Lead AI Engineer

Overview

• Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Alef_Abu_Dhabi)

• Office - Flexible

• Fulltime
• Who we are
• Alef Education began with a bold idea: that every learner deserves a personalised and meaningful education experience.
• What started in 2016 as a small pilot programme in Abu Dhabi has evolved into one of the world’s most dynamic EdTech companies—reshaping how millions of students engage with learning across the globe.
• Today, Alef is proudly headquartered in the UAE, working hand-in-hand with ministries of education, schools, and teachers to bring smart, data-powered platforms into classrooms in over 14,000 schools.
• Supporting over 1.1 million students and 50,000 teachers across the UAE, Indonesia & Morocco our AI-driven platforms generate 16+ million data points every day, helping drive smarter learning decisions.
• Whether it’s improving national exam results, boosting classroom engagement, or supporting educators with world-class tools, Alef is committed to impact at scale.
• In 2024, Alef made history as the first EdTech company to list on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), cementing our role as a regional innovator with global reach.

About The Role

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the end-to-end delivery of scalable AI and Generative AI features, from initial conceptualization and prototyping through fast, reliable deployment, and continuous monitoring in live learning environments.
• Prioritize scalable implementation and efficient deployment strategies on Azure, leveraging CI/CD and MLOps principles. Ensure engineering excellence through rigorous technical reviews, maintaining high code quality and architecture standards.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering teams to align AI innovation with user needs and business goals, providing clear communication on project status, risks, and technical decisions.
• Guide the AI engineering team in building reusable tools, frameworks, and experimentation pipelines to accelerate future feature launches.
• Stay updated on the latest Gen AI trends and technologies, applying findings pragmatically.
• Promote a strong innovation culture through mentoring, workshops, and documentation.
• Ensure all AI solutions meet safety, privacy, and ethical standards before scale-up.

To Be The Right Fit, You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related preferred.
• 10+ yrs AI/ML engineering or equivalent software engineering background with, 3+ yrs hands-on Gen AI (LLMs, Agents, RAG, diffusion, etc.); Ed-Tech industry experience preferred.
• AI/ML Specialty certs (AWS/GCP/Azure) or peer-reviewed publications/patents preferred.
• Familiarity with Azure AI Services and Azure AI Foundry preferred.
• Proven end-to-end scalable AI applications in production.
• MLOps & CI/CD experience.
• Fluent English presentation & writing.
• Strong Python development expertise with; cloud deployment on Azure/AWS; Usage of AI Coding Agents.
• Innovative, creative, and passionate mindset, and willing to learn.
• Proven leadership of AI projects or teams.
• Fluency in English; Arabic is preferred.
• What we offer
• We believe our people are our greatest advantage.
• We value curiosity, purpose, and the drive to make a real difference.
• When you join Alef, you join a mission — and a team that’s just as passionate about transforming education as you are.
• Here’s a glimpse of what we offer:
• Annual flight allowance
• Annual performance bonus
• Education allowance
• Life insurance
• Enhanced leave policy
• A hybrid work model and up to 40 remote working days per year to work from anywhere (with flexibility built in)
• At Alef, we don’t just imagine a better future for education.
• We build it — together.