Principal AI Taxonomy Engineer

Job Summary

Red Hat's Global Engineering Team is looking for an AI taxonomy engineer to join the newly-formed InstructLab and Granite team. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the foundation of our AI projects by ensuring well-structured and meaningful data organization. A successful candidate will play a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of our AI models through robust taxonomy management.

As a taxonomy engineer, you will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and optimizing classification systems that support our AI models and data organization efforts.  In this role, you will be responsible for reviewing and categorizing incoming data, issues, or tasks and prioritizing these items based on urgency, importance, and relevance. Effective taxonomy engineers will collaborate closely with data scientists, machine learning engineers, and domain experts to align taxonomies with project requirements, and to understand the effectiveness of taxonomies in supporting AI model performance.

This is a fast moving area, so the ideal candidate will have a collaborative mindset and work effectively in cross-functional teams in an open organization where contributions are valued and expected from all levels. As this is a fast-moving area of opportunity for Red Hat, the ability to communicate productively and effectively with team members, stakeholders, and Red Hat leadership is critical. Strong organizational skills are imperative for success in this role.

This position reports directly to the Manager of Software Engineering for InstructLab. This position must have the ability to partner collaboratively in our Boston, MA office at least 3 days per week. 

Primary Job Responsibilities (what you’ll do)

• Evaluate and optimize triaging processes and documentation over time, ensuring the team’s processes are efficient and up-to-date.

• Triage pull requests (PRs) and route tasks to appropriate team members or departments; identify trends in incoming data.

• Develop and code software programs, algorithms, and automated processes to cleanse, integrate, and evaluate large datasets from multiple disparate sources.

• Ensure consistency and accuracy in data labeling and categorization, continuously updating and refining taxonomies as new categories or concepts emerge.

• Help maintain data quality by filtering out low-quality or unsuitable inputs; as needed, escalate actions in response to sensitive or inappropriate content.

• Create and maintain documentation for taxonomy changes, usage guidelines, and best practices; monitor repository cleanliness and take action to maintain order (e.g., close dated PRs and irrelevant issues). 

• Maintain documentation regarding triage and taxonomy status, as well as skills and knowledge contribution process enhancements.

• Monitor and analyze the effectiveness of taxonomies in supporting AI model performance.

• Support public and community engagement through maintenance of community triage communications channels (i.e., slack, community calls).

• Support customers in curating and utilizing Red Hat taxonomies; advise customers on establishing - and debugging - custom taxonomies.

Required Skills (what you’ll bring)

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent.

• Experience with large-scale data management.

• Strong self-motivation and organizational skills.

• Ability to think systematically and identify patterns.

• Adaptability to evolving technologies and methodologies.

• Demonstrates ability to context switch between multiple concurrent projects.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Positive attitude and willingness to share ideas openly.

• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality when in contact with confidential or sensitive customer information in accordance with Red Hat policies and applicable privacy laws. 

Bonus qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related field.

• Understanding of classification systems, metadata standards, and controlled vocabularies.

• Familiarity with Python scripting.

• Familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts and their data requirements.

• Familiarity with participating in an agile development team.

• Experience working within an open source community. 

Pay Transparency

Red Hat determines compensation based on several factors including but not limited to job location, experience, applicable skills and training, external market value, and internal pay equity. Annual salary is one component of Red Hat’s compensation package. This position may also be eligible for bonus, commission, and/or equity. For positions with Remote-US locations, the actual salary range for the position may differ based on location but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience. 

About Red Hat

Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Spread across 40+ countries, our associates work flexibly across work environments, from in-office, to office-flex, to fully remote, depending on the requirements of their role. Red Hatters are encouraged to bring their best ideas, no matter their title or tenure. We're a leader in open source because of our open and inclusive environment. We hire creative, passionate people ready to contribute their ideas, help solve complex problems, and make an impact.

Benefits
●    Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
●    Flexible Spending Account - healthcare and dependent care
●    Health Savings Account - high deductible medical plan
●    Retirement 401(k) with employer match
●    Paid time off and holidays
●    Paid parental leave plans for all new parents
●    Leave benefits including disability, paid family medical leave, and paid military leave
●    Additional benefits including employee stock purchase plan, family planning reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, transportation expense account, employee assistance program, and more! 

Note: These benefits are only applicable to full time, permanent associates at Red Hat located in the United States. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Red Hat
Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. When this is realized, it empowers people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to come together to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and drive innovation. Our aspiration is that everyone experiences this culture with equal opportunity and access, and that all voices are not only heard but also celebrated. We hope you will join our celebration, and we welcome and encourage applicants from all the beautiful dimensions of diversity that compose our global village.

Equal Opportunity Policy (EEO)
Red Hat is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We review applications for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

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