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Travel + Leisure Co. · 2 days ago

Principal AI Engineer

Greater Orlando

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

6+ years exp

Travel + Leisure Co. is a leader in the travel industry, seeking a Principal AI Engineer to provide technical leadership in delivering AI solutions. The role involves guiding cross-functional teams in the implementation of AI/GenAI applications, ensuring compliance and quality standards while driving innovation and strategic planning in AI development.

HospitalityTour OperatorTravel

Hiring Manager

Widner A.

Responsibilities

Lead expansion of conversational AI platforms by guiding implementation of additional interaction channels and scaling adoption across multiple brands

Lead and advise project teams of AI engineers across the full AI stack (data pipelines, models, APIs, inference engines)

Provide technical direction, design approaches, and articulate AI delivery best practices

Oversee multiple cross-functional teams to ensure adherence to AI architectural standards and promote pattern reuse

Define enterprise AI platform architecture and lead technical evaluation of vendors with clear build vs. buy recommendations

Contribute to the design and rollout of a unified AI/GenAI application platform, enabling reuse and scalability across business solutions

Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture team to balance architectural recommendations with delivery strategy

Review and approve solution designs for alignment with enterprise guidelines, performance SLAs, and quality benchmark

Engage with various IT teams (Business Relationship Management, Project Management, Architecture, Quality Management) during PMLC and SDLC phases

Lead estimation sessions, recommend AI delivery approaches, and ensure alignment with business objectives and technical constraints

Guide implementation of GenAI-driven personalization and recommendation features in customer-facing channels

Communicate technical strategy, delivery progress, and risks to executive leadership

Ensure production GenAI agents meet defined standards for response accuracy, safe handling of sensitive data, and compliance with regulatory requirements

Implement governance, guardrails, and compliance controls for production AI agents

Establish and maintain AI development frameworks, design patterns, and governance protocols

Ensure compliance with enterprise standards, ethics guidelines, and regulatory requirements

Provide AI application and design guidance to technical staff through oversight of complex business requirements analysis

Guide solution design for AI models, data processes, interfaces, controls, and infrastructure within recommended timeframes, architecture standards, and budget constraints

Mentor junior and mid-level AI engineers

Support process enhancements and improvements across delivery teams

Evaluate AI/ML industry trends and emerging technologies; recommend innovative approaches that balance business value with enterprise standards

Drive innovation through evaluation of emerging AI solutions, strategic resource allocation, and thought leadership

Lead proof-of-concept initiatives and technology adoption strategies

Lead knowledge sharing and best practice dissemination across the organization

Qualification

AI/GenAI solutionsAI platform architecturePythonTensorFlowMLOpsCloud AI certificationsNLP expertiseData modelingCompliance knowledgeAnalytical skillsLeadership skillsCommunication skillsTeamwork skills

Required

Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, Data Science, or related field

Strong analytical, logical reasoning, and problem-solving skills

Excellent written and oral communication abilities with both technical and business stakeholders

Experience consulting and collaborating with customers, business stakeholders, and leadership

Ability to set technical direction, define standards, and guide delivery teams

Proven ability to translate business requirements into scalable AI technical solutions

Experience leading diverse teams and providing technical oversight to multiple functional teams

Experience managing relationships with AI/ML vendors and cloud AI service providers

Strong teamwork, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills

Practical experience with LLMs, conversational AI, and agentic AI applications

Experience with GenAI-driven personalization and recommendation systems

Knowledge of neural networks, deep learning, and transformer architectures

Experience with ML pipelines, model deployment, and evaluation in enterprise settings

Experience with AI governance frameworks and model risk management

Understanding of AI ethics, responsible AI practices, and bias mitigation

Knowledge of data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) as applied to AI systems

Experience with SOX/PCI and similar compliance protocols

Proficiency in Python and AI/ML development languages

Experience with TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, or similar frameworks

Expertise in NLP (Hugging Face Transformers, LangChain), Computer Vision, or Generative AI domains

Understanding of MLOps and model lifecycle management

Experience with cloud AI services (AWS SageMaker, Azure ML Studio, Google Vertex AI)

Knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and microservices architecture

Proficiency in API development (FastAPI, REST)

Experience with CI/CD and MLOps pipelines

Background in deploying AI systems integrated with CRM, call center, and digital channels

Data modeling and database design for AI systems

Experience with enterprise data platforms and big data technologies

Knowledge of real-time data processing and streaming architectures

6+ years of IT experience in scaled application development environments

4+ years of hands-on AI/ML development and deployment experience

Demonstrated success leading delivery of AI/GenAI solutions in production environments, with practical experience in multiple areas: Conversational AI platforms and scaling across channels/brands, GenAI-driven personalization and recommendation engines, Implementation of governance, guardrails, and compliance controls for production AI agents, Enterprise AI architecture and vendor evaluations with build vs. buy decisions

Preferred

Master's degree in AI, Machine Learning, or related field

Professional certifications in AI/ML frameworks (TensorFlow Professional, PyTorch, MLOps)

Cloud AI platform certifications (AWS ML Specialty, Azure AI Engineer Associate, Google Cloud ML Engineer)

Leadership and project management training

Experience developing AI applications for the hospitality industry

Track record of successful large-scale AI program delivery

Experience leading multi-site and offshore AI development teams

Background in consulting or client-facing technical leadership roles

Company

Travel + Leisure Co.

Travel + Leisure Co., the world's leading vacation ownership and membership travel company, provides more than six million vacations to travelers every year.

Founded in 2006

Orlando, Florida, USA

10001+ employees