PRINCIPAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ENGINEER (1044) - Department of Technology

Company Description

Why Work for the Department of Technology (DT)? DT is the centralized technology services provider in the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF). We deliver technology infrastructure and services to approximately 33,000 employees! With an annual operating budget of over $140M and approximately 300 employees, DT provides a host of services that range from Public Safety radio and wiring and Network services to Enterprise Support and the Cloud.

Benefits of Working for CCSF:  In addition to challenging and rewarding work, the City provides a generous suite of benefits to its employees.

• Competitive pay, as well as pension and robust retirement options. 
• Generous paid time off, family leave, and more!
• Hybrid Work with a minimum of 20% of time spent in our office in San Francisco, California for all IT related roles
• Diverse work environment in a diverse city
• Career development and growth — move between departments, learn on the job, or take subsidized/reimbursed classes!

PEOPLE-CENTERED SOLUTIONS — have a powerful, meaningful effect on the community each day with people at the heart of every solution!

CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE — bring the benefits of the internet to low-income and marginalized residents!

SHINE A LIGHT ON WHAT MATTERS — join an award-winning production team at SFGovTV to help residents watch legislators or learn more about what makes this City great!

DRIVE INNOVATION — deliver new, cutting-edge technology to residents and city partners to help San Francisco serve its residents!

Job Description

The City and County of San Francisco is seeking a talented and motivated Principal AI Engineer to join our Emerging Technologies team at the Department of Technology. As a Principal AI Engineer, you will play a crucial role in designing, developing, and implementing cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of various city services. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the public sector by leveraging AI technologies to solve real-world problems and improve the lives of San Francisco residents, workers, businesses, and visitors. 

Key Responsibilities:

• AI Solution Development: Design, develop, and deploy AI models and algorithms to address various challenges faced by city departments, such as traffic management, public safety, healthcare, and public works. Identify opportunities and design solutions that show what’s possible with exemplary projects. This role will help set best practices and develop decision-making frameworks for the rest of the City on when to use AI.
• Data Engineering: Collect, preprocess, and analyze large datasets from multiple sources to support AI initiatives. Ensure data integrity and security while adhering to privacy regulations.
• Collaboration and Consultation: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including data scientists, software engineers, and domain experts to identify AI opportunities and implement solutions to build best practices and templates, and cultivate a community of AI developers and users in the City.
• Prototyping and Experimentation: Rapidly prototype AI applications and conduct experiments to test hypotheses and validate model performance.
• Continuous Improvement: Monitor, build an evaluation framework for generative AI, and evaluate the performance of AI systems in production. Implement improvements and updates as necessary to maintain high accuracy and efficiency.
• Documentation and Reporting: Maintain comprehensive documentation of AI models, processes, and project progress. Prepare and present reports to stakeholders and senior management.
• Ethical AI Practices: Ensure that AI solutions are developed and deployed in an ethical manner, considering equity, fairness, accountability, and transparency.

Appointment Type:

This Permanent Exempt (PEX), Full Time position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the appointment officer. The anticipated duration of this project position is thirty-six (36) months and will not result in an eligible list or permanent civil service hiring.

Work Location

If hired, incumbent must be a resident of or relocate to the State of California within 4 weeks as a condition of employment.

This position supports remote work. The incumbent may be permitted to work a hybrid schedule with their supervisor’s approval, after which they must work at least two days in the office every two weeks.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

An associate degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university OR its equivalent in terms of total course credits/units [i.e., at least sixty (60) semester or ninety (90) quarter credits/units with a minimum of twenty (20) semester or thirty (30) quarter credits/units in one of the fields above or a closely-related field].

Experience:

Five (5) years of experience analyzing, installing, configuring, enhancing, and/or maintaining the components of an enterprise network.

Substitution:

Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of two (2) years). One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units/ forty-five (45) quarter units with a minimum of 10 semester / 15 quarter units in one of the fields above or a closely related field.

Completion of the 1010 Information Systems Trainee Program may be substituted for the required degree.

Desirable Qualifications

Technical Skills: 

• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, or Java. 

• Strong understanding of machine learning frameworks and libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn). 

• Experience with data manipulation and analysis tools (e.g., SQL, Pandas, NumPy). 

• Familiarity with cloud platforms and services (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) is desirable.

Analytical Skills: Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to analyze complex datasets to extract meaningful insights. 

Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication skills. Ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. 

Certifications: Relevant certifications in AI/ML or cloud computing. 

Public Sector Experience: Familiarity with government processes and experience working on public sector projects. 

Project Management: Experience with project management tools and methodologies. 

Team Player: Ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously. 

Additional Information

Compensation: $77.9250 - $98.0125 (hourly)/$162,084 - $203,866 (annually) 

How to Apply:

• Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time, but not before Monday, January 6, 2025.
  • Your application MUST include a resume, a cover letter detailing your relevant experience, and any supporting documents (e.g., project portfolios, and code samples) via the City and County of San Francisco's official job portal.  To upload, please attach using the "additional attachments" function.

You may contact Lawlun Leung via email at lawlun.leung@sfgov.org with questions regarding this opportunity.

Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Mailed, hand delivered or faxed documents/applications will not be accepted.

The City and County of San Francisco does not sponsor visas. If you have an F1 student visa, the City will not sponsor the “optional practical training” requirement. All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are legally able to work in the United States without visa sponsorship by the employer

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.