Senior AI Cloud Engineer

Join the AI Acceleration Team within Enterprise Technology at Arizona State University as a Senior Software Engineer focused on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and full-stack AI platform development. This role will help design, build, and scale the technical infrastructure enabling ASU’s next generation of AI-powered learning, research, and operational tools, with a focus on securely connecting AI applications to external tools, data sources, workflows, and enterprise systems.

About the Role

The successful candidate will serve as a senior technical contributor and architecture partner for ASU’s AI platform ecosystem, including CreateAI, ASU’s secure, model-agnostic AI platform. This hands-on engineering role involves moving between architecture, backend development, frontend development, cloud infrastructure, security design, and stakeholder collaboration. The AI Acceleration Team supports ASU’s AI strategy by:

• Building and maintaining secure AI infrastructure and platforms, including CreateAI
• Developing AI-powered tools that support learners, faculty, researchers, and staff
• Creating reusable patterns for responsible AI development
• Supporting enterprise integrations between AI systems and university data/services
• Partnering across ASU to build culture, literacy, trust, and responsible adoption around AI
• Advancing ASU’s vision for the future of learning through personalized, ethical, and accessible AI experiences

Responsibilities

MCP Platform Engineering

• Design, build, deploy, and maintain production-grade MCP servers and clients
• Implement MCP capabilities that allow AI applications to securely access approved tools, resources, prompts, and enterprise data
• Develop reusable MCP templates, SDK wrappers, reference services, and starter patterns for ASU engineering teams
• Integrate MCP-enabled services with CreateAI and other ASU AI applications
• Track the evolving MCP specification and recommend updates to ASU implementation patterns
• Evaluate emerging agentic interoperability standards beyond MCP and advise on practical adoption

Full-Stack AI Application Development

• Build full-stack applications and platform features that support AI-enabled workflows
• Develop backend services, REST APIs, serverless functions, frontend interfaces, and integration layers
• Work with modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks such as React or Next.js
• Develop backend services in Python, Node.js, or comparable languages
• Implement secure user experiences that make complex AI capabilities accessible to non-technical users
• Rapidly prototype AI-driven experiences, validate usability, and mature successful prototypes into reliable production systems

AWS Cloud Architecture and Infrastructure

• Design and implement AWS-native services using technologies such as Lambda, API Gateway, S3, DynamoDB, CloudFront, SQS/SNS, EventBridge, CloudWatch, Secrets Manager, OpenSearch, and Bedrock
• Build infrastructure-as-code using Terraform or comparable tools
• Design scalable, resilient, cost-conscious cloud architectures
• Implement deployment pipelines, CI/CD workflows, automated testing, and operational monitoring
• Troubleshoot performance, reliability, security, and cost issues in production systems

Security, Governance, and Responsible AI

• Partner with security and operations teams to define guardrails for MCP and AI integrations
• Assess risks such as prompt injection, tool poisoning, data exfiltration, over-permissioned tools, supply-chain vulnerabilities, insecure third-party MCP servers, and sensitive data exposure
• Implement authentication and authorization using OAuth, OIDC, JWTs, scopes, service roles, and secrets management
• Ensure AI integrations follow ASU expectations for privacy, FERPA-aware design, responsible innovation, and human-centered impact
• Build logging, auditing, and usage analytics into MCP and AI services
• Contribute to integration review processes and technical approval criteria

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and seven (7) years of experience appropriate to the area of assignment/field; OR, any equivalent combination of experience and/or training from which comparable knowledge, skills, and abilities have been achieved

Desired Qualifications

• Hands-on experience designing, building, or operating MCP servers, MCP clients, AI tools, or agentic AI integrations
• Strong understanding of the Model Context Protocol, including tools, resources, prompts, transports, and security considerations
• Experience with retrieval-augmented generation, embeddings, vector search, prompt engineering, evaluation, and agentic workflows
• Familiarity with AI safety, responsible AI practices, model evaluation, and governance
• Experience with Node.js and modern frontend frameworks such as React
• Experience designing RESTful APIs, event-driven services, and microservice-style architectures
• Experience with AWS cloud services, especially serverless architectures (AWS Lambda, API Gateway, S3, DynamoDB, IAM, CloudWatch, CloudFront, SQS)
• Strong background in API security, authentication, authorization, and secrets management, including OAuth, OIDC, and JWT
• Experience supporting security reviews, incident response, threat modeling, or integration approval processes
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong written communication, documentation, and presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to model empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence
• Experience in a values-driven organization with a strong commitment to inclusion and belonging
• Ability to cultivate a psychologically safe environment where all team members can thrive
• Capacity to inspire and drive meaningful change in individual, institutional, and corporate behaviors to support a more sustainable environment
• Commitment to leading by example through effective communication, active participation, and advocacy for the institution’s sustainability programs

Working Environment

• Activities are primarily performed in an environmentally controlled office or hybrid work setting
• Work requires regular use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, video conferencing, and collaboration tools
• Role may require extended periods of sitting and focused technical work
• Regular communication with team members, stakeholders, and university partners is required
• Responsibilities may require changing priorities quickly, responding to production issues, and resolving ambiguity across teams

Benefits

• Mission-oriented work advancing ASU’s charter, measuring who we include and how they succeed
• Flexible work environment, including hybrid work with three in-person days per week
• Positive Core culture embracing belonging, relational, authentic, visionary, and empowered values
• Opportunities for professional development, including certificates and degrees via ASU’s top-ranked programs with major tuition breaks
• Exposure to industry partnerships with companies like Amazon, Apple, Arista, Cox, Verizon, Salesforce, and Alteryx

Pay

Salary Range: $140,000 - $168,100, depending on experience