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Ai Agent Developer Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Covista

Director- Applied AI

Lisle, IL · On-site

$250K/yr

Principal AI/Agent Architect, Responsible AI/Risk & Safety Lead, and AI Evaluation Engineer, and prepare the FY28 roadmap hires pending demonstrated value. * Cultivate a high-performing, inclusive ...

Covista

Director- Applied AI

Lisle, IL · Hybrid

$250K/yr

Principal AI/Agent Architect, Responsible AI/Risk & Safety Lead, and AI Evaluation Engineer, and prepare the FY28 roadmap hires pending demonstrated value. * Cultivate a high-performing, inclusive ...

Covista

Director- Applied AI

Lisle, IL · Hybrid

Principal AI/Agent Architect, Responsible AI/Risk & Safety Lead, and AI Evaluation Engineer, and prepare the FY28 roadmap hires pending demonstrated value. * Cultivate a high-performing, inclusive ...

Xcede

Member of Technical Staff - AI

Mundelein, IL · On-site

Applying context engineering, agent harnesses, small model training, and RL techniques to deploy AI that makes high-leverage decisions in production environments * Collaborating directly with ...

New

project44

Staff Product Manager, Agentic AI

Chicago, IL · On-site

... engineering. * AI Agent Analytics & Reporting - the measurement layer (AI Agent Analytics, LunaIntel and LunaVoice dashboards, collaboration and carrier-performance reporting) that proves outcomes by ...

Lightedge

Sr. AI Integration Engineer

Chicago, IL

$107K - $144K/yr

AI Agent, Harness & Workflow Development: Design, develop, and maintain production-grade AI agents ... Engineering Standards: Contribute to codebases, deployment pipelines, support practices, and ...

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All JobsAi Agent Developer JobsAi Agent Developer Jobs in Chicago, IL

Ai Agent Developer information

See Chicago, IL salary details

$29.9K

$49.4K

$102.5K

How much do ai agent developer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for ai agent developer in Chicago, IL is $49,375.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $35,000.00 and $52,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an AI agent developer?

An AI Agent Developer designs, builds, and optimizes intelligent software agents that can autonomously perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with users or other systems. This role involves working with machine learning, natural language processing, reinforcement learning, and multi-agent systems to create adaptive and efficient AI solutions. Developers in this field often utilize frameworks like LangChain, AutoGPT, or OpenAI API to enhance agent capabilities. Their work spans various industries, including customer service automation, finance, gaming, and robotics.

What are some common challenges faced by AI agent developers in their daily work?

AI Agent Developers often encounter challenges such as managing large and complex datasets, optimizing agent performance, and ensuring models behave ethically and reliably in unpredictable environments. It’s common to iterate frequently on prototypes, test against edge cases, and fine-tune algorithms based on real-world feedback. Collaboration with data scientists, software engineers, and stakeholders is crucial to understand project goals and adapt solutions accordingly. Overcoming these challenges requires technical flexibility, persistence, and a strong teamwork mindset.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the AI agent developer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as an AI Agent Developer, you need strong programming skills (particularly in Python), a deep understanding of machine learning concepts, and a relevant degree in computer science or a related field. Expertise with AI development frameworks (such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or OpenAI Gym), cloud platforms, and potentially certifications in AI or data science are common requirements. Creative problem-solving, effective teamwork, and strong communication skills help distinguish top performers in this role. These competencies are essential to designing, implementing, and refining intelligent agents that function reliably in real-world applications.

How to become an AI agent developer?

To become an AI agent developer, you should have a strong foundation in programming languages such as Python, experience with machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch, and knowledge of AI concepts such as natural language processing and reinforcement learning. Gaining relevant education through degrees or online courses and building a portfolio of AI projects can also enhance your qualifications.

Is an AI Agent Developer a good career?

An AI Agent Developer is a promising career path in the technology industry, focusing on creating intelligent systems that can perform tasks autonomously. It typically requires skills in programming, machine learning, and AI frameworks, with strong job growth prospects due to increasing demand for automation and AI solutions. The role offers opportunities for innovation and specialization in emerging technologies.

What are the most commonly searched types of Ai Agent Developer jobs in Chicago, IL?

The most popular types of Ai Agent Developer jobs in Chicago, IL are:

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For Ai Agent Developer jobs in Chicago, IL, the most frequently searched job titles are:

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Ai Agent Developer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Ai Agent Developer job openings in Chicago, IL as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 56% Full Time, and 44% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $49,375 per year, or $23.7 per hour.

