AI Search Engineer

Company Overview

Req  NTT DATA strives to hire exceptional, innovative and passionate individuals who want to grow with us. If you want to be part of an inclusive, adaptable, and forward-thinking organization, apply now.

NTT DATA's Client is currently seeking an AI Search Engineer to join their team in Remote, Texas (US-TX), United States (US) to design, build, and operate production-grade search experiences powered by Azure AI Search. You will develop Python-based indexing and query services, implement vector/semantic and hybrid search patterns, and deploy secure, scalable workloads on Azure using Docker/Kubernetes. This role requires strong cloud engineering fundamentals, secure authentication/authorization practices, and disciplined deployment and operational excellence.

• Design and implement search solutions using Azure AI Search, including indexing strategies, schema design, and query patterns for relevance and performance.

• Build vector search and hybrid search capabilities (vector keyword) to support semantic retrieval use cases.

• Implement ingestion and indexing pipelines (batch and/or streaming) to keep search indexes current and reliable.

• Develop backend services in Python (e.g., FastAPI/Flask) for search query orchestration, indexing automation, and integration with upstream/downstream systems.

• Implement robust error handling, retries, telemetry, and API contract documentation.

• Implement Microsoft Entra
  -based authentication and Azure RBAC for Azure AI Search access, including assignment of appropriate built-in roles for administration, indexing, and querying.

• Design access patterns for user- or application-scoped retrieval, including least-privilege access and secure token-based calls to the data plane.

• Containerize services using Docker and deploy/operate them on Kubernetes (e.g., AKS), including configuration, scaling, and environment promotion practices.

• Implement deployment best practices (CI/CD, automated testing gates, environment configuration, secrets handling, rollbacks).

• Establish observability (logs/metrics/traces), alerting, and runbooks for production support.

• Diagnose and resolve performance bottlenecks across indexing, query latency, and service throughput.

• Participate in incident response and continuous improvement of platform stability.

• 5 years of software engineering experience, including production services on cloud platforms.

• 2 years of hands-on experience with Azure AI (Cognitive) Search (index design, ingestion/indexing, query APIs).

• 5 years of strong Python development experience for backend services and automation.

• 3 years of experience with Docker and Kubernetes for deploying and operating services.

• 2 years of experience with authentication/authorization, including Entra  and RBAC for data-plane operations.

• 3 years of experience applying deployment best practices: CI/CD, automated testing, configuration management, and secure secrets handling.

Where required by law, NTT DATA provides a reasonable range of compensation for specific roles. The starting hourly range for this remote role is (HOURLY RATE $50 TO $60). This range reflects the minimum and maximum target compensation for the position across all US locations. Actual compensation will depend on several factors, including the candidate's actual work location, relevant experience, technical skills, and other qualifications.

This position may also be eligible for incentive compensation based on individual and/or company performance.

This position is eligible for company benefits that will depend on the nature of the role offered. Company benefits may include medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending or health savings account, life, and AD&D insurance, short-and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program with company match, and additional voluntary or legally required benefits.

NTT DATA is a $30 billion trusted global innovator of business and technology services. We serve 75% of the Fortune Global 100 and are committed to helping clients innovate, optimize and transform for long term success. As a Global Top Employer, we have diverse experts in more than 50 countries and a robust partner ecosystem of established and start-up companies. Our services include business and technology consulting, data and artificial intelligence, industry solutions, as well as the development, implementation and management of applications, infrastructure and connectivity.

We are one of the leading providers of digital and AI infrastructure in the world. NTT DATA is a part of NTT Group, which invests over $3.6 billion each year in R&D to help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. Visit us at

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