Because the responsibilities of this position will involve access to ITAR/EAR-controlled information, Akin will screen prospective job candidates to be staffed in this role and will only consider U.S. persons for ITAR/EAR compliance purposes. Under the definition of ITAR (§ 120.62) and EAR (Part 772), a U.S. person is (1) a U.S. citizen, (2) a U.S. national; (3) a lawful permanent U.S. resident, (4) an individual admitted to the United States as a refugee, or (5) an individual granted asylum in the United States. Additionally, Akin will only staff such U.S. persons for this role if they are physically located in the United States.

Location: Washington, DC
Schedule: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM
FLSA: Exempt
Position Type: Full-Time/Regular

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. We are currently seeking an AI/ML Engineer in the Information Technology department, reporting to the Senior Applications Development Manager.

The role will reside in the Washington, DC office with hybrid work capabilities and will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying AI/ML-based (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) models and Generative AI solutions, to support and enhance our legal and business services operations. The ideal candidate will possess a robust background in AI/ML development, deployment, support and maintenance of AI/ML solutions. The AI/ML Engineer is expected to perform all responsibilities with a commitment to providing superior service to the firm’s attorneys, advisors and staff, and maintaining an atmosphere of teamwork and continuous improvement. 

Key responsibilities of this position include:

• Develop and implement AI/ML models to study, process and analyze complex legal data streams.
• Enhance the firm's legal analytics, research, and predictive modeling capabilities by working closely with other technical experts.
• Work closely with legal experts to translate legal requirements into technical specifications for AI/ML tools.
• Keep up to date with the latest advancements in AI/ML technology and apply them to legal applications.
• Ensure the security and compliance of AI systems, particularly with respect to sensitive legal data. Build, maintain, and optimize machine learning solutions to ensure they perform as expected on a continual basis in production environments.
• Work with other team members to optimize performance and integrate machine learning into business operations efficiently.
• Streamline organizational processes by automating the creation, training, deployment, and updating of machine learning models.
• Work closely with software developers to design and develop RESTful API endpoints for AI/ML-based data models.
• Establish continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines for machine learning projects to facilitate rapid and reliable model updates.
• Keep track of model performance, detecting anomalies, and maintaining models to ensure continued accuracy and relevance.
• Ensure that the ML infrastructure can handle scale and is reliable for the tasks it performs.
• Deploy models securely and ensure compliance with relevant data protection and privacy regulations.   

Qualifications (Experience, Knowledge, Skills & Abilities):

• Bachelor's or master’s degree in computer science, data science, or a related technical field preferred, but applied experience may be substitute for this requirement
• Demonstrated experience in AI/ML development and deployment
• Proficiency in AI/ML frameworks and libraries (TenserFlow, PyTorch, HuggingFace, etc)
• Proficiency in Microsoft’s AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, and Power Automate to develop and deploy AI solutions
• Strong understanding of data structures, data modeling, and software architecture
• Experience with cloud services such as Azure, AWS, or GCP for securing and deploying ML models
• Knowledge of programming languages such as Python, R, or C#, with a focus on writing scalable code for AI/ML applications
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration technologies like Docker and Kubernetes
• Ability to perform network packet monitoring/debugging
• Experience with mobile development (iOS & Android) and web technologies (HTML5, AJAX)
• Capability to implement grounding techniques, engage in prompt engineering and work with generative AI tools
• Familiarity with Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, Power Automate, Azure App Service, Azure Storage, etc.
• Solid understanding of machine learning principles and the ability to apply them in practical scenarios
• Skills in SQL for database management and data manipulation
• Knowledge of MLOps tools and platforms to automate and streamline ML workflows
• Ability to work closely with other engineers and legal professionals to deploy ML solutions that meet the firm's needs
• Strong analytical skills to troubleshoot and resolve issues that arise during the ML lifecycle
• Experience in the legal sector is advantageous but not required
• Excellent communication skills, with the capacity to work collaboratively across interdisciplinary teams

The anticipated base salary range for this position in Washington, DC is $130,000 to $165,000.  The actual salary offered will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, years of relevant experience, certifications or other professional licenses held, job-related knowledge and skills, business needs, and the location from which the work will be performed.  Additionally, salary or hourly wages may be only part of the total compensation package, which may also include a full range of health and other insurance benefits, financial and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility), a discretionary bonus, and various paid time off benefits.  Additional information about benefits and rewards can be found here.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP participates in E-Verify for purposes of verifying employment eligibility
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