The AI Solution Architect is a senior technical and strategic consulting role critical to driving AI-powered innovation across Harvard Medical School. Reporting to the Associate Director of Solution Architecture, this position will oversee day-to-day operations of Azure Generative AI environments and is responsible for the design, deployment, and optimization of robust AI solutions that advance the organization's strategic objectives. The AI Solution Architect will partner with cross-disciplinary teams, offering expert consultation on the full lifecycle of AI projects from ideation to execution. In addition to delivering technical expertise, this role will act as a trusted advisor guiding the strategic direction of AI initiatives to ensure they meet the school's immediate and long-term needs. As a subject matter expert (SME) in AI, this role requires the ability to translate complex technical challenges into practical, scalable solutions, driving both innovation and compliance in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Consulting and Solution Design:
Provide expert consultation services and act as a senior technical advisor to AI development teams and stakeholders to define project requirements, make recommendations for AI solutions and capabilities, and guide the execution of high-impact AI initiatives. This includes working closely with the Center for Computational Biomedicine and other teams requiring AI integration.
Lead the design and deployment of both cloud-based and on-premises systems that cater to the expansive needs of AI functionalities within the institution.
Technical Research and Development:
Engage in continuous research to identify and evaluate both commercial and open-source tools, recommending improvements that can augment the institution's AI capabilities.
System Management, Tool Development and Scripting:
Oversee the day-to-day operations of Azure Generative AI environments, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and security compliance.
Lead the development of tools and automations that assist with data ingestion, operational self-service features, and extract-transform-load (ETL) pipelines.
Develop proof-of-concept applications to validate and refine proposed AI solutions.
Script modular and reusable Terraform and PowerShell modules to streamline common infrastructure deployments and manage system configuration adhering to infrastructure as code (IaC) best practices, including version control, state management, and environment separation.
Project Leadership and Stakeholder Interaction:
Serve as a project lead or SME, overseeing AI development projects and ensuring the alignment of solutions with organizational goals.
Act as a liaison between technical teams and stakeholders, ensuring that AI solutions comprehensively meet the strategic needs of the organization.
Advisory and Compliance Roles:
Provide expert guidance and technical direction to infrastructure teams including DevOps, Network, and Security to align AI solutions with broader IT infrastructure.
Ensure compliance with architectural standards, perform code reviews, and maintain adherence to the Harvard University IT technical standards and Code of Conduct.
Basic Qualifications
Minimum of seven years' post-secondary education or relevant work experience
Additional Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
Extensive experience with Azure cloud computing technologies including networking, security, cognitive, data and containerization services, tailored to the Azure ecosystem.
Advanced knowledge of Generative AI application design, frameworks and tools.
Excellent stakeholder management and project planning abilities, coupled with the capacity to effectively communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
10+ years of experience in software development or leading a technical team
5+ years of experience translating requirements into client ready design documents
5+ years of full system development life cycle implementations
5+ years of experience with application architecture analysis, design, and delivery
2+ years of experience building GenAI environments
5+ year of experience in implementing cloud-based AI workloads on Azure, AWS and GCP
Proficient understanding of software development life cycles, CI/CD workflows and IaC concepts, with a strong background in .NET/C#, Python, Terraform, PowerShell and SQL.
Additional Information
The health of our workforce is a priority for Harvard University. With that in mind, we strongly encourage all employees to be up-to-date on CDC-recommended vaccines.
Please note that we are currently conducting a majority of interviews and onboarding remotely and virtually. We appreciate your understanding.
The Harvard Medical School is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position.
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Benefits
We invite you to visit Harvard's Total Rewards website (https://hr.harvard.edu/totalrewards) to learn more about our outstanding benefits package, which may include:
Paid Time Off: 3-4 weeks of accrued vacation time per year (3 weeks for support staff and 4 weeks for administrative/professional staff), 12 accrued sick days per year, 12.5 holidays plus a Winter Recess in December/January, 3 personal days per year (prorated based on date of hire), and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents who are primary care givers.
Health and Welfare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, disability and life insurance programs, along with voluntary benefits. Most coverage begins as of your start date.
Work/Life and Wellness: Child and elder/adult care resources including on campus childcare centers, Employee Assistance Program, and wellness programs related to stress management, nutrition, meditation, and more.
Retirement: University-funded retirement plan with contributions from 5% to 15% of eligible compensation, based on age and earnings with full vesting after 3 years of service.
Tuition Assistance Program: Competitive program including $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School and reduced tuition through other participating Harvard graduate schools.
Tuition Reimbursement: Program that provides 75% to 90% reimbursement up to $5,250 per calendar year for eligible courses taken at other accredited institutions.
Professional Development: Programs and classes at little or no cost, including through the Harvard Center for Workplace Development and LinkedIn Learning.
Commuting and Transportation: Various commuter options handled through the Parking Office, including discounted parking, half-priced public transportation passes and pre-tax transit passes, biking benefits, and more.
Harvard Facilities Access, Discounts and Perks: Access to Harvard athletic and fitness facilities, libraries, campus events, credit union, and more, as well as discounts to various types of services (legal, financial, etc.) and cultural and leisure activities throughout metro-Boston.
EOE Statement: We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.
