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About This Role
We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.
Position Summary
CVS Health is seeking a Staff Software Engineer specializing in developing machine learning solutions using Agentic AI/ML serving as a leader and role model in engineering for both peers and clients.This team is part of the very impactful Claims Adjudication team and this role will be instrumental in our leap to modern AI driven approaches.
The successful candidate will lead project teams working with a diverse range of technologies, including public cloud such as Azure, GCP, on\-prem systems such as IBMi and advanced Agentic AI/ML frameworks.
\*\*We will consider remote US for the right candidate
Key Responsibilities
- Able to develop a vision and formulate implementation plans to achieve end goals, evaluating situations, decisions, and issues in the short, medium, and long term.
- Capable of breaking down complex problems, processes, or projects into manageable components for systematic exploration and evaluation.
- Design and implement complex software solutions for APIs, microservices, CI/CD pipelines, and real\-time streaming on cloud platforms such as Azure or GCP.
- Conduct research on emerging technologies, design principles, and development frameworks to ensure software solutions remain current, innovative, and future\-proof.
- Provide technical guidance in software design and development activities, ensuring clean, scalable, and maintainable code following best practices and design patterns.
- Architect and implement enterprise\-scale Agentic AI solutions leveraging MCP, RAG, reusable Skills, and multi\-agent orchestration frameworks to automate complex business processes, enhance decision\-making, and accelerate digital transformation initiatives.
- Design and optimize AI\-powered platforms utilizing vector databases, semantic search, contextual retrieval, and token\-efficient prompting strategies to deliver scalable, accurate, and cost\-effective Generative AI solutions.
- Establish technical standards and best practices for Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, AI Skills development, agent orchestration, memory management, and workflow automation to enable secure and scalable enterprise AI ecosystems.
- Lead the development of intelligent software solutions that combine cloud\-native architectures, modern AI frameworks, Retrieval\-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic workflows to improve operational efficiency, developer productivity, and business outcomes.
- Partner with teams across functions and provide expert solutions to multiple complex technical projects/initiatives using interlocking technologies.
- Quickly acquire domain knowledge and build subject matter expertise to advise and guide technical leads and peers.
- Establish and drive execution of technical direction, standards, guidelines, and methodologies, while advocating best practices.
- Lead assigned team projects and mentor junior resources as needed.
Required Qualifications
- 7\+ years of experience as a Software Engineer or combination of machine learning and software engineering with 5\+ years leading software development projects, including setting project goals, monitoring progress, tracking milestones, communicating with stakeholders, and mentoring junior developers
- 5\+ years of experience developing software using tools like Angular, Java Spring boot, creating cloud native environments in platforms like GCP, Azure or AWS
- 3\+ years of Python programming with In\-depth understanding of APIs and microservices\-based architecture and Git and version control
- 2\+ years of experience in AI and agentic solution development, including: Designing and deploying intelligent agents and autonomous workflows, Integrating AI/ML models into cloud\-native applications. Leveraging LLMs, vector databases, and orchestration frameworks to build agentic systems, Applying prompt engineering, retrieval\-augmented generation (RAG), and multi\-agent collaboration patterns
Preferred Qualifications
- Health care industry domain knowledge
- 5\+ years Python programming
- Experience with enterprise development tools and methodologies (XP, Agile), including DevSecOps and DataOps
- Experience with RxClaim or other PBM adjudication systems
Education
Bachelors or equivalent experience
Pay Range
The typical pay range for this role is:
$106,605\.00 \- $260,590\.00
This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full\-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short\-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company’s equity award program.
Our people fuel our future. Our teams reflect the customers, patients, members and communities we serve and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every colleague feels valued and that they belong.
Great benefits for great people
We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.
This full‑time position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the physical, emotional, and financial well‑being of colleagues and their families. The benefits for this position include medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, retirement savings options, wellness programs, and other resources, based on eligibility.
Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on Benefits Moments.
We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on: 08/14/2026
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.
Salary Context
This $106K-$260K range is above the median for AI Software Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $183K across 194 roles with salary data).
Role Details
About This Role
AI Software Engineers build the applications and systems that AI models run inside. They own the API layers, data pipelines, frontend integrations, and infrastructure that turn a model into a product users interact with. Every AI company needs engineers who can build the software around the AI.
The challenge is building reliable systems around inherently unreliable components. Models are probabilistic. They'll give different answers to the same question. They hallucinate. They're slow. They're expensive. Your job is to build an application layer that handles all of this gracefully while delivering a product that users trust and enjoy.
Across the 3,708 AI roles we're tracking, AI Software Engineer positions make up 7% of the market. At CVS Health, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week includes: building API endpoints that serve model inference with caching and fallback logic, designing the data pipeline that feeds context to a RAG system, implementing streaming responses in the frontend, debugging a race condition in the async inference pipeline, and optimizing database queries for the vector search layer. It's full-stack engineering with AI at the center.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
Skills Required
Full-stack engineering skills with AI integration experience. Python and TypeScript are the most common requirements. You'll need to understand API design, database architecture, and how to build reliable systems around probabilistic outputs. Experience with streaming, async processing, and caching patterns is increasingly important as real-time AI applications proliferate.
Knowledge of vector databases, embedding APIs, and LLM integration patterns (function calling, structured outputs, retry logic) differentiates AI software engineers from general software engineers. Understanding cost optimization (caching strategies, model routing, batched inference) is valuable since inference costs can dominate application economics.
Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI Software Engineer roles pay a median of $219,250 based on 424 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $230,000. This role's midpoint ($183K) sits 16% below the category median. Disclosed range: $106K to $260K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($300,000) and Research Engineer ($280,000). By seniority level: Entry: $120,000; Mid: $200,000; Senior: $230,000; Director: $272,150; VP: $250,000.
CVS Health AI Hiring
CVS Health has 10 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across LLM Engineer, AI/ML Engineer, Data Scientist, AI Software Engineer. Positions span Hartford, CT, US, Richardson, TX, US, Woonsocket, RI, US. Compensation range: $144K - $288K.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 14% (508 positions) offer remote work, while 3,180 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,045 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (810 roles, $277,088 median); Los Angeles (397 roles, $215,000 median).
Career Path
Common paths into AI Software Engineer roles include Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Backend Engineer.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Staff Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager.
If you're a software engineer, you're already 80% there. Learn the AI integration patterns: RAG, streaming inference, function calling, structured outputs. Build a project that demonstrates you can wrap an AI model in a production-quality application with proper error handling, caching, and user experience. That's the portfolio piece that gets you hired.
What to Expect in Interviews
Technical screens look like standard software engineering interviews with an AI twist. Expect system design questions about building reliable applications around probabilistic models: handling streaming responses, implementing retry logic for API failures, and designing caching strategies for LLM outputs. Coding rounds test standard algorithms plus practical integration patterns like async processing and rate limiting.
When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 3,708 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 102 entry-level, 1,705 mid-level, 1,469 senior, and 432 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 14% of the market (508 positions). The remaining 3,180 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($300,000 median, 21 roles); Research Engineer ($280,000 median, 147 roles); AI Architect ($254,798 median, 67 roles).
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 3,708 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,605), Data Scientist (310), AI Software Engineer (259). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (102) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,705) and senior (1,469) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 432 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 14% of all AI roles (508 positions), with 3,180 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $217,500. Top-quartile roles start at $272,100, and the 90th percentile reaches $325,000. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $300,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $140,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,890 postings), Aws (1,103 postings), Azure (877 postings), Rag (855 postings), Gcp (631 postings), Prompt Engineering (560 postings), Pytorch (545 postings), Claude (498 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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