How to Apply
A cover letter and resume are important submissions for the hiring team to get a sense of your experience. In the cover letter, in one page or less, please let us know how this role aligns with your career aspirations and skills. Submit both a cover letter and resume as one file.
Competitive salary available based on qualifications, experience and education of the selected candidate.
Job Summary
Lead the Future of AI at the University of Michigan!
Information and Technology Services (ITS) is seeking a Senior Emerging Technologies Engineer to drive the design and delivery of AI-powered solutions that transform how the University of Michigan supports teaching, learning, operations, and digital services. This is your opportunity to lead meaningful innovation at scale.
In this role, you'll architect and develop cutting-edge GenAI services that streamline university workflows leveraging AI, OCR, and document processing to improve efficiency. You'll also contribute to established platforms like the UM GPT suite, helping evolve how generative AI supports the academic mission. Collaboration is central: you'll work across disciplines, mentor junior engineers, and help shape the future of emerging technologies in higher education.
We're looking for bold thinkers with deep technical expertise, a collaborative mindset, and a passion for responsible AI. Join us to help write the next chapter of AI in higher education.
Responsibilities*
- Software Development: Design and implement robust, scalable systems that support leading-edge AI capabilities. This includes building reliable back-end services, ensuring data flow and security, and developing user interfaces that are intuitive and meet accessibility standards.
- AI Service Enhancement & Optimization: Improve the performance and efficiency of AI-powered systems by refining model interactions, optimizing processing pipelines, and implementing structured AI workflows using tools like LangGraph. Ensure seamless integration between AI components, orchestration layers, and back-end infrastructure.
- Mentorship: Provide mentorship to junior staff and interns, supporting their professional growth within the department. This includes sharing technical expertise, offering guidance on project work, and fostering an environment of continuous learning and development.
- Ongoing Learning & Professional Development: Stay updated with the latest trends in web development, AI, security, privacy, and accessibility. Allocate time for training and attending industry events to ensure that the UM GPT suite remains state-of-the-art.
Required Qualifications*
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field: Or equivalent work experience in software development with a focus on web technologies.
- Minimum 6 years of professional experience in full-stack api-driven application development, including familiarity with front-end and back-end technologies
- Demonstrated experience with artificial intelligence and machine learning, including natural language processing techniques such as named entity recognition (NER), document classification, and text summarization; proficiency in building, training, and deploying models using tools like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, or Hugging Face.
- Demonstrated experience in front-end web application development using Vue.js, React, TypeScript; demonstrated experience in back-end application development using Python, Django, Fast API, PostgreSQL
- Strong Project Management Skills: Proven ability to manage projects from conception to completion, including resource allocation and timeline management.
- Understanding of Security, Privacy, and Accessibility: Demonstrated experience or certification in implementing secure and private web solutions that are accessible to a diverse user base.
- Effective Communication Skills: Ability to communicate technical information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Continual Learning Mindset: Demonstrated commitment to ongoing professional development in web development, AI technologies, and industry best practices.
Desired Qualifications*
- Master's Degree in Computer Science or related field: Advanced degree with a focus on AI, machine learning, or web technologies is a strong plus.
- Familiarity with OCR tools (e.g., Tesseract, Google Vision, Azure Form Recognizer) for parsing semi-structured documents such as transcripts, and experience with model explainability tools (e.g., SHAP, LIME) to ensure transparency and auditability in AI-driven admissions workflows.
- Demonstrated expertise in cloud technologies (AWS, Azure, GCP), DevOps practices, and Agile methodologies.
- Experience with containers and container orchestration tools
- Strong experience with GenAI or similar AI frameworks for generalized machine learning, especially in the context of integrating these technologies into web-based platforms or services.
Modes of Work
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.
Additional Information
PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT
Punctual, regular, and consistent attendance is required. Ability to work on technical equipment installed at heights of 10 feet or higher. Normal amount of being stationary, average mobility to move around an office environment, able to conduct normal amounts of work at a computer. Requires travel to various locations on the UM campuses and moves through buildings including stairways with test equipment weighing up to 40 lbs. utilizing proper safety techniques. May require working during non-business hours and on weekends. Responsible for protecting data and information from unauthorized release or from loss, alteration, or unauthorized deletion; and, following applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files, release of data, etc. as stated in a computer access agreement which the incumbent signs.Benefits at the University of Michigan
In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, The University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well, protect yourself and your family and plan for a secure future. Benefits include:
- Generous time off
- A retirement plan that provides two-for-one matching contributions with immediate vesting
- Many choices for comprehensive health insurance
- Life insurance
- Long-term disability coverage
- Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses
- Dental and Vision Insurance
- Parental and Maternity Leave
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.