AI Engineering Manager

Unison Systems is seeking an AI Engineering Manager to lead enterprise-scale delivery of LLM and applied machine learning solutions for our client in Denver, CO. This is an onsite contract role (5 days/week, 8-5 MST) running through year-end. You will report to director/VP level and own end-to-end AI/ML product strategy, team leadership, and execution in a business-critical environment. The role requires deep hands-on LLM expertise paired with strong people leadership and the ability to translate complex AI concepts into clear strategies for senior executives.

Responsibilities:

Build, mentor, and scale teams of data scientists, ML engineers, data engineers, and software engineers Set technical standards, provide coaching for senior talent, and foster accountability, delivery, and innovation Lead design, development, and deployment of AI/ML solutions from ideation through production Own LLM strategy including model selection, fine-tuning, RAG architectures, prompt engineering, and agentic workflows Partner with architecture and platform teams to establish standards and best practices for enterprise AI Define and communicate an AI/ML roadmap aligned to business strategy Identify high-value AI opportunities, prioritize use cases, and articulate value, tradeoffs, and risks to executives Collaborate with product, engineering, operations, risk/compliance, and business teams to translate requirements into solutions Drive execution using Agile methods; establish KPIs, OKRs, and success metrics Prepare executive-ready updates, business cases, and technical briefings Champion ethical, responsible, and compliant AI practices

Requirements:

8+ years of people management experience leading technical teams (ML, data science, data engineering, or software engineering) 8+ years of applied ML/data science experience in industry 4+ years of hands-on LLM experience including fine-tuning, RAG architectures, prompt engineering, and agentic systems Proven track record of delivering AI/ML systems to production in complex, real-world environments Experience deploying products at Fortune 100 or equivalent enterprise scale Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to influence executives Strong Agile leadership and program management skills Business-focused mindset-able to frame AI decisions in terms of outcomes, ROI, and risk Comfort operating in ambiguity and balancing experimentation with discipline Advanced degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Statistics, or related field (preferred) Hands-on experience with modern AI/ML stacks (Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, vector databases, MLOps frameworks, cloud AI services) (preferred) Unison Systems is Colorado's leading IT staffing and engineering consulting firm - apply today and let us put our 27 years of expertise to work for you.