AI Architect

Quartech is a provider of IT solutions and consulting services based in the scenic region of British Columbia, with branches both in Victoria and Vancouver. Boasting 40 years of experience in the IT industry, we offer tailored technology solutions, software design and development, systems integration, as well as comprehensive Cloud Solutions that include the MS Dynamics 365 platform.

The company adheres to Agile practices and DevOps principles, ensuring they remain at the forefront of industry trends through their involvement with advanced technologies like AI and Automation, Digital Trust, and various digital and mobile applications. We continue to experience significant growth year after year, focusing on building highly collaborative teams who work on a range of projects across multiple industries. At Quartech you’ll have the opportunity to deliver meaningful work to communities across the province, with significant support for your professional development.

Location: British Columbia

Salary: $100,000 – $170,000 annually.

Summary of the role:

The AI Architect will have a proven track record of providing leadership for large, complex projects in a variety of business and industry settings with a preference for the public sector. They will embrace a team-oriented approach and prioritize customer service to ensure a positive client experience with Quartech. They are comfortable with change as they move from project to project, client to client, adapting to new environments and cultures. Additionally, they should be comfortable contributing to multiple projects concurrently.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement AI models and systems that align with the company’s strategic goals.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including data scientists, engineers, and business stakeholders to integrate AI technologies into business processes.
• Lead the development and deployment of scalable and efficient AI solutions.
• Monitor the performance of AI systems and continuously refine them for better efficiency and accuracy.
• Ensure all AI projects adhere to ethical standards and comply with relevant regulations.
• Stay abreast of the latest developments in AI, machine learning, and data science to keep our approaches cutting-edge.
• Foster innovation and mentor team members and contribute to the organization’s knowledge base by leading educational initiatives on AI technologies and methodologies.
• Provide strategic decisions on the choice of technology stack, designing the architecture, overseeing its implementation, and assist with development tasks.
• Engage with stakeholders to ensure that the solution aligns with business objectives.
• Develop AI Strategies and frameworks for Quartech and clients.
• Oversee R&D activities to develop new AI algorithms, models and technologies.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in designing and implementing machine learning models and large-scale AI solutions and 3 years in a senior technical role.
• Previous experience delivering projects that involve AI integration into mission critical applications.
• Ability to lead the creation of technical designs, models, and options for specific components of a solution by gathering functional and non-functional requirements related to compliance, performance, security, reliability, and technical aspects.

Technical skills:

• Proven Experience with machine learning and deep learning frameworks such as: Keras, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Scikit-Learn.
• Strong background in data preprocessing, feature engineering, and data engineering practices, including ETL processes, database management, and experience with large-scale data processing frameworks such as Apache Spark or Hadoop.
• Previous experience with model training and fine-tuning using a variety of tools including Hyperopt, Spearmint and Scikit-Optimize.
• Experience in fine-tuning and deploying commercial and open-source large language models (LLMs) such as GPT, Llama, or custom models tailored to specific business needs.
• Experience working with the NVIDIA CUDA platform.

AI and Machine Learning Experience:

• Extensive experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating both supervised and unsupervised learning models, as well as reinforcement learning, natural language processing (NLP), recommender systems, and deep learning applications.
• Experience with securing AI models and ensuring data privacy in compliance with regulations, particularly in sensitive sectors such as healthcare.
• Deep understanding of AI ethics, fairness, bias mitigation, and the ability to design models that are interpretable and explainable.

Cloud and Infrastructure Knowledge:

• Experience deploying AI/ML models in production environments using cloud services like AWS SageMaker, Azure Machine Learning, Google AI Platform.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes for scalable deployment of AI models.
• Experience with MLOps practices, including automating the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle, from model development to deployment and monitoring. Familiarity with tools and frameworks such as MLflow, Kubeflow, or TFX (TensorFlow Extended) for managing machine learning pipelines.

Soft skills:

• Demonstrated ability to contribute to and provide leadership for complex projects with cross-functional teams.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD or master’s in computer science with a minor in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related field is preferred.
• Experience in an AI leadership role.
• Publications or presentations in well-known AI conferences or journals.
• Certifications in relevant technologies (e.g., AWS Certified Machine Learning, Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer).
• Knowledge of privacy and IT security policies in the public sector, including healthcare (e.g., FIPPA, HIPAA, SOX).

Our values:

• Deliver WOW
• Do the right thing
• Have fun!

What’s exciting about working with us:

• Be part of a driven team focused on solutions that support social change and environmental sustainability
• We offer competitive salaries, extended benefits, and our Employee and Family Assistance Program helps to support your well-being
• We support your work-life balance and understand that flexibility is essential
• We are growing and have great opportunities for advancement and career development
• We are passionate about education and provide learning opportunities
• We are dedicated to building a diverse team where people feel a sense of belonging and are valued for their contributions and perspectives