Director- Applied AI

Lisle, IL • On-site

Covista
See more jobs at Covistaexternal

$250K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement

Posted 7 days ago

Job description

Company Description
Covista is America's largest healthcare educator, serving more than 97,000 students and supported by a community of 385,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University.
Our colleagues come from a wide range of backgrounds, business, academia, healthcare, government and nonprofits, and are part of a culture where doing exceptional work and making a meaningful difference for students and society aren't separate goals-they're one and the same. This means creating an environment where colleagues can develop new skills, build careers that match their ambitions and see the tangible impact of their work on healthcare education and workforce development. Colleagues who deliver results and embrace new tools to work smarter are valued for their contributions. But what makes working at Covista distinctive is our impact. Our faculty and colleagues don't just support healthcare education-they shape it. This isn't abstract purpose work. It's solving real problems for real people in real communities while advancing careers.
We operate on a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week (Monday-Thursday). This approach enhances creativity, innovation, communication, and relationship-building, fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment.
For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
Job Description
The Director, Applied AI leads Covista's Applied AI team within Enterprise Data & Insights (EDI) - the single team that designs, builds, and operates Covista's agentic AI capability across all four school brands. This role owns three delivery PODs: No/Low/Medium-Code Agents, High-Code/Full-Code Agents, and Robotic Process Automation.
As the accountable owner of Applied AI's portfolio, Responsible-AI posture, and partner ecosystem, you will build out a fully staffed FTE core (Principal AI/Agent Architect, Responsible AI/Risk & Safety Lead, AI Evaluation Engineer), govern platform architecture and vendor delivery, and ensure every agent shipped is safe, evaluated, and measurably valuable to the business.
Strategic Leadership & Portfolio Ownership
  • Own and evolve the Applied AI strategy across all three delivery PODs, ensuring alignment with EDI's broader data & AI roadmap and Covista's enterprise architecture principles.
  • Serve as the single accountable leader for the full spectrum of automation and agentic AI work - from deterministic RPA bots to full agentic systems.
  • Represent Applied AI in EDI leadership forums, partnering closely with the Sr Directors of Data Science, Data Engineering, and Data Reporting & Analytics.

Platform Architecture & Technology Oversight
  • Partner with the Principal AI/Agent Architect to set and enforce the reference architecture: Vertex AI Agent Engine patterns, the Agent Development Kit (ADK), the MCP tool catalog, and model-routing rules across Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft models.
  • Ensure every new agent design is reviewed against reference architecture before entering the backlog, across all three PODs.
  • Drive standardization and modernization of the platform, emphasizing scalability, reusability, and reduced technical debt.

Responsible AI & Governance
  • Own overall accountability for Responsible-AI posture, with the Responsible AI/Risk & Safety Lead operating a dotted line into the Covista AI Governance Board.
  • Ensure risk tiering; FERPA/HIPAA/GLBA review gates, red-team coordination, model cards, and bias evaluation are applied consistently to every agent and automation before release.
  • Require eval-case authorship as a contractual deliverable on every Applied AI build statement of work - no eval, no production.

Delivery, Partner & Vendor Management
  • Manage delivery partner relationships (AheadRace, SoftServe, Stefanini) including SOW governance, two-vendor resilience planning for critical roles, and quarterly partner scorecards.
  • Route every partner engagement above $250K/year to the Covista Enterprise Architecture Review Board prior to contract signature.
  • Own intake and prioritization across the Applied AI backlog, ensuring efficient allocation of FTE and contract capacity.

Evaluation & Quality Oversight
  • Hold the AI Evaluation Engineer accountable for a durable eval harness - offline golden datasets, regression suites, LLM-as-judge scoring, human-review queues, and online quality monitoring.
  • Treat evaluation data as protected Covista IP that stays inside the organization, never delegated wholesale to a delivery partner.

People Leadership & Team Building
  • Lead and mentor the current Applied AI core team (Technical Lead, Product Owner, Scrum Master, AI Engineer) plus the RPA POD (RPA Architect & Product Owner and RPA developers).
  • Execute the FY27 conservative-MVP hiring plan: Principal AI/Agent Architect, Responsible AI/Risk & Safety Lead, and AI Evaluation Engineer, and prepare the FY28 roadmap hires pending demonstrated value.
  • Cultivate a high-performing, inclusive culture with a focus on continuous improvement, technical excellence, and safe experimentation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Maintain a clear routing boundary with CVSA AI Solutions (full-code AI products) and the chatbot/aggregation team, ensuring work reaches the right team the first time.
  • Partner with business sponsors across Covista's school brands to translate demand into a prioritized, governed agent backlog.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.
  • Complies with all policies and standards.

Qualifications
  • Bachelor's Degree Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, or related field. Required
  • Master's Degree MS in Computer Science/AI, or MBA. Preferred
  • Cloud/AI certification (e.g., Google Cloud Professional ML Engineer, AWS/Azure AI Engineer Associate). Preferred.
  • Ten (10) plus years experience in enterprise technology leadership roles.
  • Five (5)plus years experience leading AI/ML, data, or platform engineering teams, including management of outsourced/SOW-based delivery partners.
  • Experience in higher education, healthcare, or other complex, regulated, matrixed environments.
  • Experience with agentic AI platforms (Vertex AI Agent Engine, ADK, MCP) and Responsible-AI/model-risk governance.
  • Deep expertise in agentic AI architectures and enterprise AI platforms - Vertex AI Agent Engine, the Agent Development Kit (ADK), the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and multi-model orchestration across Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft.
  • Proven track record building, scaling, and retaining high-performing AI/ML or platform engineering teams.
  • Experience implementing Responsible-AI governance: risk tiering, model cards, bias evaluation, red-teaming, and regulatory review gates (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA, GLBA).
  • Strong vendor and partner management skills, including SOW governance, architecture review boards, and delivery of scorecards.
  • Strategic financial acumen - budget ownership, compensation planning, and build-vs-buy-vs-partner decision-making.
  • Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work across business and technology domains.
  • Demonstrated leadership abilities and excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Highly organized and able to manage multiple concurrent initiatives and cross-functional teams simultaneously.

Additional Information
In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position is between $100,171.61 and $181,034.70. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. The position qualifies for the below benefits.
Covista offers a robust suite of benefits including:
  • Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
  • 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
  • Participation in Covista's Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
  • 12 Paid Holidays
    For more information related to our benefits please visit:
    https://careers.covista.com/benefits
    You are also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

Equal Opportunity - Minority / Female / Disability / V / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation

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