Junior AI/ML Engineer

Who We Are:

Lippert is a leading, global manufacturer and supplier of highly engineered products and customized solutions, dedicated to shaping, growing and bettering the RV, marine, automotive, commercial vehicle and building products industries. We combine our strategic manufacturing capabilities with the power of our winning team culture to deliver unrivaled customer service, award-winning innovation and premium products to all of our customers.

Why We are Different:

At Lippert, Everyone Matters. This is not just a tagline or empty promise; it is who we are. We have intentionally created a culture that values and celebrates our team members' unique and varied backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We strive to give our team members a deeper sense of purpose at work, and we continue to build a better work environment by aligning our cultural and business strategies with the needs of our team members.

What You will Get:

1. A unique, inclusive and supportive company culture.
2. Comprehensive benefit offerings including medical, dental, vision, 401k with employer match, vacation, and more!
3. Fair and competitive compensation.
4. Career development and mentoring and opportunities to grow.
5. Holiday, personal and vacation days.

Summary/Objective:

The Data + AI team at Lippert is a highly specialized group dedicated to leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to drive innovation and efficiency across our various business units. As a manufacturing company, we apply a wide range of AI/ML techniques-including Large Language Models (LLMs)-to optimize internal processes, enhance decision-making, and streamline operations.

We collaborate closely with different departments to identify opportunities where AI can add value and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions. Our team partners with engineering, product development, and internal subject matter experts (SMEs) to define and execute long-term strategic goals and initiatives.

We consider our team to be a collective of diverse talents, each bringing unique strengths that contribute to our overall success. We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic about collaborating with various teams, staying at the forefront of advancements in LLMs, data science, and ML, and making a significant impact within a dynamic manufacturing environment.

This role is ideal for someone early in their AI/ML career who is eager to learn, contribute to real-world projects, and grow their expertise in Generative AI and LLMs

Duties and Responsibilities:

Essential Functions:

1. Assist in the development, testing, and deployment of AI/ML solutions, with a strong emphasis on LLM-based and Generative AI applications to drive efficiency and innovation across internal operations and business processes.
2. Support data preprocessing, feature engineering, and the maintenance of scalable data pipelines for model training and inference.
3. Contribute to the integration of generative AI models into cloud-based production environments (e.g., Databricks, Azure).
4. Participate in model evaluation, monitoring, and continuous improvement using relevant performance metrics and feedback loops.
5. Collaborate with cross-functional teams-including engineering, product development, and business stakeholders-to align AI initiatives with strategic goals and influence the technology roadmap.
6. Document AI models, workflows, and findings to facilitate transparency, reproducibility, and knowledge sharing.
7. Engage in code reviews, technical documentation, and internal knowledge-sharing sessions.
8. Stay current with advancements in AI/ML, particularly in Generative AI, LLMs, and emerging architectures.

Preferred Requirements:

• Familiarity with prompt engineering best practices and evaluation techniques for LLMs.
• Experience with large-scale data processing frameworks such as Apache Spark.
• Familiarity with the manufacturing industry and its unique challenges and opportunities.
• Experience with MLOps practices and tools for model lifecycle management.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Working Conditions:

• Primarily working indoors, office environment.
• May sit for several hours at a time.
• Prolonged exposure to computer screens.
• Repetitive use of hands to operate computers, printers, and copiers.

Qualifications:

• 1-3 years of hands-on experience in data science, machine learning, or AI engineering roles.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, or a related field- or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and deploying AI/ML solutions in production environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a collaborative, team-oriented mindset.
• Comfort working in agile, fast-paced, and iterative development environments.

Competencies:

• Foundational experience in developing Generative AI applications, including techniques such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), prompt engineering, and agent-based systems.
• Hands-on experience with frameworks such as LangChain, OpenAI APIs, Hugging Face, or comparable platforms for building LLM-based solutions.
• Proficiency in Python and libraries such as pandas, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch.
• Familiarity with cloud-based environments; experience with Azure and Databricks is a plus.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and exposure to CI/CD practices for ML deployment.
• Exposure to API development or integrating AI models into enterprise or customerfacing applications.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Adaptability and a growth mindset-eager to learn, experiment, and evolve with rapidly changing GenAI technologies.
• Collaborative spirit and the ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Initiative and curiosity-proactively explores new GenAI methods and tools to drive innovation.

Supervisory Responsibility:

This position does not have supervisory responsibilities upon hire.

Physical Demands:
While performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time position, and the expected work hours are 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday; weekend and overnight work could also be necessary at times throughout the year

Travel:

Minimal travel is expected for this position <5%.

Work Authorization/Security Clearance:

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Other Duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the Team Member for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Lippert provides equal employment opportunity to all team members and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, disability, citizen status, protected veteran status, military service, marital status or any other legally protected category as established by federal, state, or local law. This policy governs all employment decisions, including recruitment, hiring, job assignment, compensation, training, promotion, discipline, transfer, leave-of-absence, access to benefits, layoff, recall, termination and other personnel matters. All employment and personnel-related decisions are based solely upon legitimate, job-related factors, such as skill, ability, past performance, and length of service with Lippert.

Lippert's strong commitment to equal employment opportunity requires a commitment by each individual team member. Compliance with the letter and spirit of this policy is required of all team members. Violations of this policy should be immediately reported to your leader or to any member of leadership. Team members who violate this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

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