Associate - AI Engineer (New York, NY, US)

New York Life’s AI and Data team delivers innovative data, insights and AI solutions for the organization. Our AI team works on a diverse portfolio of AI and GenAI projects, by combining agile and entrepreneurial drive with industry-leading methods and tools. Our efforts are fully supported by executive leadership, and we work hand in hand with our Business Partners through all stages of model development from ideation to deployment. As it takes multiple skill sets to deliver AI models to production, our AI team includes product managers, data scientists, AI engineers, program managers, a model validation & governance group, and a communications & development group. 

The AI Engineer is an entry-level engineering role designed for early-career technologists who are passionate about artificial intelligence and software engineering. In this role, you will work closely with Senior and Lead AI Engineers, Data Scientists, and Platform Engineers to help build, test, and deploy AI and GenAI solutions. 

What You'll Do:

• Assist in the development and implementation of AI and ML solutions under the guidance of senior engineers 

• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested Python code following established coding standards 

• Support model integration into APIs, services, and batch pipelines 

• Participate in data preparation, feature engineering, and model experimentation activities 

• Help package models and applications using containerization tools (e.g., Docker) 

• Contribute to monitoring, logging, and debugging of AI solutions in development and production environments 

• Collaborate with Data Scientists to operationalize trained models 

• Participate in code reviews and incorporate feedback from senior engineers 

• Assist with documentation of AI solutions, pipelines, and operational procedures 

• Stay current with foundational AI/ML concepts, tools, and emerging technologies 

• Follow Agile/Scrum processes and actively participate in sprint ceremonies 

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field 
• Up to 2 years of professional experience (internships, co-ops, academic projects, or research experience acceptable) 
• Proficiency in Python 
• Foundational understanding of AI/GenAI patterns (e.g. RAG, MCP, agentic flow) and libraries such as LangChain/LangGraph 
• Familiarity with machine learning concepts and at least one ML/AI library or framework such as sklearn and PyTorch 
• Basic understanding of APIs and software development principles 
• Exposure to SQL and relational databases 
• Familiarity with Linux environments and command-line tools 
• Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to learn 
• Ability to work effectively in a team-based, collaborative environment 

 Preferred 

• Academic or project experience with NLP or text-based models 
• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS or equivalent) through coursework or projects 
• Familiarity with containerization concepts (Docker) 
• Basic understanding of version control systems (Git) 
• Interest in Generative AI and Large Language Models