Senior/Lead AI Software Engineer

Our client seeks an AI Software Engineer III to lead design and delivery of guardrail components and cross-service enforcement for AI-driven systems. The role will architect backend services, APIs, and integrations, define enforcement patterns, and mentor engineers on safe design and defensive programming. Candidates will implement observability, own shared tooling, and ensure defensive patterns are documented and repeatable across teams. Hybrid work. Candidates must be located in the Farmington Hills or Metro Detroit, Michigan area. No remote candidates., * Design and deliver backend services and APIs that enforce system behavior across multiple services.

• Define where and how enforcement, filtering, and validation should occur within system architectures.
• Build cross-service controls and establish patterns for other engineers to implement.
• Instrument and improve observability across service boundaries including structured logging, metrics, and distributed tracing.
• Own shared tooling and platform components with broad organizational reach.
• Mentor engineers on safe design, defensive programming, and failure handling practices.

Due to client requirements, applicants must be willing and able to work on a w2 basis. For our w2 consultants, we offer a great benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits, 401k with company matching, and life insurance., * 5-8 years of software engineering experience with strong proficiency in Python and TypeScript.

• Advanced experience building and operating production systems on AWS such as Lambda, Fargate, and API Gateway.
• Experience designing enforcement, filtering, or validation logic that spans multiple services.
• Track record of defining interfaces, contracts, or patterns adopted by other engineers.
• Ability to mentor junior and mid-level engineers on defensive design and safe coding practices.
• Clear written and verbal communication to define and document system-level enforcement patterns.
• Experience building agentic workflows or multi-agent systems.
• Familiarity with LLM integration patterns including prompt injection detection, guardrail design, or output filtering.

Skills, experience, and other compensable factors will be considered when determining pay rate. The pay range provided in this posting reflects a W2 hourly rate; other employment options may be available that may result in pay outside of the provided range.

W2 employees of Eliassen Group who are regularly scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week are eligible for the following benefits: medical (choice of 3 plans), dental, vision, pre-tax accounts, other voluntary benefits including life and disability insurance, 401(k) with match, and sick time if required by law in the worked-in state/locality.

If anyone reaches out to you about an open position connected with Eliassen Group, please ensure that you are working directly with us by confirming the following:

· When you work with Eliassen Group, all email communication will come from an Eliassen.com address, never Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

Eliassen Group is a strategic consulting firm that helps organizations reach further and achieve more through our technology, business advisory, and life sciences solutions. For nearly 40 years, we have combined exceptional people, deep domain expertise, and intelligent capabilities to expand our clients' capacity and accelerate meaningful outcomes. We are driven by a purpose to positively impact the lives of our employees, clients, consultants, and the communities we serve.