Sr. AI Data Engineer

iSoftStone, Inc. is seeking a Sr. AI Data Engineer (Image Generation Data) to join our Team!

This is a Contract ONSITE Opportunity in Menlo Park, CA

This is a one-year contract role, and candidates must have permanent authorization to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role and 3rd party vendor candidates cannot be considered.

Summary:

Generative AI models are only as good as the data they consume. Unlike traditional data engineering, building data pipelines for generative AI requires orchestrating ML model invocations (content understanding classifiers, embedding models, LLM-based cleaners) alongside standard SQL-based transformations, all at billion-row scale. This role sits at the intersection of Data Engineering and ML Systems. The Senior AI Data Engineer will own end-to-end data pipelines that don't just move and transform data, but enrich it through remote model inference, managing the systems complexity of async execution, capacity allocation, retry/fallback logic, and throughput optimization that comes with it. This is not a pure ETL-with-SQL role; it demands hands-on systems experience with distributed inference infrastructure. Our team develops comprehensive data curation and evaluation solutions for image generation models across quality dimensions including visual quality, prompt adherence, identity preservation, naturalness, and visual text generation.

Responsibilities:

Main Responsibilities:

• AI-Augmented Data Pipelines: Design and maintain AI-augmented, large-scale data pipelines (billions of images) integrating traditional transformations with ML models (classifiers, embeddings, LLMs) for cleaning and annotation.
• Remote Inference Orchestration: Own the systems for remote ML model inference orchestration within pipelines, managing batching, retries, async jobs, and ensuring graceful degradation.
• Feature Pipelines: Build and maintain scalable pipelines for generating, storing, and serving vector embeddings, including nearest-neighbor index management and quality validation.
• Data Curation at Scale: Source, filter, and curate training datasets using a combination of SQL and model-derived signals (e.g., aesthetic scores, NSFW classifiers), owning the end-to-end data flow and maintaining governance, quality, and compliance.

Additional Responsibilities:

• LLM-Assisted Annotation: Design and operate pipelines that use LLMs and vision models for automated annotation of training data, including auditing workflows to measure and improve annotation model performance.
• Tooling & Frameworks: Contribute to shared tooling and frameworks that make it easier for the broader team to build AI-augmented data pipelines — e.g., reusable operators for model invocation, standard patterns for async job management.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Machine Learning, or a related STEM field.
• 5+ years of industry experience in data engineering, ML engineering, or a hybrid role involving both data pipelines and model serving/inference.
• Demonstrated track record of building and operating production data pipelines that invoke ML models at scale.
• Previous experience at Meta is preferred but not required.

Additional Requirements

• Work onsite in MPK 5 days per week, working closely with engineers and researchers.

Primary Location Pay Range: $110,000 - $120,000 per year

Benefits:

1099/Contractors: No benefits

Temp salaried employee benefits, if scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week: medical, dental, vision, 401k, holidays.

iSoftStone is a global IT service and consulting company that creates value and drives success through technology solutions, service excellence, and digital innovation. We specialize in web and application development, software testing and support, data and content management, digital experience, accessibility, and data for machine learning and AI. With 20 delivery centers and more than 90,000 employees worldwide, iSoftStone is proud to serve some of the world’s most well-known businesses, including 90+ Fortune Global 500 companies.

Visit us at https://www.isoftstoneinc.com.

iSoftStone is committed to the practice of equal opportunity for all its employees and applicants in employment, and does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity, color, age, national origin, religion, creed, marital status, sex, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, status as an honorably discharged veteran or disabled veteran or military status, political affiliation or belief, citizenship/status as a lawfully admitted immigrant authorized to work in the United States, or presence of any physical, sensory, or mental disability. In addition, reasonable accommodation will be made for known physical or mental limitations for all otherwise qualified persons with disabilities.