Senior AI Engineer, 80-100% (m/f/d)

About the job

The ZHdK, with around 2100 bachelor’s and master’s students, is one of the largest and most diverse art universities in Europe. The fields of study and research include Art Education, Design, Film, Fine Arts, Music, Dance, Theatre, and Transdisciplinarity. Located in the heart of Zurich, ZHdK is a dynamic place where passionate people from over 75 countries work, study, teach, research, and continue their education. The university includes numerous exhibition and performance venues where students’ project work is publicly presented.

The Information Technology Centre (ITZ) of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) consists of around 50 different specialists who manage the IT infrastructure of ZHdK, lead projects, develop software, and actively provide support.

The AI Service at ZHdK is newly established. It develops and operates central AI platforms, tools, and solutions for administration, research, and teaching. Architecture, platforms, and standards are currently being created. For this development, we are looking for a committed individual to start immediately or by arrangement as

Senior AI Engineer, 80-100% (m/f/d)

Your tasks:

As a Senior AI Engineer, you will significantly shape the technical implementation and further development of the AI Service. Together with the AI Service Owner, you form the core team and work closely with the existing ITZ teams.

Your focus is on building and further developing our AI platforms as well as implementing production-ready AI solutions.

• AI Platform & Architecture: You build our AI platforms and their technical architecture together with the IT teams and external partners, further develop them, and establish reusable components and technical standards. This also includes the technical evaluation of AI compute infrastructures and participation in their selection and procurement.

• AI Solutions Engineering: You design and develop production-ready GenAI solutions, such as RAG applications, AI agents, automations, and specialised AI services.

• Integration & Production Engineering: You integrate AI components and solutions into the existing IT landscape and ensure stable and economical operation together with the IT teams. This includes APIs, deployment, CI/CD, monitoring and logging, as well as usage and cost monitoring.

• Technology Evaluation: You pragmatically assess new models, frameworks, and technologies and develop PoCs if necessary.

• Collaboration & Knowledge Transfer: You work closely with IT teams, information security, data protection, and external partners to ensure that technical knowledge is built internally and sustainably anchored.

Your profile:

You should bring the following:

• A completed degree (university/fachhochschule) in computer science, data science, business informatics, or a comparable qualification, as well as several years of practical experience as an AI, software, cloud, or platform engineer.
• Practical experience with GenAI applications and LLM-based architectures, e.g. RAG or agentic workflows.
• Experience in building and operating technical platforms and services as well as transitioning solutions into productive operation.
• Experience with APIs, integration architectures, and connecting different systems and data sources.
• Solid software engineering skills.
• Experience in independently developing architectural and technology decisions, explaining them clearly, and documenting them thoroughly.
• Good German and English skills.

Experience in one or more of the following areas is an advantage:

• Hybrid AI and compute infrastructures, including cloud, GPU, and on-premises environments, as well as the provision and operation of self-hosted AI models.
• Security, access, and authorisation concepts for AI systems.
• Evaluation and observability of LLM-based systems.

What to expect and what makes this role special:

• Scope for design from the start: The AI Service is under development. Architecture, tech stack, and technical standards are not yet definitively defined. You will significantly shape these and have direct influence on central technological decisions.
• Diverse university context: You will work on very different requirements from administration, research, teaching, and artistic practice.
• Special working environment: You work at the interface of art, research, and technology in an interdisciplinary environment.

Your workplace is located in the Toni-Areal in Zurich-West, where studios, workshops, concert halls, cinema, and exhibition spaces are all under one roof. You work in the midst of an internationally active art and design university and, by arrangement, from home. Employment conditions are governed by cantonal personnel legislation.

Your contacts for further information:

Max Zurkinden, AI Service Owner
Alessia Consorti, HR Business Partner

Additional information about the Zurich University of the Arts can be found at www.zhdk.ch .

We kindly accept your complete application documents by 31 October 2026 via the "Apply online now" link at the end of this advertisement. Please note that we only consider online applications (no email applications) for this position. A personal cover letter is very welcome.

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Zurich University of the Arts
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