Senior AI Engineer

The Executive Directorate (EXD) stewards OECD resources on behalf of the Secretary-General, with responsibility for people and wellbeing, budget management, security, infrastructure, and the OECD’s convening activities. EXD provides corporate services and strategic advice on management and corporate policies to the Secretary-General, Council and Standing Committees, and delivers compliance and risk management functions within its remit, operating in a fast-paced environment focused on management excellence.

Within the Executive Directorate (EXD), the Digital, Knowledge and Information Service (DKI) is responsible for overseeing corporate IT infrastructure and operations, maintaining digital security, information management, and delivering digital and other IT-related products and services. EXD/DKI also supports the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across the Organisation.

Following the recommendation of the OECD AI Task Force and in line with the evolving AI-related requirements of the OECD, the Corpoate AI Office (CAIO) division has been established to support the safe adoption of AI technologies across the Organisation. CAI is tasked with overseeing the shift from initial experimentation towards the scaled adoption of AI (from Exploration to Institutionalisation) that delivers tangible value with a clear emphasis on enhancing organisational impact, improving productivity, and transforming ways of working.

In this role, you will sit within the AI Lab in EXD/DKI/CAIO. The AI Lab supports the development and operationalisation of the OECD’s corporate AI framework by identifying, designing and implementing high-value AI solutions that strengthen the Organisation’s analytical and operational capabilities.

You will be focused on building, structuring and industrialising AI solutions to support the Organisation’s adoption of advanced AI capabilities. You will also contribute to the development of internal AI capabilities.

Please note: We wish to create a roster of candidates for potential future roles of a similar nature. Therefore, we encourage aspiring candidates to apply, even in cases where they may not meet all of the listed criteria.

Main Responsibilities

Design and Implement an Internal AI Engineering Framework

• Design and develop a reusable engineering framework for AI and agent-based solutions across the Organisation.

• Define reference architectures, reusable components, templates and standard development patterns for AI applications, workflows and integrations.

• Establish practical technical guidance and engineering standards to support the consistent, secure and scalable development of AI solutions.

• Evaluate relevant technologies, platforms and approaches, taking account of the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem and the OECD’s enterprise requirements.

• Contribute to a coherent Organisation-wide approach to AI architecture, implementation and governance.

Identify and Design High-Value AI Solutions

• Work with OECD Directorates and internal teams to identify, scope and structure high-value AI use cases.

• Analyse business requirements and existing workflows, identifying where AI could improve organisational impact, productivity or ways of working.

• Translate business needs into clear technical requirements, solution designs and implementation approaches.

• Assess potential solutions in terms of feasibility, information sensitivity, security, cost, scalability, interoperability and operational sustainability.

• Prioritise practical and reusable approaches that can deliver value across multiple business areas where appropriate.

Build and Implement AI Solutions

• Lead and contribute directly to the design, development, testing and evaluation of AI applications, services and workflows.

• Develop prototypes and proofs of concept, using rapid iteration to validate technical assumptions and user requirements.

• Implement AI capabilities such as retrieval-augmented generation, agent-based workflows, data pipelines and integrations with enterprise systems.

• Select appropriate commercial, open-source or open-weight technologies according to the needs and constraints of each use case.

• Work iteratively with business users and technical colleagues to ensure that solutions are effective, usable, robust and aligned with organisational requirements.

Industrialise and Operationalise AI Use Cases

• Transform proofs of concept (PoCs) and experimental solutions into production-ready tools.

• Ensure solutions meet enterprise requirements in terms of:
• Performance and scalability
• Security and compliance
• Maintainability and supportability
• Financial sustainability

• Contribute to deployment, packaging and release processes.

• Support handover to operational teams, including documentation, knowledge transfer and alignment with support models.

• Develop reusable assets and components to accelerate future implementations.

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Provide technical advice to business and technology teams on the appropriate use of AI tools, models and engineering approaches.

• Communicate technical concepts, architectural choices, implementation considerations and responsible AI practices clearly to both specialist and non-specialist stakeholders.

• Keep abreast of advances on emerging industry trends, related technologies, methodologies and best practices.

• Promote excellence and contribute to improving effectiveness, efficiency and division-level excellence.

• Contribute to other related tasks within EXD/DKI, as required.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background

• Advanced university degree in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computer Science, Economics or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Professional Background

• Significant experience designing, developing and implementing AI-enabled applications, services or enterprise solutions.

• Demonstrated ability to take AI solutions from initial concept and prototyping through to operational deployment.

• Ability to work autonomously on complex technical topics.

• Pragmatic, solution-oriented and delivery-focused approach.

• Strong problem-solving skills and adaptability in a fast-evolving field.

• Experience in international or multilateral environments is highly desirable.

Tools

The successful candidate would demonstrate/possess several of the following:

• Major generative AI platforms and model ecosystems.

• Retrieval-augmented generation, agent-based systems and AI workflow orchestration. Demonstrated MCP (Model Context Protocol) experience and skills.

• Python-based application, API and data-pipeline development.

• Enterprise integration and the processing of structured and unstructured data.

• Cloud-based, on-premises or hybrid AI deployment environments.

• Software engineering practices including testing, version control, deployment, monitoring and lifecycle management.

• Security controls, access management and responsible AI safeguards.

Languages

• Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and knowledge of the other, with a commitment to reach a good working level. .

Core Competencies

• OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring process: Vision and Strategy (Level 1); Enable People (Level 1); Ethics and Integrity (Level 2); Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 2); Achieve Results (Level 2); Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 2).

• To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies.

Closing Date

• This vacancy should be filled as soon as possible, and applications should reach us no later than midnight 6th October 2026 (Paris time).

Contract Duration

• 36-month fixed-term appointment, with the possibility of renewal,

• Please note that our Rules and Regulations stipulate that the mandatory retirement age is 67.

What the OECD offers

• Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at 7,782.39 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.

• Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.

• Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.

Selection Process

For retained candidates, written tests/video-recorded interviews are expected to take place in mid-late October 2026, with panel interviews planned for mid-late November 2026.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.