Applied AI Engineer

Job Description

AECOM is seeking an Applied AI Engineer to join our Applied AI team, contributing to transformative AI-enabled delivery across our clients' projects. As part of AECOM's commitment to delivering sustainable and innovative solutions, the Applied AI Engineer will play a critical role in designing, building and scaling practical AI solutions that unlock measurable business value across infrastructure, environmental, and urban development sectors. 

Reporting to the Applied AI Lead, this role will focus on building agentic workflows, integrating AI with client data and systems, and turning proven solutions into repeatable offerings for many different clients. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in large language models, software engineering and data integration, with a passion for solving complex challenges in the built environment through simple, effective and well-tested solutions. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Design, build and deploy AI-enabled solutions that address real client and project problems, from discovery and proof of concept through to production. 
• Deploy and operate AI solutions on Microsoft Azure, including model hosting, search and retrieval services, serverless and container compute, secrets management, identity and private networking, in line with AECOM's cloud governance. 
• Develop agentic and multi-step workflows, including orchestration and multi-agent patterns, deciding where deterministic code, AI models and human review each belong. 
• Build and maintain Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and tool interfaces that give AI models secure, least-privilege access to data and systems. 
• Integrate diverse data sources (APIs, databases, document repositories, scheduled exports and streaming feeds) into reliable, tested pipelines that adapt to different client environments. 
• Host, configure and optimise local and private large language models for clients whose data cannot leave their environment, including model selection, quantisation, inference serving and hardware sizing. 
• Build retrieval-augmented generation and document-intelligence pipelines, including OCR, extraction, classification and cited answers, over large and unstructured document sets. 
• Optimise token usage, latency and cost through model selection, prompt caching, batching and incremental processing, working within defined usage budgets. 
• Establish evaluation, testing and monitoring practices for AI solutions, including evaluation datasets, regression tests, run logs and accuracy measurement on real data. 
• Design data models, dashboards and reports that present AI outputs clearly to project teams and decision-makers. 
• Apply security, data protection and responsible AI practices, including defences against prompt injection, data residency controls and human-in-the-loop review, ensuring alignment with AECOM's global standards. 
• Turn successful solutions into reusable, configurable components that can be deployed for multiple clients with minimal rework. 
• Document work through specifications, implementation plans and post-delivery reviews, capturing evidence of the value delivered. 
• Support bids and proposals by shaping AI solutions to client requirements, writing technical responses, estimating effort and running cost, and preparing demonstrations for client presentations and interviews. 
• Mentor colleagues and support AI training programmes, fostering a culture of innovation and safe, effective AI adoption. 
• Present work outputs to both technical and non-technical audiences, translating complex AI concepts, and their limitations, into clear, layman's terms. 

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements 

• 3–5+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering or applied machine learning, including hands-on delivery of LLM-based applications, preferably in infrastructure, engineering or professional services. 
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience building APIs, data pipelines and automated tests, using version control and CI/CD pipelines. 
• Experience developing LLM applications with tool use, structured outputs, retrieval-augmented generation, agent orchestration and prompt design, across both commercial and open-weight models. 
• Understanding of Microsoft Azure and experience deploying AI solutions on it (for example Microsoft Foundry, Azure AI Search, Azure Functions or Container Apps, Key Vault, Entra ID and private networking), as well as on private or on-premises infrastructure, including managing token usage and cost. 
• Proven ability to influence non-technical stakeholders and communicate complex concepts clearly, with sound judgement about when AI is, and is not, the right tool. 
• Experience mentoring and coaching technical teams, promoting collaboration and innovation. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. 
• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol, multi-agent frameworks, evaluation harnesses and LLM observability tooling. 

Additional Information

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [email protected]  if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.