Senior AI Engineer

About McDonald's:

One of the world's largest employers with locations in more than 100 countries, McDonald's Corporation has corporate opportunities in Hyderabad. Our global offices serve as dynamic innovation and operations hubs, designed to expand McDonald's global talent base and in-house expertise. Our new office in Hyderabad will bring together knowledge across business, technology, analytics, and AI, accelerating our ability to deliver impactful solutions for the business and our customers across the globe.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Tech lead to build scalable end-to-end AI Systems that are focused on backend development
• Design, develop, and refine advanced AI models and algorithms, especially generative AI approaches. Includes writing code on AI product component modules, or prototypes, typically in python, but also leveraging database technologies—including vector, relational, NOSQL, messaging queues, front end interfaces, etc.
• Ensure alignment of AI engineering practices with enterprise AI architecture, strategy, and evolving technology stack
• Lead cross-functional teams in AI project execution, from ideation through deployment and continuous improvement
• Drive innovation in AI methodologies, tools, and frameworks to enable scalable and efficient model development
• Collaborate with data scientists, LLMOps/MLOps engineers, product managers, and business stakeholders to translate use cases into deployable AI solutions
• Oversee model deployment pipelines and infrastructure, ensuring robustness, security, and compliance
• Mentor junior AI engineers and foster continuous learning and knowledge sharing within AI teams
• Contribute to AI governance processes, including model validation, versioning, documentation, and audit-readiness
• Monitor and troubleshoot model performance in production environments, implementing retraining and enhancements as needed
• Stay up to date with industry advancements and evaluate their applicability within the enterprise AI ecosystem.

Qualifications:

• Provides leadership in enterprise AI engineering, enabling innovation and technical excellence
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Data Science, or a related field; Master's or PhD preferred
• 8+ years of professional experience in AI/ML engineering or AI System engineering (backend or full stack), with a strong track record of delivering production-grade AI solutions
• Strong expertise in some variety of programming languages, with an emphasis on Python. Advanced proficiency with some AI/ML frameworks (e.g., LangChain, TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Deep understanding of machine learning algorithms, generative AI models, model optimization and parameter tuning techniques, and data pipelines
• Experience with AI platforms and cloud services, especially GCP, but exposure to AWS and Azure helpful.
• Knowledge of deployment principles and experience implementing scalable and secure model deployment workflows
• Strong leadership skills with experience guiding engineering teams and collaborating across multiple functions
• Ability to communicate AI concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and business stakeholders
• Passion for innovation and a growth mindset, with a commitment to continuous learning and development in the AI space Leadership & Collaboration
• Build a psychologically safe, performance-driven team environment.
• Drive alignment with EDAA strategic objectives and foster knowledge-sharing across squads.
• Represent AI/ML Engineering in cross-functional reviews, steering groups, and enterprise wide architecture decisions.

Our Culture in Action We live our values every day:

• Serve: We put our people and customers first.
• Inclusion: Everyone is welcome and respected.
• Integrity: We do the right thing, even when it's hard.
• Community: We show up for each other and our neighborhoods.
• Family: We grow stronger together.
• Equal Opportunity Statement McDonald's is an equal opportunity employer committed to building an inclusive and supportive environment. We celebrate diversity and are proud to be an organization where everyone can thrive. Accommodations are available for qualified individuals throughout the application and employment processes