Staples is business to business. You’re what binds us together. 

Our digital solutions team is more than a traditional IT organization. We are a team of passionate, collaborative, agile, inventive, customer-centric, results-oriented problem solvers. We are intellectually curious, love advancements in technology and seek to adapt technologies to drive Staples forward. We anticipate the needs of our customers and business partners and deliver reliable, customer-centric technology services.

Join our Staples World Class Supply Chain Team and deliver essential products to our customers.

What you’ll be doing: 
Help reimagine Staples systems from the ground-up and design the next generation Generative AI and AI/ML/NLP applications. Develop intelligent AI systems and solutions including high-level architecture designs, code development, evaluation, and operationalizing solutions at scale. Partner with a team Software, Data, ML, and Applied engineers for building high performing applications that interact with large scale distributed systems. Incubate ideas, prototype, develop, and productionize machine learning applications. Writing software programs, test for quality and push model to cloud for production. Build integrations and fetch big data related to Staples systems, analyze, detect patterns, and build models using data. Instill best practices related to software engineering and machine learning engineering problems. Shape next generation technology at Staples by defining the future roadmap for ongoing work.  The AI Engineer is responsible for developing and engineering AI systems and solutions that drive innovation, improve operational efficiency. The AI Engineer will work closely with data scientists, ML engineers, and business stakeholders to translate business needs into robust AI solutions.

What you bring to the table: 

• Design, develop, test, and deploy AI models and systems using various frameworks and tools.
• Monitor and evaluate the performance and accuracy of AI models and systems in production.
• Identify and troubleshoot issues related to data quality, model drift, scalability, and reliability.
• Optimize and automate the AI model lifecycle using MLOps best practices.
• Collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and business stakeholders to understand the requirements and objectives of AI projects.
• Research and implement new AI techniques and methodologies to improve the existing solutions and explore new opportunities.
• Research and Development: Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI/GenIA, explore novel applications, and develop proof-of-concept projects.
• Model Selection and Fine-tuning: Select and fine-tune pretrained GenAI models (e.g., GPT4, LLaMa) for specific tasks, including text generation, image creation, code synthesis, etc.
• Data Exploration and Preparation: Prepare and analyze data sets for training and evaluation of GenAI models, ensuring data quality and addressing potential biases.
• Experimentation and Evaluation: Conduct experiments to assess the performance of GenAI models and compare different architectures and approaches.
• Application Integration: Develop and integrate GenAI models into existing or new applications, leveraging frameworks like LangChain for seamless orchestration.
• Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams: Work closely with data scientists, software engineers, product managers, and designers to bring GenAI solutions to life.
• Contribute to Knowledge Sharing: Document your findings, share best practices, and contribute to the team's knowledge base.

What’s needed- Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field expertise.
• Strong experience in developing and deploying AI systems using Python, PyTorch, leveraging Databricks, Snowflake or similar frameworks and tools.
• Strong knowledge of machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and other AI domains.
• Experience in prompt engineering, data preprocessing, model fine-tuning, and evaluation.
• Experience in MLOps, CI/CD, cloud computing, and containerization technologies.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Hands-on experience with popular GenAI LLM models (e.g., GPT-4o, Llama, Mixtral), SLM’s with Phi/Gamma/Triplex, and frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel, PyTorch, and long-term memory with Mem0 or similar.
• Degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field experience.
• 3+ years of experience in AI/ML, with a strong focus on Generative AI.
• Deep understanding of NLP, deep learning, and data analysis techniques.
• Experience with large language models (LLMs), text generation, and image gen.
• Strong programming skills in Python, along with experience in data manipulation libraries (e.g., Pandas, NumPy).
• Passion for innovation and a desire to explore the frontiers of AI.

What’s needed- Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, GCP) and their AI/ML services.
• Familiarity with vector data stores (e.g., FAISS, Qdrant, Azure Search, Databricks ).

We Offer:  

• Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups and resources such as the Social Justice Resource Center
• Flexible PTO (22 days) and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays), Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more perks and benefits

At Staples, “inclusion” is an action word. It represents what we do to ensure that all employees feel valued and supported to contribute to their fullest potential. When we operate inclusively, diversity naturally follows. This is why we work hard to foster an inclusive culture, as we seek employees with unique and varied perspectives and areas of expertise. The result is a better workplace and innovative thinking that helps us exceed our customers’ expectations -- through the power of the people behind our iconic brand.

Staples is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.