Lead AI Engineer

Ecolab is a global leader in water, hygiene, and energy technologies, dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that make a positive impact worldwide. With operations spanning across 170 countries, Ecolab is committed to sustainability, innovation, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
There are over 500 of us in our Krakow business center, where we highly specialize in finance, supply chain, accounting, controlling and regulatory. We’re always looking for new talent to join our team. When you come to work at Ecolab, you get to take on some of the world’s most meaningful challenges and have the opportunity to learn and grow, shape your career, make an impact and quickly see the importance of your work.
Right now, we are seeking a highly experienced Lead AI Engineer to architect and scale enterprise-grade Generative AI (GenAI) solutions. This role will drive the design and delivery of intelligent systems leveraging large language models (LLMs), agent orchestration frameworks, and embedding-driven retrieval architectures.
This hybrid position is offered as a full-time employment (employment contract), providing a structured opportunity to support redefining how one of the world’s leading companies applies AI to solve real business challenges. At Ecolab, innovation is more than a buzzword, it is embedded in our culture, which is why we are proud to be recognized as #9 on Fortune’s AIQ 50 list of companies leading the AI revolution.
What You will Do:
Architect enterprise-grade GenAI systems using modular LLM APIs, agent orchestration frameworks, and embedding pipelines
Design and implement autonomous agent workflows with context management, multi-agent coordination, and task delegation
Optimise system performance, latency, and response accuracy through experimentation with prompt strategies, retrieval augmentation, and caching logic
Lead architectural reviews, enforce prompt safety and governance standards, and ensure compliance with enterprise security protocols
Collaborate with product, platform, and engineering leaders to define reusable AI design patterns and scalable capabilities
Guide engineering pods on GenAI best practices, system resilience, and prompt lifecycle management
Develop and maintain reusable assets (SDKs, templates, shared agent logic) to accelerate development across teams
Drive innovation by continuously evaluating advancements in LLM tooling, orchestration frameworks, and prompt optimisation techniques
Provide technical leadership, mentoring engineers and influencing AI adoption across programmes
What will You Need:
Required Qualifications
6-8+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, with demonstrated experience in building and scaling GenAI applications
Strong programming expertise in Python (3.10/3.11+) and hands-on experience with LLM APIs, vector databases, embedding models, and agent frameworks
Proven experience designing agent-based systems using framework-agnostic orchestration patterns
Experience deploying secure, scalable, and cost-efficient cloud-native AI solutions (preferably Azure ecosystem)
Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines, containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes), and production-grade model monitoring
Solid knowledge of system design principles, performance tuning, and distributed architectures
Fluent Polish and very good English skills
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with Model Context Protocols (MCP) and agent-to-agent (A2A) communication patterns
Contributions to reusable GenAI frameworks, accelerators, or developer platforms (prompt templates, agent libraries, SDKs)
Familiarity with governance and observability tools for LLM systems (cost monitoring, safety filters, token usage tracking)
Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex AI concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Exposure to enterprise-scale AI deployments in supply chain, optimisation, or decision intelligence systems
What’s In for You:
• Competitive Compensation: Attractive salary and benefits package (lunch subsidy, sport bonus, holiday bonus etc.).
• Work-Life Balance: Flexible working arrangements with hybrid model of work (approx. 50% from the office and 50% from home.
• Matrix Organization: Thrive in our matrix organization, working across Europe with various teams and cultural backgrounds.
• Collaborative Environment: Strong teamwork and diverse interactions.
• Development Opportunities: Personalized plans with rapid progression
• Versatile Career Paths: Professional growth supported by active committee for different career levels.
• Supportive Culture: High employee satisfaction and responsive feedback.
• Learning and Innovation: Continuous learning and technical training incl. subject matter experts’ trainings, soft skills and LinkedIn learning.
• Social events such as family events and charity auctions.
• Comfortable working environment (Library, relaxation area, casual dress code).
• Parking space for cars and bikes.
At Ecolab, we prioritize our talent-first philosophy by creating the most capable and diverse team to excel at our nearly three million customer sites. Building on a century of innovation, our 48,000 associates help deliver comprehensive science-based solutions, data-driven insights and world-class service to advance food safety, maintain clean and safe environments, and optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for customers in the food, healthcare, life sciences, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. Our solutions not only enhance operational efficiency but also contribute to sustainability and public health, making a positive impact on the world.
We are committed to eliminating unnecessary complexities and embracing a beginner's mindset, continuously seeking new perspectives and innovative solutions to stay ahead in a rapidly changing world.
We are committed to fair equal and diverse treatment of associates and applicants, furthering the principles of Equal Opportunity Employment.
Apply today and join one of the most ethical companies with over a hundred years of history.
Join Ecolab and help us protect what’s vital.
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