Senior Machine Learning Engineer / AI Specialist
Organizational Context
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kenya focuses on poverty eradication and sustainable development, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals. A key initiative is the development of an integrated Artificial Intelligence Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, and the Technopolis Development Authority. This programme aims to leverage national compute infrastructure and public sector capabilities to create AI-enabled solutions for development challenges, emphasizing responsible AI and data governance.
Job Purpose
This UN Volunteer assignment is crucial for the implementation phase of UNDP Kenya's Artificial Intelligence Programme. The role involves leading the data, modelling, and evaluation aspects of priority AI-enabled solutions. The incumbent will ensure that these solutions are built on robust data foundations and demonstrably outperform credible baselines. This contribution is vital for translating development challenges into effective, responsibly developed, adopted, and scalable AI solutions, supporting the operationalization of national AI compute infrastructure and fostering innovation within the ecosystem.
Responsibilities
The Senior Machine Learning Engineer / AI Specialist will assess data readiness, define modelling approaches, and develop, adapt, and fine-tune models for selected AI use cases. This includes reviewing data quality, defining data strategies, selecting appropriate modelling techniques, and establishing performance baselines. The role involves building and maintaining data pipelines, conducting structured experimentation, and optimizing models for the available compute environment. Responsibilities also include evaluating model performance against defined metrics, conducting failure-mode analysis, and testing for bias, fairness, and robustness in collaboration with the Responsible AI Specialist. Furthermore, the incumbent will mentor junior AI developers, produce comprehensive model and dataset documentation, prepare handover materials, and contribute to a consolidated cross-solution modelling report.
Work Experience
A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in machine learning, applied AI, data science, or AI solution development is required. This includes at least 3 years of hands-on experience developing, adapting, fine-tuning, and evaluating AI models for operational use, and at least 2 years of leading technical sprints, including planning, task allocation, and quality assurance of team outputs.
Skills
Key competencies include accountability, adaptability, communication, creativity, integrity, judgement, planning, professionalism, and technological awareness. Specific technical skills required are in data science, information management, Artificial Intelligence, and software development.