Sr AI Architect - Conversational AI at Twilio

Job description

Who we are At Twilio, we’re shaping the future of communications, all from the comfort of our homes. We deliver innovative solutions to hundreds of thousands of businesses and empower millions of developers worldwide to craft personalized customer experiences. Our dedication to remote-first work , and strong culture of connection and global inclusion means that no matter your location, you’re part of a vibrant team with diverse experiences making a global impact each day. As we continue to revolutionize how the world interacts, we’re acquiring new skills and experiences that make work feel truly rewarding. Your career at Twilio is in your hands. . Hiring and how we work We use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help make our hiring process efficient. That said, every hiring decision is made by real Twilions! Also, while we are a remote-first company, you may be asked to report in person on an ad-hoc basis for team gatherings, functional off-sites or customer meetings. . See yourself at Twilio Join the team as Twilio’s next Sr AI Architect - Conversation AI. About the job This position is critical to leveraging Twilio’s massive data ecosystem and unmatched communication scale to build our customer facing AI capabilities, such as Twilio Conversational Memory, Enterprise Knowledge, Behavioral Data Intelligence and many more to power the future of our customer engagement platform. As a Sr. AI Architect for Twilio Platform, you will also influence the design and evolution of our company-wide ML/AI Ops foundation. You will set the long-term technical vision, establish architectural guardrails, and ensure strict adherence to responsible AI principles. You will drive cross-organizational initiatives, solve complex technical challenges, and elevate the technical standards across all of Twilio. Transitioning AI/ML concepts from cutting-edge research to resilient, compliant, and cost-effective production systems will be your core mission. As a Sr AI Architect, you will lead the company as the Distinguished Engineer and AI Contextual Engineering SME, serving as the guiding authority to our Architects, driving company-wide impact, and steering Twilio's overarching technical direction for conversational AI. In this pivotal leadership role, you will also influence the design and evolution of our company-wide ML/AI Ops foundation. You will set the long-term technical vision, establish architectural guardrails, and ensure strict adherence to responsible AI principles. By driving cross-organizational initiatives and solving complex technical challenges, you will elevate the technical standards across all of Twilio. Transitioning AI/ML concepts from cutting-edge research to resilient, compliant, and cost-effective production systems will be your core mission. Responsibilities In this role, you’ll: Define and drive a long-term AI/ML architectural vision that aligns with Twilio’s business goals, specifically focusing on how data and memory power the next generation of customer engagement. Own the strategic roadmap for Twilio’s ML/AI Ops platform and tooling, ensuring a unified approach to model development, deployment, and lifecycle management across all platform capabilities. Evaluate and implement modern LLM architectures, RAG systems, MCP/tooling frameworks, and inference optimization techniques. Lead architecture for agentic AI systems including orchestration, reasoning, tool usage, and contextual grounding. Stay current with rapidly evolving advancements in LLMs, agent frameworks, reasoning systems, and AI infrastructure. Transition seamlessly from high-level strategic communication with executives to deep-dive code reviews and pair programming with engineers. Partner closely with Product Management to turn a roadmap into a sequence of technical milestones, ensuring that technical investments always map to customer value. Have a 'player-coach' mentality, and contribute hands-on technical expertise while providing strategic direction and mentorship to the team. Qualifications Twilio values diverse experiences from all kinds of industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply. If your career is just starting or hasn't followed a traditional path, don't let that stop you from considering Twilio. We are always looking for people who will bring something new to the table! Required: 15+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 6+ years specifically focused on building and scaling production-grade ML systems at a platform level. Extensive experience with ML Ops and LLM Ops patterns, including designing and implementing rigorous evaluation metrics, automated retraining loops, and monitoring for non-deterministic AI features at scale. Deep expertise in the design, architecture, and deployment of production-grade ML/AI systems, including deep knowledge of transformer models, LLM orchestration, embedding models, inference optimization and vector stores. Deep understanding of the Context Engineering lifecycle, including semantic retrieval, contextual compression, state management across multi-turn conversations. Strong background in building cloud-based services using AWS, GCP, or Azure, with experience managing high-volume data and various data stores. Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to mentor engineers, influence company wide technical strategy, product direction, and drive results across the company. A Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Statistics, or a closely related quantitative field. Desired A track record of relevant publications at top ML conferences or significant open-source contributions. Experience designing evaluation frameworks that specifically measure context quality Track record of designing and implementing enterprise-scale ML/AI Ops platforms Experience working in a geographically distributed environment. Location This role will be remote and based in the United States. Travel We prioritize connection and opportunities to build relationships with our customers and each other. For this role, approximately 5% travel is anticipated to help you connect in-person in a meaningful way. What We Offer Working at Twilio offers many benefits, including competitive pay, generous time off, ample parental and wellness leave, healthcare, a retirement savings program, and much more. Offerings vary by location. Compensation Please note this role is open to candidates outside of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington D.C., and Washington State. The information below is provided for candidates hired in those locations only. The estimated pay ranges for this role are as follows: Based in Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont or Washington D.C. : $275,840.00 - 344,800.00. Based in New York, New Jersey, Washington State, or California (outside of the San Francisco Bay area): $292,080.00 - 365,100.00. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, California: $324,480.00 - 405,600.00. This role may be eligible to participate in Twilio’s equity plan and corporate bonus plan. All roles are generally eligible for the following benefits: health care insurance, 401(k) retirement account, paid sick time, paid personal time off, paid parental leave. The successful candidate’s starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location. Application deadline information Applications for this role are intended to be accepted until October 30, 2026 but may change based on business needs. Twilio thinks big. Do you? We like to solve problems, take initiative, pitch in when needed, and are always up for trying new things. That's why we seek out colleagues who embody our values — something we call Twilio Magic . Additionally, we empower employees to build positive change in their communities by supporting their volunteering and donation efforts. So, if you're ready to unleash your full potential, do your best work, and be the best version of yourself, apply now! If this role isn't what you're looking for, please consider other open positions. . Stay alert to recruitment fraud We care about your safety. Scammers sometimes impersonate Twilio recruiters through fake job postings, emails, websites, or messages. Please ensure you are engaging with an official @ twilio.com email address. We will never ask for payment, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or banking information during the recruiting process. We do not make job offers without a formal interview process or conduct interviews exclusively through text-based messaging apps. . Twilio is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Additionally, Twilio participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.

