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AI and Azure Lead ( Onsite)

Cognizant

Washington, DCJob$80–170K/yrSeen 1w agoSeen in employer's feed 3 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$80–170K/yr
Location
Washington, DC
Work Authorization
Not specified

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Job overview

The AI and Azure Lead conducts market assessments of emerging AI platforms and evaluates solutions against business, architecture, security, and regulatory requirements. The role designs Azure-based architectures, integrates GenAI agents into existing systems, and supports production readiness and the software development lifecycle. It also advises project teams, participates in governance and design reviews, mentors developers, and contributes to engineering standards.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Technology AssessmentProof of ConceptsEnterprise ArchitectureCloud TransformationProduction EngineeringError HandlingRetryIdempotencyObservabilityFault ToleranceAPI DevelopmentFastAPICI/CDGitAutonomous WorkProblem SolvingCommunicationCollaboration

Qualifications

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or Related Field10+ Years Software Engineering and Solution Architecture Experience5+ Years Azure Enterprise Solutions Experience

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Paid Time Off
401(k) Match
Parental Leave

Full job description

SCOPE OF WORK

  • Conduct market research on emerging AI platforms, foundation models, AI agents, orchestration frameworks, developer tools, and enterprise AI products.

  • Analyze vendor offerings, market trends, product maturity, security considerations, and implementation models.

  • Assess solutions against IFC business requirements, enterprise architecture standards, and regulatory requirements.

  • Design end-to-end solution architectures leveraging Microsoft Azure services.

  • Define architecture patterns for AI, cloud-native applications, integrations, APIs, data platforms, and automation solutions.

  • Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, security, governance, and operational standards.

  • Develop architecture artifacts, design documents, and implementation roadmaps.

  • Integrate GenAI agents into the existing back-end codebase, APIs, and data pipelines.

  • Ensure production readiness by addressing error handling, retries, idempotency, logging, and monitoring.

  • Participate in the full software development lifecycle, from design and implementation to testing, deployment, and production support.

  • Collaborate with business stakeholders to refine requirements and solution vision.

  • Support project teams through architecture reviews, technical assessments, and implementation planning.

  • Participate in architecture governance forums and design reviews.

  • Mentor development teams on modern cloud and AI architecture practices.

  • Participate in code reviews and contribute to shared engineering standards and best practices.

  • Actively participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives.

SKILLS / EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

  • Bachelor’s degree or Masters degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field.

  • Minimum 10 years of experience in software engineering and solution architecture.

  • Minimum 5 years of experience designing enterprise solutions on Microsoft Azure.

  • Demonstrated experience evaluating emerging technologies and conducting technical market assessments.

  • Proven track record of delivering proof-of-concepts and scaling them into production environments.

  • Experience leading enterprise architecture and cloud transformation initiatives.

  • Experience working in complex enterprise organizations and cross-functional teams.

  • Strong grasp of production engineering concepts such as error handling, retry, idempotency, observability, and fault tolerance.

  • Proficiency in building APIs using FastAPI or similar frameworks.

  • Experience with CI/CD pipelines and Git-based version control workflows.

  • Ability to work autonomously in ambiguous problem spaces and make sound engineering trade-offs.

  • Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills with the ability to work in multi-cultural teams across different time zones.

Salary and Other Compensation:

Applications will be accepted until Nov 15, 2026.

The annual salary for this position is between $80,000 - $170,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

  • Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

  • Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

  • 401(k) plan and contributions

  • Long-term/Short-term Disability

  • Paid Parental Leave

  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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