Sr. Software Engineer - AI/ML

Company Overview Group/Division The Information Technology (IT) group at KLA is involved in every aspect of the global business. IT s mission is to enable business growth and productivity by connecting people, process, and technology. It focuses not only on enhancing the technology that enables our business to thrive but also on how employees use and are empowered by technology. This integrated approach to customer service, creativity and technological excellence enables employee productivity, business analytics, and process excellence. Job Description/Preferred Qualifications Our Enterprise Advanced Analytics team is at the forefront of transforming data into actionable insights that drive strategic decisions across the organization. We are a collaborative, cross-functional group of engineers, data scientists, analysts, and architects who value: Innovation : We embrace new technologies and encourage experimentation to solve complex business problems. Ownership : Every team member is empowered to take initiative and drive projects from concept to production. Transparency : We foster open communication, regular knowledge sharing, and inclusive decision-making. Continuous Learning : We support professional development through certifications, tech talks, and hands-on learning. Impact : Our work directly influences enterprise-wide initiatives, from customer experience to operational efficiency. You ll be joining a team that believes in building with purpose , where engineering excellence meets data-driven strategy. Key Responsibilities: Design and deliver LLM-powered applications such as: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with enterprise knowledge sources Agentic workflows (tool/function calling, orchestration, multi-step reasoning) Text extraction/summarization , classification, Q&A, and document intelligence Build and optimize retrieval pipelines : chunking strategies, embeddings, vector search, reranking, grounding, and evaluation. Implement safety and quality guardrails: prompt injection defenses, PII redaction, secure prompt templates, hallucination mitigation, and auditability. Create robust evaluation frameworks: golden datasets, automated scoring, offline/online A/B testing , and continuous regression testing for prompts/models. Lead technical design for complex initiatives; define reference architectures and reusable components for LLM applications and MLOps. Mentor engineers, conduct design/code reviews, and elevate engineering standards (testing, documentation, observability, security). Partner with stakeholders to translate ambiguous business needs into clear AI deliverables, milestones, success metrics, and operational SLAs. Required Qualifications Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience). 8+ years experience in software engineering, ML engineering, or applied AI roles. Strong programming expertise in Python , solid SQL , and strong software engineering fundamentals (APIs, testing, CI/CD, code quality). Demonstrated experience building and deploying AI/ML systems into production with measurable outcomes. Hands-on experience building LLM applications (RAG/agents/tool calling) and implementing evaluation/monitoring practices. Experience with vector databases / search (e.g., Azure AI Search or equivalent), rerankers, and embedding lifecycle management. Familiarity with Responsible AI practices: privacy, security reviews, model risk management, bias/fairness, and explainability. Core Technical Skills LLM Apps: RAG, agents, tool/function calling, prompt engineering, evaluation harnesses, guardrails Languages: Python (required), SQL (required) Cloud: Azure (deployments, security, observability, CI/CD) Ops: Monitoring, incident response, SLO/SLA management, cost optimization Data: ETL/ELT, distributed processing concepts, data quality frameworks Preferred / Nice to Have: Contributions to open-source projects or technical blogs. Azure AI/ML ecosystem experience (e.g., Azure ML, Azure OpenAI, Functions, AKS, AAD, Key Vault, Monitor/App Insights). Microsoft certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure Developer Associate. Exposure to Agile/Scrum methodologies and tools like Jira or Azure boards. Minimum Qualifications Doctorate (Academic) Degree and related work experience of 3 years; Masters Level Degree and related work experience of 6 years; Bachelors Level Degree and related work experience of 8 years