Principal AI Researcher

Who are we?

Help us challenge assumptions, uncover bias, and remove barriers—because progress starts with fresh ideas. You’ll find belonging, purpose, and a team that welcomes you—because when you feel valued, you’re empowered to do your best work.

Job Summary

As a Principal AI Researcher, you will design, build, deploy, and scale machine learning and generative AI systems that power real-world products. You will work closely in AI Sidekick team and business teams to translate advanced ML and LLM capabilities into reliable, production‑grade solutions across multi‑cloud environments including GCP, AWS, and Azure.

This role blends applied machine learning, software engineering, and MLOps, with a strong focus on building robust, scalable systems rather than purely academic research.

 

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy machine learning and Large Language Model (LLM)–based solutions for production use cases

• Collaborate with Generative AI Center of Excellence leaders and business stakeholders to evaluate buy vs. build decisions for generative AI applications

• Build and integrate agent-based workflows using platforms such as Google Agentspace, Microsoft Copilot, and Salesforce Agentforce

• Develop end-to-end ML pipelines, covering data ingestion, feature engineering, model training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring

• Architect and implement LLM-powered systems that integrate agents and services across multiple cloud platforms into a unified solution

• Optimize ML workflows for performance, scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency in cloud environments (GCP, Azure, AWS)

• Implement and maintain MLOps best practices, including CI/CD, model versioning, experiment tracking, and automated retraining

• Work extensively with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow

• Containerize ML services and deploy them using Docker, Kubernetes, App Engine, or virtual machines

• Apply strong knowledge of NLP fundamentals, including transformers, attention mechanisms, embeddings, and text preprocessing

• Deploy and manage models in production, conduct A/B testing, and measure performance improvements using statistical methods

• Develop features, run experiments, analyze results, and translate insights into actionable improvements

• (Good to have) Build and deploy classical ML models (regression, classification, clustering), NLP applications (sentiment analysis, summarization, Q&A, chatbots, information retrieval), and computer vision solutions (image classification, object detection, segmentation using models such as YOLOv7, DDRNet, RFTM with datasets like COCO and Cityscapes)

 

Qualifications

• PhD with 5+ years, Master’s with 6+ years, or Bachelor’s with 7+ years of experience in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field

• Strong proficiency in Python for machine learning and production systems

• Solid understanding of software engineering fundamentals, system design, and design patterns

• Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform (GCP, Azure, or AWS)

• Experience building and deploying production-grade ML systems

• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts and results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Excellent time management, collaboration, and organizational skills

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability.  If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law. 

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This posting is a new position within our organization.