Requirements

Must-haves

Define and drive a long-term AI/ML architectural vision that aligns with Twilio’s business goals, specifically focusing on how data and memory power the next generation of customer engagement.
Own the strategic roadmap for Twilio’s ML/AI Ops platform and tooling, ensuring a unified approach to model development, deployment, and lifecycle management across all platform capabilities.
Evaluate and implement modern LLM architectures, RAG systems, MCP/tooling frameworks, and inference optimization techniques.
Lead architecture for agentic AI systems including orchestration, reasoning, tool usage, and contextual grounding.
Stay current with rapidly evolving advancements in LLMs, agent frameworks, reasoning systems, and AI infrastructure.
Transition seamlessly from high-level strategic communication with executives to deep-dive code reviews and pair programming with engineers.
Partner closely with Product Management to turn a roadmap into a sequence of technical milestones, ensuring that technical investments always map to customer value.
Have a 'player-coach' mentality, and contribute hands-on technical expertise while providing strategic direction and mentorship to the team.
15+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 6+ years specifically focused on building and scaling production-grade ML systems at a platform level.
Extensive experience with ML Ops and LLM Ops patterns, including designing and implementing rigorous evaluation metrics, automated retraining loops, and monitoring for non-deterministic AI features at scale.
Deep expertise in the design, architecture, and deployment of production-grade ML/AI systems, including deep knowledge of transformer models, LLM orchestration, embedding models, inference optimization and vector stores.
Deep understanding of the Context Engineering lifecycle, including semantic retrieval, contextual compression, state management across multi-turn conversations.
Strong background in building cloud-based services using AWS, GCP, or Azure, with experience managing high-volume data and various data stores.
Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to mentor engineers, influence company wide technical strategy, product direction, and drive results across the company.
A Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Statistics, or a closely related quantitative field.

Nice-to-haves

A track record of relevant publications at top ML conferences or significant open-source contributions.
Experience designing evaluation frameworks that specifically measure context quality
Track record of designing and implementing enterprise-scale ML/AI Ops platforms
Experience working in a geographically distributed environment.
We prioritize connection and opportunities to build relationships with our customers and each other. For this role, approximately 5% travel is anticipated to help you connect in-person in a meaningful way.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

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Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Vision

401(K)

Pto

Parental Leave

Wellness