Senior AI Engineer

We Put the World on Vacation

Travel + Leisure Co. is the world’s leading vacation ownership and travel membership company, with a dynamic and growing portfolio of resort, travel club, and lifestyle travel brands. Our dedicated associates help the company achieve its mission to put the world on vacation. Innovation and growth keep our work interesting and fun. Every day is a chance to learn something new and turn vacation inspiration into exceptional experiences for millions of travelers worldwide.

The Senior AI Engineer , Technical Lead is a technology-savvy leader with exemplary knowledge of industry trends in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. This role is responsible for leading, designing, and communicating AI and ML delivery best practices while establishing, maintaining, and governing AI Design Patterns and AI Development Frameworks. The position leads cross-functional teams to deliver enterprise-scale AI solutions, working closely with stakeholders to plan and organize complex AI project implementations. This role provides strategic technical leadership during PMLC and SDLC phases, collaborating with Business Relationship Management, Project Management, and Architecture teams to review, estimate, and recommend delivery approaches. The position drives innovation through evaluating cutting-edge AI solutions, leading technical teams, and maintaining integrity of architectural decisions. Success will be measured by quality of AI delivery approaches, team performance, integration solutions, customer satisfaction, and governance contributions.

The Senior AI Engineer reports to the Director/VP of Applications Delivery & Services to deliver robust AI and machine learning solutions based on best practice AI engineering that is well aligned with the SDLC process.

How You'll Shine:

• Technical Leadership & Team Management - 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 across the organization.
• Architecture & Solution Design - Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture team to balance architectural recommendations with delivery strategy. Identify, evaluate, and recommend advanced AI architectures and technologies. Review and approve solution designs for alignment with enterprise guidelines, performance SLAs, architectural standards, and quality benchmarks.
• Strategic Collaboration & Project Leadership - 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.
• Technical Guidance & Mentorship - 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.
• Innovation & Strategic Planning - Drive innovation through evaluation of emerging AI solutions, strategic resource allocation, and thought leadership. Provide strategic and tactical guidance across all AI delivery disciplines and business domains. Lead proof-of-concept initiatives and technology adoption strategies.
• Governance & Best Practices - Establish and maintain AI development frameworks, design patterns, and governance protocols. Ensure compliance with enterprise standards, ethics guidelines, and regulatory requirements. Lead knowledge sharing and best practice dissemination across the organization.

Travel Requirements

• Less than 10%. Travel to different business units or sites may be necessary.

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, Data Science, or related field
• Master’s degree or equivalent in AI, Machine Learning, or related is highly preferred
• Advanced proficiency with enterprise development tools and platforms
• Professional certifications in AI/ML frameworks (TensorFlow Professional, PyTorch, MLOps) preferred
• Cloud AI platform certifications (AWS ML Specialty, Azure AI Engineer Associate, Google Cloud ML Engineer) highly preferred
• Leadership and project management training preferred
• Exceptional analytical, logical reasoning, and complex problem-solving skills
• Outstanding written and oral communication abilities with executive-level presentation skills
• Extensive experience consulting and collaborating with customers, business stakeholders, and C-level executives
• Proven ability to anticipate business challenges and recommend strategic AI/ML solutions
• Expert-level ability to translate complex business requirements into scalable AI technical components
• Demonstrated experience leading diverse, distributed teams (employees, consultants, onsite, offshore)
• Strong background in AI program and product design activities
• Excellent teamwork, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills
• Experience providing technical oversight to multiple functional teams simultaneously

Advanced AI/ML Leadership:

• Deep expertise in contemporary AI architectures, design patterns, and programming techniques
• Advanced knowledge of neural networks, deep learning, transformer architectures, and large language models
• Experience with scalable ML systems, distributed training, and high-performance computing
• Expertise in containerized and composable AI application design principles

Compliance & Governance:

• Extensive experience with SOX/PCI and similar compliance protocols
• Deep understanding of AI ethics, responsible AI practices, and bias mitigation
• Knowledge of data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) as applied to AI systems
• Experience with AI governance frameworks and model risk management

Core Technical Stack:

• Expert-level proficiency in Python, R, and AI/ML development languages
• Advanced experience with TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Keras, and emerging frameworks
• Specialized expertise in multiple domains: NLP (Hugging Face Transformers, LangChain), Computer Vision (OpenCV, YOLO), Reinforcement Learning, Generative AI
• Full-stack AI development including data engineering, MLOps, and model lifecycle management

Enterprise Integration & Deployment:

• Advanced experience with cloud AI services (AWS SageMaker, Azure ML Studio, Google Vertex AI)
• Expert knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and microservices architecture
• Proficiency in API development and service governance (FastAPI, GraphQL, REST)
• Advanced CI/CD and MLOps pipeline design (MLflow, Kubeflow, Jenkins, GitLab)
• Experience with enterprise data platforms and big data technologies (Spark, Hadoop, Databricks)

Data & Infrastructure:

• Advanced data modeling, database design, and data architecture for AI systems
• Experience with real-time data processing and streaming architectures
• Knowledge of data mesh and data fabric architectures
• Experience with feature stores and model registries

• 6+ years of IT experience in scaled application development environments
• 4+ years of hands-on AI/ML development and deployment experience
• 4+ years in technical leadership roles managing AI/ML teams
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and integration with enterprise AI technologies
• Experience developing AI applications for the hospitality industry preferred
• Track record of successful large-scale AI program delivery preferred
• Experience leading multi-site and offshore AI development teams preferred
• Background in consulting or client-facing technical leadership roles preferred

Experience equivalent to the education requirement may be accepted in lieu of the education requirement.

How You'll Be Rewarded:

We offer a diverse range of comprehensive health and welfare benefits to associates who work 30 or more hours per week to meet your needs and support you throughout your career with us. Travel + Leisure Co. benefits include:

Note: Temporary and/or seasonal associates are ineligible for Paid Time Off.

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Flexible spending accounts
• Life and accident coverage
• Disability
• Depending on position, paid time off, parental leave and holidays (speak to your recruiter for additional information)
• Wish day paid time to volunteer at an approved organization of your choice
• 401k with employer match (subject to eligibility requirements, including tenure - speak to your recruiter for additional information)
• Legal and identify theft plan
• Voluntary income protection benefits
• Wellness program (subject to provider availability)
• Employee Assistance Program

Where Memories Start with You

Hospitality is at the heart of all we do at Travel + Leisure Co. Here, you’ll find an inclusive environment where we deliver excellence and take time to have fun, celebrate together, and support one another. We're always looking ahead to what’s next and how we can strengthen our business, its neighboring communities, and the customer experience. Join our global team and build a career where memories start with you.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all applications will be considered for employment without attention to their membership in any protected class. If you require any reasonable accommodation to complete your application or any part of the recruiting process, please email your request to [email protected] , including the title and location of the position for which you are applying.