Senior Specialist, Lead Platform Engineer

Merck Merck · Pharma · Telangana, India

Seeking a Platform Engineer (Cloud & AI Architect) to design, build, and operate full-stack software and platform solutions for AI-driven insights. This role involves leading the design of platforms for AI orchestration (RAG, prompt chaining), driving FinOps for AI/LLM workloads, building internal developer tooling for AI capabilities, and productionizing AI/LLM solutions end-to-end within a regulated pharma environment. The role emphasizes automation across cloud, MLOps, and AI platforms to improve reliability and productivity.

What you'd actually do

  1. Act as the Sherlock of infrastructure, designing cloud and AI platform architectures that solve complex business and technical challenges before they ever reach production.
  2. Lead the design of platforms that support AI orchestration, including RAG and prompt chaining.
  3. Drive FinOps practices, ensuring AI and LLM workloads scale efficiently through telemetry, usage analysis, and cost‑aware design.
  4. Build and maintain internal developer tooling, including custom SDKs, to standardize how teams consume AI capabilities (e.g., authentication, logging, versioning).
  5. Productionize AI and LLM solutions end to end, including CI/CD pipelines, environment promotion and monitoring within a regulated pharma environment.

Skills

Required

  • Cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, Databricks
  • AI architecture & orchestration: LLM platforms, RAG, prompt chaining, model integration
  • Infrastructure-as-code & automation: Terraform/CloudFormation/ARM templates and CI/CD (Azure DevOps, Jenkins)
  • FinOps: Cost monitoring, optimization, usage‑based scaling, telemetry
  • DevOps & platform engineering: CI/CD, environment promotion, monitoring, operational guardrails
  • Developer tooling: Internal platforms, SDKs, authentication, logging, version management
  • Automation & reliability: Infrastructure automation, MLOps workflows, operational optimization
  • Ability to clearly explain technical designs to both tech colleagues as well as our stakeholders

Nice to have

  • Experience with MLOps or AI operations, including automation of model and platform workflows.
  • Experience implementing observability, logging, and telemetry for cloud and AI platforms.
  • A strong learning mindset, curiosity, and enthusiasm for staying current with emerging cloud, AI, and automation technologies.

What the JD emphasized

  • regulated pharma environment
  • AI orchestration
  • RAG
  • prompt chaining
  • AI and LLM workloads
  • internal developer tooling
  • AI capabilities
  • productionize AI and LLM solutions
  • MLOps
  • AI platforms

Other signals

  • designing cloud and AI platform architectures
  • support AI orchestration, including RAG and prompt chaining
  • Productionize AI and LLM solutions end to end
  • Automate operational and manual processes across cloud, MLOps, and AI platforms