AI Engineer – Production Applications and Systems in Lausanne

• AI Engineer – Production Applications and Systems
• AI Engineer – Production Applications and Systems
• Ethinc
• — EPFL Innovation Park, Building E, Module 008, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
• Full-time · Permanent contract · On-site · Start date : 1 March 2027
• About Ethinc

Ethinc is an AI and data consultancy based at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne.

Founded by EPFL alumni and engineers with industry backgrounds, we build AI systems that address practical organisational needs: internal applications, data pipelines, machine learning solutions and tools used by our clients’ teams.

We work closely with our clients, from defining their initial requirements through to deployment and continuous improvement.

Our projects require rigorous engineering, careful data handling and a clear understanding of how people will use the systems we develop.

More at

The role

We are looking for an AI Engineer to develop, improve and maintain applications running in our clients’ environments.

You will take technical ownership of client projects or major components, from understanding requirements and implementing solutions through to testing, deployment, documentation and ongoing technical support.

The role combines Python development, backend systems, data processing and applied AI.

Depending on the project, you may work with large language models (LLMs), document processing pipelines, search and information retrieval systems, machine learning models or automation.

You will also help existing systems evolve as requirements change and users provide feedback.

You will make technical decisions within your area of responsibility, contribute to the team’s architectural and tooling choices, and serve as the technical point of contact for clients using the systems you own.

The role involves regular collaboration with colleagues and direct interaction with clients.

• Your responsibilities
• Develop and maintain Python services, APIs and data pipelines that support AI applications.
• Build AI capabilities such as structured data extraction, semantic search, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and model-assisted workflows.
• Evaluate outputs, analyse failure cases and improve system quality through testing, data analysis and user feedback.
• Work with databases, external APIs, documents, and structured and unstructured data.
• Prepare components for deployment and monitor, debug and maintain them in production.
• Work with the project team to translate functional requirements into practical technical solutions.
• Contribute to technical decisions and tool selection.
• Document technical decisions, operating procedures and handover information so that others can work effectively with the system.
• Clearly communicate progress, limitations and technical decisions to colleagues and client teams.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to junior engineers and interns.

Your profile

You have

• A master’s degree in data science, computer science or a related field, from EPFL or an equivalent institution.
• Strong practical Python programming skills.

• Hands-on experience in several of the following areas

• Developing or maintaining backend services, APIs or data pipelines.
• Deploying and maintaining AI or data applications used by teams in their day-to-day work.
• LLM-based applications, RAG, embeddings, document AI, optical character recognition (OCR) or computer vision.
• Docker, CI/CD, cloud services or containerised environments.
• Monitoring, model evaluation and human-in-the-loop review workflows.
• The ability to take over and improve an existing codebase, investigate problems and see them through to resolution.
• Sound judgement regarding testing, data quality, reliability and the handling of client information.
• The ability to organise your work across project phases and communicate clearly as requirements evolve.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in both English and French.
• Availability to work on-site in Lausanne.

We value the systems and applications you have built and maintained, the decisions you have made along the way, and how you work with others.

This experience may come from employment, internships, research or substantial applied projects.

Additional assets

Experience in client-facing technical work or on projects with operational, security or confidentiality constraints.

What we offer

• Long-term involvement in projects, from development through to deployment and ongoing improvement.
• Direct collaboration with experienced engineers and AI and data specialists.
• Ownership of important client systems within a team that actively shares its expertise.
• Exposure to a variety of organisations, business processes and technical challenges.
• A small, collaborative team based at the EPFL Innovation Park.
• A working culture built on trust, intellectual honesty, accountability and a commitment to good working conditions.

How to apply

Send us your CV and a short cover note.

Tell us about a system or application you have developed or maintained, the responsibilities you held, and how you approached a technical challenge or a change in requirements.

We are interested in how you work, explain your decisions and contribute to a team.

Be clear. Be specific. Be yourself.

• Ethinc Sàrl
  EPFL Innovation Park, Building E, Module 008
  1015 Lausanne jpide2b69dfws jpit1145ws jpiy26ws