Python + AI Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 4, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 30, 2026. Cognizant scores A on the Alion truth index.
We are seeking an experienced Python + AI Engineer with 8+ years of software engineering experience and strong expertise in building scalable Python applications and AI-driven solutions. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Agentic AI, RAG, APIs, cloud platforms, and enterprise application development. The engineer will be responsible for designing, developing, integrating, and operationalizing AI solutions while ensuring scalability, security, observability, reliability, and maintainability.
In this role, you will
- Design and develop scalable enterprise applications and backend services using Python.
- Build Generative AI and LLM-based applications, including conversational AI, intelligent assistants, summarization, knowledge retrieval, and workflow automation.
- Design and implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions using embeddings, vector databases, and enterprise knowledge sources.
- Develop AI agents and Agentic AI workflows capable of reasoning, tool invocation, orchestration, and multi-step task execution.
- Integrate LLMs from platforms such as Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, Anthropic, or open-source model ecosystems.
- Build reusable AI services and APIs using FastAPI, Flask, or similar Python frameworks.
- Implement prompt engineering, structured outputs, function/tool calling, context management, and AI guardrails.
- Establish evaluation approaches for measuring response quality, groundedness, relevance, hallucination risk, latency, and cost.
- Develop integrations with relational databases, NoSQL databases, vector stores, APIs, and enterprise platforms.
- Design asynchronous and event-driven processing using technologies such as Kafka, Azure Service Bus, or equivalent platforms.
- Containerize and deploy applications using Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native services.
- Implement unit testing, integration testing, automated quality controls, logging, monitoring, and observability.
Work model:
We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a remote position open to qualified applicants in Canada. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.
Note: The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.
What you need to have to be considered:
- 8+ years of software engineering/application development experience.
- Strong hands-on programming experience with Python.
- Strong understanding of OOP, design patterns, asynchronous programming, REST APIs, microservices, and distributed systems.
- Experience with Python frameworks such as FastAPI, Flask, Django, Pandas, NumPy, Pydantic, and pytest.
- Hands-on experience developing solutions using LLMs and Generative AI.
- Experience with RAG, embeddings, vector search, prompt engineering, and LLM orchestration.
- Knowledge of Agentic AI concepts, including agents, tools, memory/state, workflow orchestration, and human-in-the-loop patterns.
- Experience with at least one major cloud environment such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
- Knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases such as PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, or Redis.
- Experience with vector search/vector databases such as Azure AI Search, Pinecone, Weaviate, FAISS, or pgvector.
- Experience with Git, Docker, CI/CD, Kubernetes, and DevOps practices.
- Understanding of AI application security, responsible AI, monitoring, and production support.
We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.
Total compensation:
We regularly assess market data to ensure we offer a competitive compensation package for our associates. The base salary for this position ranges between CAD 70,000 - 92,000 per year. Where the successful candidate may fall within the range depends on relevant education, work and/or management experience and other business-related and job-necessary qualifications. This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual performance-based bonus, as well as benefits that support your physical, mental and financial wellbeing.