Distinguished AI Engineer (Nashville)

Anticipated End Date:2026-08-05Position Title:Distinguished AI EngineerJob Description:Distinguished AI EngineerLocation: This role requires associates to be in-office 1 - 2 days per week, fostering collaboration and connectivity, while providing flexibility to support productivity and work-life balance. This approach combines structured office engagement with the autonomy of virtual work, promoting a dynamic and adaptable workplace. Alternate locations may be considered if candidates reside within a commuting distance from an office.Please note that per our policy on hybrid/virtual work, candidates not within a reasonable commuting distance from the posting location(s) will not be considered for employment, unless an accommodation is granted as required by law.The Distinguished AI Engineer is a highly experienced, hands-on AI individual contributor to design, build, and scale enterprise AI solutions across machine learning, generative AI, and AI agents. This role is for a senior technical expert who can directly develop production-grade AI capabilities while also influencing architecture, delivery models, and engineering practices across the organization. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with strong business acumen and has a proven track record of building reusable AI services at scale. This is not a pure research or management role; we are looking for a hands-on builder who thrives in complex enterprise environments and can help modernize how AI solutions are developed and deployed. The ideal candidate can also make sound buy, build, and integrate decisions across commercial and open-source AI solutions, selecting the right approach based on business need, regulatory requirements, speed to value, and long-term maintainability.How You Will Make An Impact: Design, develop, and deploy enterprise AI solutions spanning traditional machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI systems.Architect and deliver scalable, resilient AI solutions leveraging technologies such as agentic systems, large language models (LLMs), distributed systems, and event-driven architectures.Serve as a senior hands-on contributor, technical leader, and subject matter expert across the AI development lifecycle Build reusable AI services, frameworks, accelerators, and reference architectures leveraged across multiple teams and use cases Partner with business domain SMEs, product, engineering, architecture, security, data, and business teams to translate business opportunities into scalable AI solutions Lead buy, build, and integrate decisions across commercial and open-source AI solutions, balancing speed, cost, risk, security, scalability, and strategic differentiation Use modern AI-assisted development tooling to improve speed, quality, and efficiency of solution delivery Guide implementation teams through architecture, design, model selection, evaluation, deployment, and operationalization of AI solutions Mentor junior AI engineers and elevate the broader organization's AI engineering capabilities Influence technical direction across teams through expertise, credibility, and collaboration rather than formal authority Ensure solutions are designed for enterprise requirements including scalability, security, observability, governance, and maintainability Define enterprise-wide technical direction, including architecture patterns, integration standards, and reusable platform capabilities.Lead AI-driven modernization of legacy systems through automated code transformation, service decomposition, and continuous optimization.Design and implement AI-enabled software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices to improve engineering velocity and quality.Establish technical standards, governance frameworks, and best practices for AI systems, including monitoring, evaluation, and responsible AI.Partner with engineering teams and stakeholders to enable adoption of AI-assisted development and drive continuous improvement in system performance and productivity.Provide technical leadership and mentorship while influencing enterprise technology decisions through deep expertise and hands-on engineering.Minimum Requirements:Requires a bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field and a minimum of 15 years of experience in software engineering, including experience leading, designing, implementing, and operating distributed systems and large-scale architectures, or any combination of education and experience which would provide an equivalent background.Experience designing, developing, and maintaining software solutions using Python, Java, or comparable object-oriented programming languages also required, as well as experience designing and implementing APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures, and applying cloud, CI/CD, and DevOps practices.Preferred Skills, Capabilities & Experiences:Subject matter expert in machine learning, GenAI, and AI agents.Experience working in a Fortune 100 regulated company, startup, and or top-tier technology firm, ideally in combination.Proven success at building and deploying reusable AI services at scale Experience operationalizing AI in production with MLOps, LLMOps, observability, and governance practices.For candidates working in person or virtually in the below locations, the salary* range for this specific position is $231,440 - $416,592.Location(s): Illinois, California, Washington, Virginia, Massachusetts.In addition to your salary, Elevance Health offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). The salary offered for this specific position is based on a number of legitimate, non-discriminatory factors set by the Company. The Company is fully committed to ensuring equal pay opportunities for equal work regardless of gender, race, or any other category protected by federal, state, and local pay equity laws.* The salary range is the range Elevance Health in good faith believes is the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. This range may be modified in the future and actual compensation may vary from posting based on geographic location, work experience, education, and/or skill level. Even within the range, the actual compensation will vary depending on the above factors as well as market/business considerations. No amount is wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable under the terms and conditions of the applicable policies and plans. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.Job Level:Non-Management ExemptWorkshift:1st Shift (United States of America)Job Family:IFT > IT ArchitecturePlease be advised that Elevance Health only accepts resumes for compensation from agencies that have a signed agreement with Elevance Health. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Elevance Health.Who We AreElevance Health is a health company dedicated to improving lives and communities – and making healthcare simpler. We are a Fortune 25 company with a longstanding history in the healthcare industry, looking for leaders at all levels of the organization who are passionate about making an impact on our members and the communities we serve.How We WorkAt Elevance Health, we are creating a culture that is designed to advance our strategy but will also lead to personal and professional growth for our associates. Our values and behaviors are the root of our culture. They are how we achieve our strategy, power our business outcomes and drive our shared success - for our consumers, our associates, our communities and our business.We offer a range of market-competitive total rewards that include merit increases, paid holidays, Paid Time Off, and incentive bonus programs (unless covered by a collective bargaining agreement), medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability benefits, 401(k) +match, stock purchase plan, life insurance, wellness programs and financial education resources, to name a few.Elevance Health operates in a Hybrid Workforce Strategy. Unless specified as primarily virtual by the hiring manager, associates are required to work at an Elevance Health location at least once per week, and potentially several times per week. Specific requirements and expectations for time onsite will be discussed as part of the hiring process.The health of our associates and communities is a top priority for Elevance Health. We require all new candidates in certain patient/member-facing roles to become vaccinated against COVID-19 and Influenza. If you are not vaccinated, your offer will be rescinded unless you provide an acceptable explanation. Elevance Health will also follow all relevant federal, state and local laws.Elevance Health is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Applicants who require accommodation to participate in the job application process should submit the following form: Accessibility Accommodation Request Form and a member of the team will be in contact. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws,