The New York Public Library · 2 days ago
Director of Software Engineering (AI & Data)
New York, NY
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
$160K/yr - $185K/yr
10+ years expThe New York Public Library is the nation's largest neighborhood public library system, seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead their data and AI initiatives. This role involves overseeing the development of enterprise data platforms and AI-powered products, while empowering researchers and the public to engage with the library's collections effectively.
Libraries
Responsibilities
Identify, evaluate, and implement emerging technologies, algorithms, and methodologies into our products and services
Define and champion the technical vision and roadmap for NYPL's data platforms, enterprise analytics capabilities, and the AI Search and Discovery products
Directly manage and mentor a team of Tech Leads and senior engineers, cultivating their leadership skills, business acumen, and technical decision-making
Own the hiring, training, and coaching process for Engineering team members, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement
Set clear goals and metrics for software development teams and maintain high standards of software quality while delivering on project goals
Own the continuous improvement of Engineering practices, patterns, and processes, removing roadblocks to maintain a world-class engineering team
Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends (including AI-enabled engineering tools) and incorporate them into the organization’s practices where appropriate
Drive the resolution of complex technical challenges and lead efforts to improve engineering processes
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience/application
Minimum of 10+ years of experience in data engineering, software engineering, or machine learning engineering, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership/management role
5 -10 years of progressive leadership/management experience
Drive continuous improvement in AI methodologies and best practices
Demonstrates good judgement in handling situations with multiple good solutions, or situations with no good solution
Proactive mindset that solves future problems before they become emergencies
Strong technical understanding of AI/ML DevOps, evaluation frameworks, agentic workflows, and permission systems integration. Proven ability to collaborate closely with technical leads and data scientists
Deep expertise in designing, building, and operating large-scale, production-grade data platforms and pipelines (SQL/NoSQL, cloud data warehousing like Snowflake, Databricks)
Production experience in leading an AI/ML engineering team to deliver a product, specifically involving NLP, vector databases, and RAG architectures
Production experience working with data stores, including ElasticSearch and/or Solr, with vector databases/stores a plus
Deep understanding of software development best practices, including DevOps best practices around CI/CD, git workflows, testing/test automation and infrastructure as code (IaC)
Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, with experience on AWS a plus
Company
The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
The New York Public Library has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (1)
2022 (2)
2021 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Shannon Sharp
Chief Financial Officer
Alison Stewart
Host: "GET LIT WITH ALL OF IT" book club partnership with NYPL
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