AI Back End Engineer

Introduction
At IBM Infrastructure & Technology, we design and operate the systems that keep the world running. From high-resiliency mainframes and hybrid cloud platforms to networking, automation, and site reliability. Our teams ensure the performance, security, and scalability that clients and industries depend on every day. Working in Infrastructure & Technology means tackling complex challenges with curiosity and collaboration. You’ll work with diverse technologies and colleagues worldwide to deliver resilient, future-ready solutions that power innovation. With continuous learning, career growth, and a supportive culture, IBM provides the opportunities to build expertise and shape the infrastructure that drives progress.
Your role and responsibilities
As an AI Engineer, you will enable and optimize Large Language Models (LLMs) on IBM Z platforms and AI Accelerators (IBM Spyre). This role sits at the intersection of LLM systems, performance engineering, and large-scale AI infrastructure, delivering production-ready AI systems at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

Enable and optimize LLMs for training and inference on IBM Z, GPUs, and AI accelerators
Drive performance improvements (latency, throughput, memory efficiency) for production workloads
Implement LLM optimizations such as KV cache management, efficient attention, and optimized execution strategies
Evaluate and validate LLMs at model-level and ops-level to ensure functional correctness, numerical accuracy, and model quality
Evaluate LLMs using quality and benchmarking frameworks (RAGAS, Deep Eval, etc.)
Analyze and optimize tensor shapes, strides, and memory layouts to ensure efficient and correct execution across Py Torch and accelerator backends
Build and scale distributed training and inference systems across multi-GPU and multi-node environments
Develop high-performance kernels (CUDA/Triton) for compute-intensive workloads such as attention and quantization
Profile and debug performance using Py Torch Profiler, Tensor Board, and system-level tools, focusing on compute, memory, and communication bottlenecks
Build and maintain scalable infrastructure (Docker, Kubernetes) for reproducible and stable deployments
Collaborate with compiler and backend teams, contribute to Py Torch ecosystem (Torch Dynamo, Torch Inductor)
Required education
Bachelor's Degree
Preferred education
Bachelor's Degree
Required technical and professional expertise
5+ years of experience in AI/ML systems, deep learning, or performance engineering
Strong programming skills in Python (must) and working knowledge of C++
Strong understanding of Py Torch internals (Autograd, ATen, Dispatcher) and exposure to compiler stack (Torch Dynamo, Torch Inductor, torch.compile)
Good understanding of LLM architectures (Transformers, attention variants, KV cache, and efficient attention techniques such as Flash Attention or Paged Attention)
Experience in model optimization and performance tuning (latency, throughput, memory)
Strong understanding of tensor operations (shapes, strides, memory layouts) and their impact on execution
Experience with distributed training/inference frameworks (FSDP, Deep Speed, or similar)
Familiarity with multi-GPU / multi-node environments and parallel execution
Experience in profiling and debugging using tools like Py Torch Profiler, Tensor Board, or similar
Good understanding of LLM evaluation and validation (performance and quality metrics)
Experience with Linux environments and containerization (Docker)
Strong problem-solving skills with ability to debug complex system-level and model-level issues
Preferred technical and professional experience
Experience with AI/ML frameworks (Py Torch, Tensor Flow) in production-scale deployments
Strong understanding of model deployment workflows and end-to-end ML lifecycle management
Familiarity with GPU computing, kernel optimization, and low-level performance debugging tools
Experience in distributed systems, microservices architecture, and REST API-based services
Experience integrating MLOps pipelines with CI/CD for continuous training and deployment
Deep understanding of AI runtimes, memory hierarchies, and parallel execution models
Strong knowledge of Py Torch distributed runtime, parameter sharding, and memory management techniques
Hands-on experience with torch.compile and Torch Inductor for model acceleration
Experience managing enterprise systems with long release cycles and strict compatibility requirements
Experience working with Hugging Face ecosystem for model enablement and deployment
Exposure to model quality evaluation frameworks and validation pipelines
Application of IBM Design Thinking to deliver user-centric, high-quality AI solutions
Demonstrated technical leadership in AI/backend engineering or large-scale system projects
Strong communication skills with ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders effectively
Commitment to engineering excellence including code quality, performance, security, and best practices
Years of Experience:5 - 10

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT:

IBM Systems helps IT leaders think differently about their infrastructure. IBM servers and storage are no longer inanimate - they can understand, reason, and learn so our clients can innovate while avoiding IT issues. Our systems power the world’s most important industries and our clients are the architects of the future. Join us to help build our leading-edge technology portfolio  designed for cognitive business and optimized for cloud computing.
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Job Title

AI Backend Engineer:

Job ID
113058
City / Township / Village
Bangalore
State / Province
Karnataka
Country
India
Work arrangement
Hybrid
Area of work

Infrastructure & Technology:

Employment type
Regular
Position type
Professional
Travel required
No Travel
Company
(0063) IBM India Private Limited
Shift
General (daytime)
Is this role a commissionable/sales incentive based position?
No
Application Info
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