AI Development Lead - Infrastructure & Automation

Location: CRC - Charlotte, NC 600 S. Tryon St.

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

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Regular or Temporary:

Regular

Language Fluency:  English (Required)

Work Shift:

1st Shift (United States of America)

Please review the following job description:

The AI Development Lead – Infrastructure & Automation is a senior technical leadership role responsible for building and scaling AI-driven infrastructure automation across Enterprise Technology & Operations. Reporting to the CTO, this role will own agent-based development, platform integrations, and AI-enabled operations spanning network operations, cloud management, service management, and internal developer platforms.

This leader will manage multiple highly technical development teams and is expected to be hands-on, opinionated, and deeply technical. The ideal candidate is energized by working with emerging, fast-moving AI tooling and excels at integrating AI capabilities directly into enterprise infrastructure, operations, and control planes—not just application layers.

The role sits at the intersection of platform engineering, infrastructure operations, and applied AI, translating novel AI capabilities into reliable, secure, observable, production-grade systems.

Core Focus Areas

• AI-driven infrastructure and operations automation

• Agent-based systems for network operations, cloud, and service operations

• Deep integration with enterprise platforms (cloud, ITSM, network, observability)

• Advanced AI tooling and AI-assisted development

• Scalable, monitored, and governed AI systems

Key Responsibilities

AI Infrastructure & Agent Development

• Architect, build, and operate AI agents that monitor, manage, and remediate:

  • Network and infrastructure operations

  • Cloud platforms and cost/usage optimization

  • Service management (incident, problem, change, request)

  • Platform health, availability, and performance

• Design event-driven and agentic architectures that integrate AI agents directly into operational workflows and tooling.

• Lead development of AI copilots and autonomous systems embedded in infrastructure and operations platforms.

Advanced Tooling & Platforms

• Drive adoption and production use of cutting-edge AI and development platforms, including:

  • Microsoft Foundry and Azure-native AI tooling

  • Codex-style AI-assisted development and automation

  • Claude Code and other advanced agent-oriented coding systems

• Continuously evaluate emerging tools, frameworks, and orchestration patterns for applied enterprise AI.

Infrastructure & Platform Integration

• Lead deep integrations between AI services and:

  • Cloud platforms (Azure-first, multi-cloud where required)

  • Network management and monitoring systems

  • IT Service Management (ITSM) platforms

  • Observability, logging, and telemetry platforms

• Ensure AI solutions are designed for production resiliency, auditability, and enterprise operability.

• Partner closely with infrastructure, cloud, network, security, and service management teams.

Engineering Leadership

• Lead and scale multiple development teams (AI engineers, platform engineers, automation engineers).

• Set engineering standards for:

  • Agent development and lifecycle management

  • CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code

  • Secure-by-design AI services

  • Observability and runtime monitoring of AI systems

• Stay hands-on with architecture, critical design decisions, and complex implementations.

AI Operations, Governance & Reliability

• Establish standards for:

  • AI runtime monitoring, drift detection, and performance tracking

  • Secure prompt, model, and data handling

  • Responsible AI usage within operational systems

• Ensure AI-enabled infrastructure solutions meet enterprise requirements for:

  • Security, compliance, and resilience

  • Change management and auditability

  • Hybrid and multi-cloud support

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.

• 8+ years of deep technical engineering experience, with proven hands-on team leadership.

• Strong background in infrastructure, platform engineering, or SRE, not just application development.

• Demonstrated experience building and operating automation or AI-driven operational systems.

• Deep familiarity with:

  • Cloud platforms (Azure preferred)

  • Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, ARM/Bicep, etc.)

  • Containers and platforms (Kubernetes, Docker)

  • CI/CD pipelines and developer platforms

• Practical experience with LLMs, agents, or automation frameworks, including:

  • LLM integration and orchestration

  • Agent-based workflows

  • Retrieval and context systems

• Proven ability to lead teams building production-grade systems, not experiments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using advanced AI developer tools (Foundry-style platforms, AI-driven coding agents).

• Experience integrating AI into:

  • Network operations

  • Cloud governance

  • IT Service Management platforms

• Background in high-velocity environments.

• Master’s degree or advanced certifications in cloud, AI, or infrastructure engineering.

What Success Looks Like

• AI agents actively handling and assisting real infrastructure and service operations use cases.

• Reduced operational toil through automation and intelligent remediation.

• Engineers using AI tools as a natural extension of the development and operations lifecycle.

• A scalable, secure, and observable AI-powered operations platform trusted by Enterprise Technology & Operations.

This role is intentionally ambitious. It is designed for a leader who is extremely technical, relentlessly curious, and motivated to push enterprise infrastructure forward using modern AI capabilities—not next year, but now.

General Description of Available Benefits for Eligible Employees of CRC Group: At CRC Group, we're committed to supporting every aspect of teammates' well-being – physical, emotional, financial, social, and professional. Our best-in-class benefits program is designed to care for the whole you, offering a wide range of coverage and support. Eligible full-time teammates enjoy access to medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and AD&D insurance; tax-advantaged savings accounts; and a 401(k) plan with company match. CRC Group also offers generous paid time off programs, including company holidays, vacation and sick days, new parent leave, and more. Eligible positions may also qualify for restricted stock units and/or a deferred compensation plan.

CRC Group supports a diverse workforce and is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, citizenship or national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status or other classification protected by law. CRC Group is a Drug Free Workplace.

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