solutions.
Clear communication and stakeholder management across technical and non‑technical audiences.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading cross‑functional AI initiatives.
Experience assessing vendors and integrating commercial/open‑source AI responsibly.
Familiarity with data quality and cataloging; partnership with data engineering teams.
Experience mentoring engineers and guiding contractors; strong documentation and enablement.
Experience Level Expert Level
Job Type & Location Contract position based out of Plymouth, MN. Remote (fully remote).
Pay & Benefits The pay range for this position is $90.00 – $110.00/hr. Benefits include medical, dental & vision; critical illness, accident, and hospital; 401(k) retirement plan; life insurance; disability; health spending account; transportation; employee assistance program; PTO vacation or sick leave.
Actalent is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com.
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What You’ll Do
Establish the AI COE mission, operating model, intake process, and KPIs.
Design and build secure Azure AI lab environments and MLOps foundations (networking, identity, secrets, observability).
Architect end‑to‑end AI solutions that integrate with enterprise platforms and data sources.
Translate business needs into actionable use cases and deliver proofs‑of‑concept.
Evaluate and integrate commercial/open‑source AI technologies with clear guardrails.
Partner with Data Engineering on data tagging, cataloging, and readiness for AI workloads.
Lead governance and risk management in partnership with the AI Council.
Deliver production‑ready solutions with measurable business impact.
Mentor teams and publish reusable patterns, templates, and best practices.
Track and report adoption, model performance, and value realization.
Outcomes
AI COE charter, intake, and KPI framework adopted across stakeholders.
Secure AI lab operational with reference architectures and baseline pipelines.
Vendor and technology evaluation rubric in use for AI initiatives.
Working POCs promoted to MVP/production with appropriate MLOps and monitoring.
Reusable solution patterns documented for training, batch, streaming, and serving.
Governance playbook in place for data handling, model risk, and approval workflows.
Required Qualifications
5+ years delivering production ML/AI systems.
Azure proficiency (Azure ML, Databricks/Delta/MLflow, ADLS, CI/CD, networking) with equivalent experience on AWS/GCP and a willingness to develop Azure skills.
MLOps skills including experiment tracking, model registry, and CI/CD for ML.
Working knowledge of common ML methods and predictive modeling.
Experience implementing security and governance for data/AI workloads (data classification, privacy, encryption/KMS, IAM/RBAC, secrets management, network isolation).
Ability to translate business objectives into scoped use cases and executed solutions.
Clear communication and stakeholder management across technical and non‑technical audiences.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading cross‑functional AI initiatives.
Experience assessing vendors and integrating commercial/open‑source AI responsibly.
Familiarity with data quality and cataloging; partnership with data engineering teams.
Experience mentoring engineers and guiding contractors; strong documentation and enablement.
Experience Level Expert Level
Job Type & Location Contract position based out of Plymouth, MN. Remote (fully remote).
Pay & Benefits The pay range for this position is $90.00 – $110.00/hr. Benefits include medical, dental & vision; critical illness, accident, and hospital; 401(k) retirement plan; life insurance; disability; health spending account; transportation; employee assistance program; PTO vacation or sick leave.
Actalent is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com.
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