AI Engineer (AI Agents)6-Month Contract | Hybrid – Cork | Approx. €580 per dayRole OverviewWe are seeking an experienced AI Engineer to design, build, and deploy autonomous AI agent solutions that streamline complex workflows and improve operational efficiency. This role focuses on delivering production-grade, agentic AI systems powered by large language models (LLMs), advanced reasoning techniques, and external tool integrations.You will operate at the intersection of AI innovation and software engineering, transforming cutting-edge AI research into scalable, secure, and reliable solutions that drive measurable business impact.Key ResponsibilitiesArchitect and develop AI agent systems capable of autonomously performing multi-step tasks using LLMs, reasoning frameworks, and integrated tools (30%)Apply advanced prompt engineering techniques, agent orchestration strategies, and tool-calling frameworks to maximise reliability and performance (20%)Integrate AI agents with enterprise platforms, APIs, and structured/unstructured data sources to enable intelligent workflow automation (15%)Design and implement evaluation frameworks to assess agent performance, safety, robustness, and alignment with business objectives (15%)Partner with business and technical stakeholders to identify high-value AI use cases and convert requirements into scalable technical solutions (10%)Monitor, troubleshoot, and continuously optimise AI agents in live production environments (5%)Stay current with emerging AI agent frameworks, tools, and methodologies to enhance organisational capability (5%)Required Skills & ExpertiseStrong Python development skillsHands-on experience with AI agent frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, AutoGen, CrewAI, or similarDeep understanding of large language models, prompt engineering, and LLM-based reasoning techniquesFamiliarity with agent design methodologies such as ReAct, Chain-of-Thought, Tree-of-Thoughts, and multi-agent systemsExperience integrating APIs from leading LLM providers (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) and open-source model ecosystemsProven ability to design tool-use architectures that enable AI agents to interact with external systems and APIsSolid software engineering foundations including API development, system integration, and deployment best practicesExperience implementing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and working with vector databasesKnowledge of agent evaluation metrics, safety controls, and alignment strategiesAbility to optimise AI solutions through model selection, prompt refinement, and architectural improvementsStrong analytical and problem-solving capabilitiesExcellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex AI systems to both technical and non-technical stakeholdersExperience deploying AI applications in cloud environments using containerisation technologiesExperience & QualificationsMinimum 5 years of software engineering experience, including at least 2 years focused on AI/ML developmentDemonstrated experience delivering LLM-powered applications or AI agent systems into productionProficiency with modern AI tooling, LLM APIs, and agent orchestration frameworksExperience working with cloud infrastructure and production-grade deployment environments