A virtual assistant is only as helpful as the information and systems it can safely access. At BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, we’re hiring a Senior AI Engineer to help ensure our member-facing AI assistant delivers accurate, personalized answers—reliably and at scale.

This role is a highly collaborative one: you’ll work across product, engineering, data, and business teams to identify the highest-value integrations, align on data contracts and service expectations, and remove friction that slows delivery.

You’ll help connect the assistant to critical APIs and structured data sources, while driving the quality and reliability practices—testing, monitoring, and incident prevention—that build trust for members and confidence for internal partners.

You won’t just implement integrations; you’ll help teams ship dependable capabilities faster, with clearer accountability and fewer surprises. To do that, you’ll need:Experience partnering across teams to deliver API integrations end-to-end (

requirements

→ delivery → reliability)Working knowledge of API patterns and security (REST/GraphQL, authN/authZ) and how to validate data correctnessA quality mindset and experience with testing/observability practicesNote:This is a fully remote role, but onsite interviews at our Chattanooga, TN headquarters may be required. Sponsorship is not available for this role. Job ResponsibilitiesLead the ideation, development, and productionalization of sophisticated AI solutions tailored for healthcare payer use cases. Architect, design, and implement complex, state-of-the-art AI models and algorithms, leveraging Python and cloud platforms like GCP Vertex AI. Partner strategically with product teams and business stakeholders to define and prioritize opportunities for applying advanced AI techniques to solve critical business challenges and drive process automation. Conduct in-depth research and maintain expertise in the latest advancements in AI, championing the adoption of cutting-edge techniques and methodologies within the team. Architect and develop robust, scalable, and efficient systems and code bases for deploying AI models into production environments, ensuring high availability and performance. Serve as a key technical advisor to our internal Lines-of-Businesses, understanding complex needs, gathering

requirements

, and translating them into impactful, actionable AI solutions. Define and oversee the evaluation and validation frameworks for AI models, ensuring their accuracy, reliability, fairness, and performance exceed business

requirements
.
Mentor and guide junior engineers on best practices in AI development, model implementation, and system design. Job

Qualifications

EducationBachelor's degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) or related field or equivalent work experience required. Master’s or PhD degree in a relevant field (e. g. , Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning) strongly preferred. Experience5+ years of relevant work experience in analytics, technology, software engineering, or healthcare (academic experience included), or related equivalent experience. 3+ years of hands-on experience specifically with machine learning, deep learning, and preferably AI models (e. g. , LLMs, diffusion models) is required. Proven experience handling large, complex datasets to build and optimize sophisticated data science pipelines. Deep experience with Machine Learning, Deep Learning frameworks (e. g. , Pytorch, TensorFlow), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and associated libraries (e. g. , Hugging Face Transformers). Experience deploying and managing ML models in cloud environments (GCP Vertex AI preferred, AWS SageMaker or Azure ML acceptable). Skills/CertificationsExpert proficiency in Python and relevant data science/ML libraries. Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Proven ability to architect, design, and implement complex systems. Demonstrated success leading technically challenging projects from conception through to deployment. Exceptional ability to interpret and translate complex technical concepts into information meaningful to project team members, business personnel, and leadership. Strong technical leadership and mentorship capabilities. Must be able to communicate effectively and influence both technical and non-technical co-workers and stakeholders. Highly organized, reliable, capable of managing multiple complex tasks, demonstrating an exceptional work ethic and strategic thinking. Number of Openings Available1Worker Type:EmployeeCompany:BCBST BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc. Applying for this job indicates your acknowledgement and understanding of the following statements:BCBST will recruit, hire, train and promote individuals in all job classifications without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin,citizenship, pregnancy, veteran status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Further information regarding BCBST's EEO Policies/Notices may be found by reviewing the following page:BCBST's EEO Policies/NoticesBlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee via-email, the Internet or any other method without a valid, written Direct Placement Agreement in place for this position from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee HR/Talent Acquisition will not be considered. No fee will be paid in the event the applicant is hired by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee as a result of the referral or through other means.