AI Engineer

City/State

Virginia Beach, VA

Work Shift

First (Days)

Overview:

OverviewAs an AI Engineer, you will design, develop, and deploy AI-powered services across Azure AI Resources including: document intelligence center, AI Search, Azure Agent Service, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines. You’ll implement agentic frameworks and use Model Context Protocol (MCP) to define and expose tools/APIs so agents can safely invoke them within multi-agent workflows. Working with cross-functional teams, you’ll help translate clinical, member and operational needs into scalable, compliant (e.g., HIPAA) AI solutions following all applicable leangle, compliance, AI Governance, and Security requirements.Key ResponsibilitiesAgentic Architecture & Design

• Design agentic frameworks for multi-agent orchestration; use MCP specifically to declare tool schemas/connectors and enable safe tool/API invocation (state and task coordination are handled by the orchestrator, not MCP).
• Help design AI solutions using Azure AI Services (AI Foundry, Document Intelligence Center, AI Search, Open AI, Azure Agent Service).
• Design secure RAG pipelines leveraging LLM inference and internal knowledge sources.

API Integration & Development

• Help design and build APIs to deliver AI capabilities to systems like Chatbot, AI Applications, EHR and member portals.
• Integrate clinical/member/operational APIs (e.g., FHIR, scheduling systems) with AI pipelines.

ML Engineering & Implementation

• Write production-grade Python, .Net code for model orchestration, data ingestion, and endpoint development.
• Tune prompts and optimize OpenAI/LLM performance for clinical content.
• Build chatbots with AI Foundry, Azure Agent Service and integrate OCR/Key-Value extraction via Azure Document Intelligence Center.

Deployment & Operations

• Containerize and deploy AI microservices (Docker, Kubernetes, Azure App Services).
• Implement CI/CD pipelines and monitor models for drift, system health, and performance using observability tools.

Governance & Documentation

• Collaborate with Security, Legal, Compliance and AI Governance teams to ensure Responsible AI practices and HIPAA compliance.
• Maintain solution documentation, runbooks, and technical specifications.

Education :Must: Highschool, GEDPreferred: MS or PhD in Computer Science, AI/ML, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.Certification/LicensureNo specific certification or licensure requirementsRequired Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on experience in production-grade AI/ML development.
• Strong Python skills with TensorFlow/PyTorch.
• Deep experience with Azure AI (AI Foundry, Document Intelligence Center, AI Search, OpenAI, Azure Agent Service).
• Skilled in RAG pipelines, LLM prompt engineering, and multi-agent orchestration (with MCP used for tool integration).
• Proficient in REST/gRPC APIs, Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD tools (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps).
• Clear communicator with the ability to engage cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Certification
• Healthcare/life sciences experience.
• Experience with ML registries (MLflow, Azure ML), A/B testing, and chatbot analytics.
• Familiarity with OpenAI fine-tuning (GPT-3.x/4), encryption, and privacy-preserving methods.
• Open-source contributions or published work in AI/ML.

Benefits: Caring For Your Family and Your Career• Medical, Dental, Vision plans• Adoption, Fertility and Surrogacy Reimbursement up to $10,000• Paid Time Off and Sick Leave• Paid Parental & Family Caregiver Leave • Emergency Backup Care• Long-Term, Short-Term Disability, and Critical Illness plans• Life Insurance• 401k/403B with Employer Match• Tuition Assistance – $5,250/year and discounted educational opportunities through Guild Education• Student Debt Pay Down – $10,000• Reimbursement for certifications and free access to complete CEUs and professional development•Pet Insurance 
•Legal Resources Plan
•Colleagues have the opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus if established system and employee eligibility criteria is met.

Sentara Health is an equal opportunity employer and prides itself on the diversity and inclusiveness of its close to an almost 30,000-member workforce. Diversity, inclusion, and belonging is a guiding principle of the organization to ensure its workforce reflects the communities it serves.

In support of our mission “to improve health every day,” this is a tobacco-free environment.

For positions that are available as remote work, Sentara Health employs associates in the following states:

Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.