AI Architect

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.

Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.

Position Summary

The AI Architect is a mid-level, delivery-oriented solution architect responsible for designing AI solutions for assigned initiatives and supporting their implementation. The role translates validated business needs into secure, scalable, supportable, and cost-conscious architectures across generative AI and predictive machine learning. Working primarily through product owners and business analysts, the architect defines solution requirements, evaluates build-versus-buy options, establishes measurable success criteria, and validates business and technical fit.

The AI Architect develops solution designs, proofs of concept, and technical validations using Google Cloud Platform (GCP), BigQuery, Databricks, and Microsoft Copilot capabilities, with limited coding where needed to reduce delivery risk. The role contributes to enterprise architecture patterns for AI assistants, Copilot integration, enterprise knowledge integration, and AI-ready data products. It collaborates with data architects on data flows, retrieval patterns, vector stores, feature pipelines, metadata, and lineage. The role applies established enterprise architecture, security, privacy, responsible AI, data governance, and model risk controls, and coordinates required reviews. Senior architects and review boards retain approval authority for material decisions, standard exceptions, and higher-risk designs.

The role defines nonfunctional requirements, deployment patterns, observability, model monitoring, production-readiness criteria, and support expectations, then transitions implementation and ongoing operational ownership to engineering and operations. It also documents reusable AI patterns and lessons learned and recommends updates to enterprise standards.

Essential Responsibilities

• Leadership: Lead architecture work for assigned initiatives through coaching and feedback, and through significant interactions and influence with delivery teams and leaders. Guide work efforts to ensure alignment with reference architecture, IT strategy and policy. Collaborate cross-organizationally to influence alignment on and adoption of enterprise architecture standards.
• Technical Expertise: Provide consultation and direction to delivery and operational teams on optimal architecture for AI solutions, including proofs of concept and technical validation. Maintain state-of-the-art expertise in enterprise architecture technologies, AI and machine learning frameworks, and industry innovations.
• Architectural Operations: Review projects and work efforts and prepare recommendations regarding compliance with architectural standards. Identify and escalate exceptions to senior architects or review boards. Continuously improve operational processes. Assess, report, and make recommendations to reduce operational risk related to technology or architecture.

Minimum Requirements

• Seven years of related functional experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Technology, Science, Business or related field, or 4 years of experience equivalent to the position.
• Exposure to diverse systems, technologies and processing environments in a large Corporate setting.
• Project solution architecture experience.
• Knowledge of core aspects of architecture (Software, Hardware, Network, Integration, Data, hosting models, platform types, etc.).
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Extensive knowledge of future technology trends within area of expertise.
• Excellent communication skills, effective with varying organizational levels and skill sets.
• Excellent Relationship Management and collaboration skills, with a track record of working as one team cross-organizationally to drive innovation and business results.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience architecting and governing Microsoft Copilot and enterprise AI solutions, including AI control planes, enterprise data access, security, governance, and AI-ready data products.
• Working experience designing cloud-based AI and machine learning solutions, supported by strong cloud solution architecture fundamentals.

• Experience with generative AI and predictive machine learning patterns, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agents, model serving, evaluation, and monitoring.

• Experience with MLOps practices, including model lifecycle management, experimentation, deployment, observability, performance monitoring, and operational transition.

• Experience with GCP, BigQuery, and Databricks for AI, machine learning, analytics, or data engineering solutions.

• Experience creating proofs of concept, performing technical validation, and using limited coding to test architecture decisions and reduce delivery risk.

• Experience defining measurable solution success criteria, evaluating model and solution quality, validating business and technical fit, and supporting build-versus-buy decisions.

• Experience designing AI-related data flows, retrieval patterns, vector stores, feature pipelines, metadata, lineage, and governed access in collaboration with data architects.

• Working knowledge of responsible AI, cybersecurity, privacy, data governance, and model risk practices, including identifying risks, incorporating established controls, and coordinating required reviews.

• Experience defining nonfunctional requirements, deployment patterns, scalability, latency, resiliency, observability, model monitoring, production-readiness criteria, and support expectations.

• Experience collaborating with engineering and FinOps on model and service selection, consumption forecasting, performance, scalability, and cost optimization.

• Ability to translate business needs provided through product owners and business analysts into architecture requirements, evaluation criteria, and implementable solution designs.

• Experience documenting reusable AI architecture patterns, capturing lessons learned, and recommending improvements to standards and reference architectures.

• Relevant GCP, Databricks, cloud architecture, machine learning, or AI certifications are preferred but not required.

Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.

Our Values

Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe

Our Employee Commitments

• Work that makes a difference
• A team you can count of
• Opportunities to grow
• Rewards that help you thrive

Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.

Non-BargainingThe anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $118,000.00 to $142,500.00 per yearThis position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, Health Care Reimbursement Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental Leave

Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.

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