Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Pikeville, KY (NOW HIRING)

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you will operate at the front lines of innovation embedded directly with subject matter experts, product, and engineering teams to rapidly design, architect, prototype, and deploy solutions that solve high-priority business problems. You will be expected to go from concept to working prototype in days, not months, while maintaining enterprise-grade standards for quality, security, and scalability. You bring an exceptional combination of skills: deep hands-on engineering experience across AI agents and full-stack development, and the interpersonal skills to earn trust, drive alignment, and influence without authority. You are equally comfortable whiteboarding a system architecture with senior stakeholders and writing production code the same afternoon. You thrive in fast, ambiguous environments where creative thinking and execution speed matter.

Department:

Contact Center

Project Location(s):

United States - Hybrid (Chicago or Houston Office)

Job Type:

Employee

Education:

Bachelor's

We are seeking an experienced AI Solutions Architect to lead the design, development, and deployment of next-generation AI and Generative AI solutions within enterprise Contact Center environments. This role will be responsible for architecting intelligent customer experience solutions that leverage Large Language Models (LLMs), Agentic AI, Conversational AI, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), predictive analytics, and cloud-native technologies to improve customer satisfaction, agent productivity, and operational efficiency.

The ideal candidate combines deep AI/ML expertise with hands-on experience supporting Contact Center platforms, customer service operations, conversational AI, workforce optimization, and customer experience transformation initiatives.

• Architect and deliver end-to-end AI and Generative AI solutions supporting Contact Center and Customer Experience (CX) organizations.
• Design and implement intelligent virtual agents, AI-powered agent assist capabilities, knowledge management solutions, and automated customer interaction workflows.
• Develop RAG-based applications, conversational AI platforms, multi-agent systems, and LLM-powered customer support solutions.
• Partner with Contact Center leaders, operations teams, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities for AI-driven automation and process optimization.
• Create AI solutions to improve call deflection, first-call resolution, customer sentiment analysis, agent productivity, quality monitoring, and root cause analysis.
• Design scalable cloud architectures supporting high-volume customer interactions across voice, chat, email, and digital channels.
• Lead development of predictive analytics models for customer behavior, churn prediction, workforce planning, and operational forecasting.
• Establish AI governance, MLOps frameworks, model monitoring, and responsible AI best practices.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to develop streaming and batch data pipelines supporting real-time customer engagement use cases.
• Present solution architectures, business cases, and AI transformation strategies to executive and senior leadership teams.
• Create reference architectures, technical standards, and implementation roadmaps for enterprise AI adoption.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data scientists, engineers, architects, and business teams.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in AI/ML, Solution Architecture, Data Analytics, Cloud Architecture, or Customer Experience technologies.
• Proven experience architecting and deploying enterprise AI and Generative AI solutions.
• Experience supporting Contact Center, Customer Experience, Customer Service, or Customer Operations organizations.
• Strong understanding of customer service workflows, knowledge management, conversational AI, and customer engagement strategies.
• Experience designing solutions utilizing LLMs, RAG architectures, Agentic AI, and conversational AI technologies.
• Hands-on experience with machine learning frameworks and cloud AI services.
• Experience working with executive stakeholders and driving large-scale digital transformation initiatives.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Experience with Contact Center platforms such as Genesys, NICE CXone, Five9, Amazon Connect, Cisco Contact Center, or similar technologies.
  Google Cloud Professional Machine Learning Engineer certification or equivalent cloud certification.
• Experience implementing AI-powered agent assist, quality monitoring, call summarization, or customer analytics solutions.
• MBA or advanced degree focused on Business Analytics, Data Science, Innovation, or Technology Management.
• Experience within telecommunications, customer service, customer operations, or enterprise technology environments.

Vekend is a people-first organization focused on developing thoughtful products and services that create meaningful impact for our customers and communities. We are committed to fostering a collaborative, respectful, and inclusive work environment where employees are empowered to take ownership of their work, contribute ideas, and grow professionally. We strive to support flexibility and work-life balance while maintaining high standards of performance and accountability.

For all locations, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time compensation for this role will be determined based on competitive market data and may vary depending on geographic location, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, education, and other business considerations. Specific compensation details will be discussed during the interview process.,Vekend offers a comprehensive benefits and wellness package designed to support employees’ overall well-being, financial security, and professional growth. Eligibility and coverage are subject to the terms of the applicable benefit plans and company policies.,Eligible employees have access to medical, dental, and vision insurance with company contributions toward premiums, a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching, and Paid Time Off that begins accruing on the first day of employment. We also support flexible work arrangements and opportunities for professional growth.,Benefits eligibility, coverage, and company contributions are subject to the terms of the applicable plan documents and may be modified at the company’s discretion.