Lead AI Engineer
- Campus Sofia
- Senior
- Expertise: Technology
- Skills: AI, Software Engineering, TypeScript, Python, JavaScript, Microsoft Azure, API’s, English
- Employment: Employed
- What you'll do
- Your qualities and skills as Lead AI Engineer
- What’s in it for you
- Get to know iO
- What your colleagues say
- Your application, step by step
What you'll do
Are you a hands-on technical leader who enjoys shaping the architecture of advanced AI systems while diving into the code yourself? Do you want to build an AI platform and inspire a team of engineers? Then this role as Lead AI Engineer / Hands-on Architect for our in-house startup iO Bonzai is perfect for you!
You'll combine the energy and speed of a startup with the clients, stability, and resources of iO. We are looking someone to join our office in Sofia. As Lead AI Engineer, you'll help determine the technical direction of our AI & Automation platform. You'll be responsible for architecture, code quality, and technical innovation. You'll coach engineers, tackle complex technical challenges yourself, and ensure we implement state-of-the-art AI technology.
You'll be part of the multidisciplinary product development team (AI Engineers, Cloud Operations, Product Manager) and work closely with the product manager and Group AI director.
iO Bonzai is our proprietary AI & Automation platform that makes the power of AI accessible to both internal teams and external clients. It's an ecosystem where we make generative AI available through Chat, Apps, and Connect.
What you'll do
Design and build the technical architecture of the iO Bonzai platform with focus on scalability, reliability, innovation and security
Build alongside the team - you're hands-on and write code yourself where needed
Provide technical leadership to a team of AI Engineers and stimulate their growth
Implement cutting-edge AI technologies: agentic AI workflows, multi-agent orchestration, RAG systems, and conversational AI
Develop AI automation workflows using tools like n8n and MCP (Model Context Protocol)
Integrate diverse AI models (Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini, Anthropic) via LiteLLM and LangChain
Build observability and monitoring with Langfuse for production-ready AI systems
Ensure code quality through reviews, best practices, and technical documentation
Collaborate with Cloud Operations on robust Azure infrastructure (API Management, Azure OpenAI)
Evaluate and adopt new AI technologies - you stay ahead of the curve and translate innovations to practical implementations
Support the Product Manager in translating business requirements to technical solutions
Your qualities and skills as Lead AI Engineer
7+ years of experience as Software Engineer, AI Engineer, Software Architect or Solutions Architect with proven technical leadership
Strong hands-on coding skills - you can still write production-quality code yourself. Both Python and Typescript.
Deep knowledge of AI/ML technologies: LLMs, prompt engineering, RAG, vector databases, embeddings
Experience with AI orchestration frameworks like LangChain (Python/JS) or similar
Familiarity with modern AI tooling (preferably: MCP, n8n, LiteLLM, Langfuse, MCP Context Forge)
Experience with cloud platforms, particularly Azure (Azure OpenAI, API Management, Container Apps)
Knowledge of conversational AI and building chat-based applications (e.g., LibreChat)
Strong architectural thinking - you can design scalable, maintainable systems
Leadership and coaching skills - you inspire and develop engineers
High degree of Gen AI adoption - you actively use AI tools in your daily work (vibe coding, AI pair programming)
Excellent communication skills in English
Startup mentality - you're comfortable with ambiguity and can move fast
Nice to have
Experience with multi-tenant SaaS architectures
Knowledge of security and compliance (ISO 27001, GDPR, data isolation)
Experience with automation and workflow orchestration (n8n, Zapier, Make)
Contributions to open-source AI projects
Experience with vector databases
What’s in it for you
26 days of vacation days
Based on a 40-hour work week, you have 26 days of paid leave.
Additional Health And Dental Insurance
Covering patient and outpatient care, health and dental care, reimbursement of costs for prescribed medicines, pregnancy and birth coverage.
Hybrid working
A good work-life balance is super important. Together with your team, you’ll decide when and where you work.
Healthy office snacks and specialty coffee
At our campus, we provide fresh fruits, healthy snacks and specialty coffee beverages throughout the day.
Personal training budget
Each year, you’ll get a budget of €3,000 to develop yourself, in your profession or as a person, through training, events, or courses.
Celebrating together
If there’s something to celebrate, we know how to party! From time to time, the party team at your campus will organise the best (theme) parties.
What we offer
Knowledge forms the basis of everything you do at iO. You'll grow by working on the most innovative AI platform in the market. You'll shape your personal growth path completely yourself, supported by a personal development budget. Additionally, you'll participate in various AI initiatives, Expert Groups, and innovation projects.
Interested? Apply now and let's explore how you can lead the technical development of iO Bonzai together.
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- #LI-Hybrid
What’s in it for you
26 days of vacation days
Based on a 40-hour work week, you have 26 days of paid leave.
Additional health and dental insurance
Covering patient and outpatient care, health and dental care, reimbursement of costs for prescribed medicines, pregnancy and birth coverage.
Hybrid working
A good work-life balance is super important. Together with your team, you’ll decide when and where you work.
Healthy office snacks and specialty coffee
At our campus, we provide fresh fruits, healthy snacks and specialty coffee beverages throughout the day.
Personal training budget
Each year, you’ll get a budget of €3,000 to develop yourself, in your profession or as a person, through training, events, or courses.
Celebrating together
If there’s something to celebrate, we know how to party! From time to time, the party team at your campus will organise the best (theme) parties.
Get to know iO
- 2,000+colleagues
- 13campuses
- 5countries
- 26nationalities
- 10+awards in the past year
- ∞growing, learning and challenging yourself
What your colleagues say
Pop talks, pair programming and even UNO? That's how Maaike leads a team at iO.
Maaike Hellemans
Technical Lead JavaFrom SEO expert to content strategist and - today - a copywriter. Experience Pieter's growth story at iO.
Pieter Moons
CopywriterRefreshing perspectives mean Ronald learns something new every day.
Ronald van der Horst
Lead Software DeveloperNakita feels fully supported in her professional development at iO.
Nakita Verbruggen
Teamlead CampaigningFor Lennard, it’s the fact that iO supports open source that’s an extra dimension to his work.
Lennard Swaneveld
Senior Drupal DeveloperMariam on the best parts of her jobs. Personal connections, rewarding work and great collaborations.
Mariam Gooijer - Berrezzouk
Corporate RecruiterFor Marleen, continuous change and evolution are an important part of her iO career.
Marleen van den Brand
DesignerMarcel’s insatiable curiosity for LEGO leads to eye-opening workshops.
Marcel de Jong
Digital StrategistAfter an inspiring meeting with Klaas, Lars takes a surprising step in his iO career.
Lars van Tulden
CRO consultantPatrick and his team set up a team hackathon in search of innovative solutions.
Patrick de Bie
Software Developer
Your application, step by step
Working together, making an impact and growing: it all starts with the right connection. That's why we'd like to get to know you and want you to get to know your future colleagues too.
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Let's get to know each other
We like to act quickly. If we can sense a match, we'll get in touch soon for a virtual introduction. This way, both you and we can see if there's a good fit.
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Come say hi
How can your knowledge, skills and experience shine at iO? During a conversation with your future team lead, we’ll discuss interesting opportunities for you in our blended agency.
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Meet the team
There are many people here who’d love to meet you! Your potential colleagues will join us at the table. And of course, you'll get a full campus tour.
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Join the team!
Are we all excited? Congratulations! Go ahead and sign that contract. Together, we'll discuss the practical details and ensure you have everything you need to get started at iO.
FAQ
Apply now
Ready for an exciting career at iO? Apply using this form or through LinkedIn. We’ll contact you soon.