Sr. AI Engineering Manager - Contract (through year-end) Denver, CO
Work Setting: On-site (5 days/week, ~8-5 MST)
Position Summary Our client in Denver, CO is seeking an experienced AI Engineering Manager to lead enterprise-scale delivery of LLM and applied machine learning solutions in a highly visible, business-critical environment. This is a senior technical leadership role that pairs deep hands-on LLM expertise with strong people leadership and the ability to translate complex AI concepts into clear, actionable strategies for senior executives. As an end-to-end owner, you will set technical direction, build and mentor a high-performing AI organization, and drive AI/ML products from concept through production. Success requires enterprise judgment-balancing experimentation with discipline and innovation with reliability-while ensuring AI investments deliver measurable business value at Fortune-100 scale. Reporting to a Director/VP-level leader, you will shape enterprise AI strategy and deliver impact at scale.
Key Responsibilities - Build, mentor, and scale teams of data scientists, ML engineers, data engineers, and software engineers, setting high technical standards and fostering a culture of accountability, delivery, and innovation.
- Lead the design, development, and deployment of AI/ML solutions-particularly LLM-based applications-from ideation through production.
- Ensure systems are secure, reliable, and scalable to enterprise and regulatory expectations.
- Own LLM strategy including model selection, fine-tuning, RAG architectures, prompt engineering, and agentic workflows.
- Partner with architecture and platform teams to establish standards, reusable capabilities, and best practices for enterprise AI.
- Define and communicate a compelling AI/ML roadmap aligned to business strategy, partnering with executives to identify high-value AI opportunities and prioritize use cases.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, operations, risk/compliance, and business teams to translate ambiguous needs into well-defined AI solutions.
- Champion ethical, responsible, and compliant AI practices.
- Drive strong execution using Agile methods across multiple teams; establish KPIs, OKRs, and success metrics to ensure predictable delivery and continuous improvement.
- Prepare and deliver concise, executive-ready updates, business cases, and technical briefings that translate complex AI/ML topics into clear, non-technical narratives.
Required Qualifications - 8+ years of people management experience leading technical teams (ML, data science, data engineering, or software engineering).
- 8+ years of applied ML / data science experience in industry (not purely research).
- 4+ years of hands-on LLM experience, including fine-tuning or domain adaptation, RAG architectures and vector search, prompt engineering and evaluation, and agentic or tool-using AI systems.
- Proven track record of delivering AI/ML systems into production in complex, real-world environments.
- Experience deploying products at Fortune 100 or equivalent enterprise scale.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated success influencing executives.
- Strong Agile leadership, program management skills, and comfort operating in ambiguity.
- Business-focused mindset-able to frame AI decisions in terms of outcomes, ROI, and risk.
Preferred Qualifications (Nice to Have) - Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Computer Science, AI/ML, Statistics, or a related field.
- Experience building or leading AI capabilities in large, regulated, or highly complex enterprises.
- Hands-on experience with modern AI/ML stacks (Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, vector databases, MLOps frameworks, cloud AI services).
- Prior ownership of an AI/ML product portfolio from strategy through scaled rollout.
About Unison SystemsUnison Systems is a national IT & Engineering Services firm that delivers secure, innovative technology solutions and resources for our clients ranging from the Fortune 500 to the U.S. Navy. We bring together the strongest talent and tools in the business to solve complex problems and build solutions that make a measurable impact. At Unison, we invest in our people, foster a collaborative culture, and give our team the opportunity to learn and grow their careers.
Unison is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or veteran status.
