Applied AI Engineer - MCP

Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together. About the Team At Business Technology, we use Appian to run Appian. We are launching our first internal AI team to build the foundation for how our global company works. This team won't just use AI, they will build the brain of the enterprise, spanning everything from predictive intelligence in our data warehouse to the GenAI infrastructure that powers our internal autonomous agents. We are hiring a founding group of engineers to kickstart this mission. As an AI Engineer on this team, you won’t be maintaining legacy systems; you’ll be building from the ground up. You will own the full spectrum of AI: crafting predictive ML models to find insights in our data warehouse and architecting GenAI systems that allow any employee to interact with enterprise knowledge through intelligent agents. If you want to be part of the original team that defines internal AI for a leading automation company, this is your moment. PLEASE NOTE: This is a midlevel role and is aimed at people with 3+ years experience What you’ll do: Build the AI Platform: Design, deploy, and scale GenAI infrastructure on GCP Vertex AI (preferred) or AWS Bedrock. Build & Operate MCP Servers: Develop and maintain Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that expose enterprise systems (databases, APIs, internal tools) as structured, AI-consumable capabilities. Design the Tool Layer: Build the tool registry and invocation framework that allows agents to interact with internal systems safely and reliably including schema design, access controls, and error handling. Engineer Agent-to-Agent Infrastructure: Architect the communication and coordination layer that allows specialized agents to delegate tasks, share context, and compose into larger autonomous workflows. Own the Retrieval Layer: Architect and operate RAG systems, including vector stores, embedding pipelines, chunking strategies, and retrieval evaluation frameworks. Establish AI Reliability: Instrument AI systems with logging, tracing, latency monitoring, and evaluation hooks so agents can be trusted, debugged, and improved in production. Required Qualifications: AI Infrastructure Experience: Professional experience building and deploying production-grade GenAI systems on GCP Vertex AI or AWS Bedrock including LLM APIs, agent frameworks, and RAG pipelines. Python Mastery: Deep proficiency in Python and common AI/ML libraries (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI SDK, Google Cloud AI SDK). Agentic Systems: Hands-on experience building multi-step, tool-calling AI agents that operate reliably in production including tool schema design, structured outputs, and failure handling. MCP or Tool Protocol Experience: Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) or equivalent patterns for exposing enterprise resources to AI systems as callable, permissioned tools. Vector & Retrieval Systems: Experience with vector databases (Pinecone, pgvector, or similar) and embedding-based retrieval at scale. Technical Foundation: B.S. in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field. The Pioneer Mindset: A self-starter who is excited to be part of a "first-of-its-kind" team and thrives in environments where you are building the playbook. Preferred Qualifications: Multi-Agent Architectures: Experience designing orchestrator/subagent patterns, agent handoff protocols, or systems where multiple AI models coordinate to complete complex tasks (e.g., using frameworks like LangGraph, CrewAI, or AutoGen). AI Observability: Experience with LLM evaluation frameworks, prompt regression testing, or agent trace monitoring (e.g. custom eval pipelines). Data Warehouse Integration: Familiarity with SQL and pulling data from Snowflake or BigQuery to ground AI agents in live business context. Appian Exposure: Experience with the Appian platform or interest in integrating AI agents into low-code automation workflows. Predictive ML (Nice to Have): Some familiarity with ML fundamentals is a plus, but not a focus of this role. This role is based at our Chennai office in Brigade World Trade Center Chennai. Appian was built on a culture of in-person collaboration, which we believe is a key driver of our mission to be the best. Employees hired for this position are expected to be in the office 5 days a week to foster that culture and ensure we continue to thrive through shared ideas and teamwork. We believe being in the office provides more opportunities to come together and celebrate working with the exceptional people across Appian. Tools and Resources Training and Development: During onboarding, we focus on equipping new hires with the skills and knowledge for success through department-specific training. Continuous learning is a central focus at Appian, with dedicated mentorship and the First-Friend program being widely utilized resources for new hires. Growth Opportunities: Appian provides a diverse array of growth and development opportunities, including our leadership program tailored for new and aspiring managers, a comprehensive library of specialized department training through Appian University, skills based training, and tuition reimbursement for those aiming to advance their education. This commitment ensures that employees have access to a holistic range of development opportunities. Community: We’ll immerse you into our community rooted in respect starting on day one. Appian fosters inclusivity through our 8 employee-led affinity groups. These groups help employees build stronger internal and external networks by planning social, educational, and outreach activities to connect with Appianites and larger initiatives throughout the company. Benefits Appian offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and financial future. Benefits may include health coverage, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with free mental health support, life and disability insurance, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), a retirement/pension plan, wellness dollars, tuition reimbursement, family-forming benefits and more. Benefits vary by country—please ask your Talent Acquisition contact for details specific to the location you are applying to. About Appian Appian provides process automation technology. We automate complex processes in large enterprises and governments. Our platform is known for its unique reliability and scale. We’ve been automating processes for 25 years and understand enterprise operations like no one else. For more information, visit appian.com. [Nasdaq: APPN] Follow Appian: LinkedIn, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook Appian is an equal opportunity employer that strives to attract and retain the best talent. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Appian provides reasonable accommodations to applicants in accordance with all applicable laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at ReasonableAccommodations@appian.com. 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