AI Engineer
Doctors Without Borders · New York, New York, United States
About MSF USA | Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international organization that provides medical care to the people who need it most. The organization cares for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, disasters, and social exclusion in more than 70 countries. MSF offers medical humanitarian assistance solely based on need, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or politics. Our international project teams include medical, logistical, and administrative staff, most of them hired locally and working with their own communities. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality. We also bear witness and speak out about the experiences of our colleagues and patients.
MSF USA is one of 24 sections supporting the global movement, primarily through staff recruitment, fundraising, advocacy, and communications. We welcome candidates who bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to join us in working toward MSF’s social mission. Role Overview
The AI Engineer will lead artificial intelligence projects from discovery through implementation and evaluation. As part of the Systems Innovation, AI and Data team, the role will build and maintain secure, production-ready AI workflows that support organizational priorities and strengthen MSF USA’s operational capabilities.
In collaboration with leadership and other stakeholders, the AI Engineer will provide technical recommendations on AI priorities, risks, architecture, and implementation options. The role will assess models, vendors, data integration, interoperability, governance, evaluation, and maintainability and recommend appropriate approaches for adoption and use in alignment with approved organizational priorities and governance.
The role will initially focus on high-value opportunities at MSF USA, with projects selected from an evolving pipeline based on organizational priorities, feasibility, expected value, data readiness, and risk.
Department Accountabilities
Systems Innovation, AI, and Data
Develop and improve AI-enabled solutions by analyzing organizational needs and identifying opportunities for responsible innovation. Design, implement, and evaluate solutions that improve existing processes, create new capabilities, and support MSF-USA’s strategic priorities.
Establish reusable technical patterns and standards for AI workflows, data integration, interoperability, evaluation, monitoring, and maintenance. Assess emerging technologies, models, platforms, and vendors and recommend whether and how they should be adopted by MSF-USA.
Support Users and Business Units
Provide support, advice, training, and assistance to users to resolve queries and ensure that application, website, data, and AI capabilities are well understood and appropriately used by MSF-USA.
Information Security
Develop specifications for, advise on and implement information and security solutions and tools to protect and monitor security incidents and prevent unauthorized access or damage. Ensure AI solutions incorporate appropriate permissions, logging, monitoring, guardrails, data protections, and safe defaults.
Support MSF Movement
Support technology operations on behalf of the movement in the US home society. Share expertise with the rest of the movement by participating in Communities of Practice, and other collaborating initiatives.
Application Management
Implement and manage applications and AI-enabled capabilities, including data migration and systems integration, to support MSF Strategy. Provide governance designed to ensure applications and AI workflows operate securely, reliably, efficiently, and at an appropriate level of performance, from the end-user experience to underlying integrations.
Implement and support new features as needed. Ensure appropriate access administration, monitoring, documentation, maintenance, and end-user support.
Roles Specific Outcomes
Solution Development
Lead AI projects from discovery through implementation and evaluation. Build secure, reliable, and production-ready AI workflows. Deliver high-value AI capabilities for Development, with priorities adapting as MSF-USA’s organizational pipeline evolves.
AI Architecture and Integration.
Design maintainable AI solutions that integrate with existing data, applications, systems, and access controls.
AI Evaluation and Monitoring.
Implement methods to evaluate and monitor AI solutions for accuracy, quality, usefulness, ethical use, security, and risk.
Governance and Standards.
Contribute to the development and application of technical standards for AI security, permissions, guardrails, documentation, evaluation, and lifecycle management.
Technology Recommendations.
Assess emerging models, platforms, vendors, and integration approaches and advise leadership on adoption, replacement, investment, and risk.
Organizational Enablement.
Provide technical guidance, documentation, and knowledge sharing to support the responsible and effective use of AI across MSF-USA.
These core accountabilities should not be construed to contain every function/responsibility that may be required to be performed by an incumbent in this job. Incumbents are required to perform other functions as assigned.
Complexity and Problem-Solving Skills
- Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required on developing appropriate plans or performing necessary actions based on recommendations and requirements.
- Works without supervision and provides technical guidance when required on analyzing data from multiple sources to draw appropriate conclusions and make suitable recommendations.
Behavioral Competencies
THOUGHT: How MSF USA staff understand the organization, manage complexity, and contribute by creating the new and different.
People Focus
Builds strong relationships and delivers solutions geared to aiding others. Solicits feedback and data; conveys a clear understanding of the level of service the team is providing; takes action when standards are not met by team; aligns processes with organizational needs.
Manages Complexity
Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. Consistently looks at complex issues from many angles; obtains a rich and deep understanding; swiftly cuts to the core issue; skillfully separates root causes from symptoms.
Global Perspective
Takes a broad view when approaching issues, using a global lens. Shows global thinking at work; adjusts organizational practices to meet the unique needs of different regions or countries. Uses a broad perspective when addressing issues and challenges.
Cultivates Innovation
Creates new and better ways for the organization to be successful. Approaches professional work in unique or innovative ways. Offers original ideas. Appreciates others' creative ideas and solutions and provides helpful input to enhance them.
RESULTS: MSF USA staff achieve results by cultivating a forward-thinking environment that produces solutions for changing stakeholder needs.
Drives Results
Consistently achieves results, even under tough circumstances. Regularly pushes self to achieve outstanding outcomes; consistently establishes bold goals for own performance; is passionate about excellent results and significant contributions. Shows great tenacity to complete goals/initiatives in a timely way.
PEOPLE: MSF USA staff understand their impact on others through collaboration and inclusion of different perspectives to achieve common goals.
Collaborates
Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. Readily involves others to accomplish goals; stays in touch and shares information; discourages "us versus them" thinking; shows appreciation for others' ideas and input.
Values Differences
Recogn