AI Engineer

Who we are

Alef Education began with a bold idea: that every learner deserves a personalised and meaningful education experience. What started in 2016 as a small pilot programme in Abu Dhabi has evolved into one of the world’s most dynamic EdTech companies—reshaping how millions of students engage with learning across the globe.

Today, Alef is proudly headquartered in the UAE, working hand-in-hand with ministries of education, schools, and teachers to bring smart, data-powered platforms into classrooms in over 14,000 schools.

Supporting over 1.1 million students and 50,000 teachers across the UAE, Indonesia & Morocco our AI-driven platforms generate 16+ million data points every day, helping drive smarter learning decisions. Whether it’s improving national exam results, boosting classroom engagement, or supporting educators with world-class tools, Alef is committed to impact at scale.

In 2024, Alef made history as the first EdTech company to list on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), cementing our role as a regional innovator with global reach.

About The Role

AI Engineer will be instrumental in transforming our vision into reality by designing, developing, and deploying cutting-edge generative AI solutions that drive significant business impact and enhance user experiences. You will be at the intersection of AI research and practical software engineering, building and integrating advanced generative models into scalable, production-ready systems. You will play a critical role in shaping our AI strategy and delivering solutions

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and implement end-to-end generative AI solutions using Python and modern AI/ML frameworks, including LLMs (e.g., GPT, Llama). Focus on building scalable, production-ready capabilities that directly support product features and customer use cases.
• Prompt Engineering: Engineer, test, and optimize prompts for large language models to achieve accurate, context-aware outputs.
• POCs & Experimentation: Rapidly prototype proofs of concept (POCs) to validate AI-driven ideas, assess feasibility, and demonstrate business value. Iterate quickly based on learnings before transitioning solutions into production.
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): Build and maintain RAG pipelines that combine structured and unstructured data from product documentation, knowledge bases, conversation logs, and internal systems to deliver reliable, explainable outputs.
• Vector Database Integration: Integrate and manage vector embeddings and semantic search using databases such as Pinecone, Weaviate, or FAISS.
• Agent Orchestration & Inference: Architect multi-agent workflows for orchestration, dynamic model routing, prompt configuration, tool integration, memory management, and cost-optimized inference.
• Efficacy Measurement & Insights: Define and track metrics to evaluate AI effectiveness, quality, and business impact. Perform statistical analysis and data exploration to understand model behavior, user interactions, and performance trends.
• Data Analysis: Use SQL and analytical techniques to extract, analyze, and validate data from multiple sources. Support experimentation, A/B testing, and performance analysis to guide product decisions.
• Insights Dashboards & Reporting: Build and maintain insights dashboards (e.g., using Tableau or similar BI tools) to visualize AI performance, usage patterns, and key KPIs for product and leadership stakeholders.
• Collaboration: Partner with product managers, data scientists, researchers, and UX/UI teams to align AI deliverables with business goals and user needs.
• Documentation & Testing: Ensure robust testing, monitoring, and documentation of AI models, pipelines, and APIs to maintain reliability and compliance.
• Design, deploy, and manage AI workloads using Azure AI services – including Azure OpenAI, Cognitive Services, and AI Search – for secure, compliant, and scalable solutions.
• Continuous Learning & Innovation: Stay current with advancements in generative AI, applied ML, and analytics, and pragmatically apply relevant techniques to improve product capabilities and development workflows.

To Be The Right Fit, You'll Need

• Educationnal degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning or a related quantitative field
• 3-5 years of relevant experience
• Strong Python proficiency with hands-on experience in PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, and Hugging Face Transformers for building, fine-tuning, and deploying LLMs and multimodal models. Practical exposure to Transformer-based foundation models such as GPT-style models, Llama, Mistral, and Qwen, including prompting, LoRA/QLoRA fine-tuning, and inference optimization.
• Experience building GenAI applications and PoCs using frameworks like LangChain, Agno, CamelAI, and Agents SDK. Solid understanding of RAG pipelines, tool/function calling, memory, and long-context handling. Hands-on with vector and hybrid retrieval systems such as FAISS, Pinecone, Weaviate, and GraphRAG-style approaches.
• Strong applied ML skills including embeddings, feature engineering, dataset preparation, and model evaluation. Working knowledge of SQL/NoSQL databases and lightweight data modeling for conversational AI and GenAI use cases.
• MLOps & Cloud: CI/CD, Agile, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, Github Actions. Experience with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their specialized AI/ML services like Azure OpenAI, Azure Machine Learning, and Azure AI services (e.g., Vision, Speech, AI Search).
• Ability to design and consume RESTful APIs and integrate LLMs into backend services, internal tools, and enterprise workflows for real-world applications.
• Proficiency in robust software development principles (e.g., object-oriented, functional design).
• Proven ability to take AI ideas from problem definition and PoC to deployment and iteration in production environments, with ownership of GenAI features and continuous improvement.
• Analytical, proactive, and experimental mindset with the ability to translate business requirements into effective AI-driven solutions while adapting to rapidly evolving GenAI technologies.
• Fluency in English; Arabic preferred

What we offer

We believe our people are our greatest advantage. We value curiosity, purpose, and the drive to make a real difference. When you join Alef, you join a mission — and a team that’s just as passionate about transforming education as you are.

Here’s a glimpse of what we offer:

• Annual flight allowance
• Annual performance bonus
• Education allowance
• Life insurance
• Enhanced leave policy
• A hybrid work model and up to 40 remote working days per year to work from anywhere (with flexibility built in)
• At Alef, we don’t just imagine a better future for education.We build it — together

At Alef, we don’t just imagine a better future for education.
We build it — together.