Generative AI Research Engineer, College of Connected Computing

The Generative AI Research Engineer is an individual contributor responsible for assisting with the development and maintenance of Generative AI software systems and/or engineering tools to support Vanderbilt University. The position is housed in the Center for Generative AI and will work across the university in close collaboration with the Amplify Generative AI Development Team and Vanderbilt Information Technology (VUIT).

This position assists with engineering and/or software design, implementation, analysis, maintenance, creation / delivery of training materials, and experimentation as directed by the group leader. This position also collaborates with a team including but not limited to other engineers, faculty, students, Research Scientists, System Architects, and university staff to accomplish project-specific goals.

Work Unit Description
The College of Connected Computing (CCC) is Vanderbilt’s groundbreaking interdisciplinary college, designed to foster radical collaboration at the intersection of computing and other disciplines. By uniting scholars, students, and industry, the CCC is committed to addressing society's most pressing problems through technology and collaboration.

About Vanderbilt University
Situated in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt University is recognized globally for its rigorous academic programs and dedication to innovative research and development, fostering a community committed to making a positive impact through discovery and teamwork.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:
• Learn and contribute with prompt engineering discipline-specific engineering problems.
• Assist in creation, maintenance, and evolution of Generative AI software and tooling to support the university
• Collaborate with Vanderbilt University Information Technology (VUIT) to ensure adherence to standards, compliance, and security measures in a dynamic and collaborative work environment.
• Actively read, experiment, and learn cutting edge Generative AI technologies to stay at the forefront of the field.
• Contribute to creation of training materials, delivery of training, support of instructional staff, and other duties
• Assist in authoring papers, technical documentation, training materials, and other written materials
• Assist in the production of educational and promotional materials regarding research and education related to Generative AI
• Support cloud development, deployment, and integration of developed AI applications.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of discipline-specific software systems and/or engineering tools to support project and research goals.
• Perform engineering and/or software design, implementation, analysis, maintenance, or experimentation as directed by Principal Investigator and lead Engineers.
• Prepare technical documentation for work products of project.
• Develop familiarity with emerging Generative AI technologies and techniques related to project and research goals.
• Communicate regularly, effectively, and professionally with team members and leadership.
• Adhere to existing technical standards and recommend or develop new standards, as applicable.
• Contribute to technical progress reports/presentations.
• Share knowledge, product, and processes with the team and wider Vanderbilt community.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Relationships:
This position does not have supervisory responsibility, this position reports administratively and functionally to the Chief AI Technology Officer.

Education and Certifications:
• A Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field is necessary.
• A Master’s or is preferred.

Experience and Skills:
The following skills are necessary:
• A minimum of 2-3 years of relevant experience in software development is necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to use Generative AI tools to enhance software development productivity.
• Willingness to learn and adapt to new programming languages and codebases with AI assistance.
• Experience with software engineering using large language models is expected.
• Foundational skills in software design, implementation, testing, and documentation.
• Working knowledge of programming languages (e.g., Python, JavaScript, TypeScript), lambda functions, AWS services, databases, and web technologies, as needed by project is necessary.
• Experience with modern development tools (IDEs, Git, Github) and comfortable exploring use of tools such as CodeX, Claude Code, Cursor.