INFORMATION TECH SECTION LEADER - SES - 60062544

Requisition No: 852448 

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: INFORMATION TECH SECTION LEADER - SES - 60062544

 Pay Plan: SES

Position Number: 60062544 

Salary:  $92,000.00 to $105,000.00 

Posting Closing Date: 05/18/2025 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

This is an Open Competitive Opportunity

The Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking AI Enterprise Applications Supervisor to lead enterprise-level AI initiatives and supervise a team of AI engineers. This role requires a strategic and hands-on leader with a strong understanding of AI and ML technologies, implementation practices, and enterprise integration. The ideal candidate excels at converting system requirements and specifications into robust technical solutions.

This position is located at the DCF Headquarters in Tallahassee, within the Office of Information Technology Services.

Key Responsibilities:

• Supervise, mentor, and guide a team of AI engineers in delivering high-impact AI solutions across the enterprise.
• Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of AI and ML models, including design, development, training, deployment, monitoring, and optimization using tools such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Azure OpenAI, AWS, Hugging Face, and other emerging platforms.
• Proactively research, evaluate, and recommend new and emerging AI tools and technologies, with a focus on aligning capabilities to business needs and operational use cases.
• Identify opportunities for AI application across business functions and lead the development of fit-for-purpose solutions that improve efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand enterprise requirements and ensure AI systems are securely and seamlessly integrated with existing platforms using APIs, real-time data flows, and MLOps frameworks.
• Establish and enforce best practices in data governance, ethical AI use, and compliance with regulatory and security standards.
• Drive the development and enhancement of AI-related infrastructure, including data pipelines (ETL), data engineering platforms (Databricks, Azure Synapse), and cloud services.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends, academic research, and best practices to maintain the organization’s competitive edge in AI adoption.

EXAMPLES OF WORK:

Lead and Manage Projects: Provide strategic leadership by managing AI managers, engineers, and technical staff, offering clear guidance, setting AI program priorities, and fostering a collaborative environment that drives innovation and successful implementation of enterprise AI initiatives. Continuously assess the performance of team members and project outcomes, offering technical mentorship, constructive feedback, and opportunities for skill development in AI and machine learning.

AI Tool Evaluation & Recommendation: Conduct a comparative research and analysis of commercial and open-source AI platforms (e.g., Azure OpenAI vs. AWS Bedrock vs. Hugging Face) to determine the best fit for a customer service automation initiative. Deliver a recommendation report outlining cost, performance, scalability, and compliance considerations for executive review.

Business Case Alignment: Partner with program leadership to identify high-value use cases for AI in fraud detection, case triaging, and citizen service personalization. Mapped AI capabilities (e.g., NLP, computer vision, predictive modeling) to operational pain points and built a roadmap for AI adoption.

Prototype Development & Proof of Concept: Lead the team in building a proof of concept using Azure OpenAI or other AI tools. Demonstrate a improvement in performance and response time.

Enterprise AI Governance: Develop and enforce internal standards for responsible AI use, including bias detection, model explainability, and audit trails. Conduct training sessions on AI ethics and model governance for both technical staff and business stakeholders.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration:  Work with the data governance and application development teams to integrate AI services into applications using REST APIs and real-time data streams. Ensure compliance with HIPAA and state data protection policies during AI deployments.

Innovation Scouting: Regularly scan AI research publications, industry reports, and vendor updates to bring new ideas and emerging trends to executive leadership. Pilot AI tools and  frameworks for improving internal knowledge base search.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES, including utilization of equipment, required for the position:

Knowledge of basic Florida Legislative and IT processes, principles, and practices. Expertise in AI technologies, especially Large Language Models (LLMs), including OpenAI’s GPT-4, Anthropic’s Claude, Meta’s LLaMA, Google's Gemini, Mistral, and open-source models from platforms such as Hugging Face. Skilled in prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflows to tailor LLMs for domain-specific business needs. In-depth knowledge of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques such as tokenization, lemmatization, stemming, named entity recognition (NER), and part-of-speech tagging. Hands-on experience with transformer-based models like BERT, RoBERTa, T5, GPT, and Gemini Pro, and their application in building intelligent document processing, summarization, and conversational AI systems. Strong software design and development capabilities, with clean, efficient Python coding skills and experience in frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain, and Ray. Proficient in deploying AI and ML solutions using cloud platforms including Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI, and Databricks. Demonstrated leadership in managing AI teams and projects, with the ability to align AI solutions with business goals, prioritize workloads, ensure ethical AI practices, and maintain compliance with organizational and regulatory standards. Skilled in cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder engagement to deliver impactful AI-driven outcomes.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, or a related field 
• 6+ years of experience managing technical teams, with a focus on leading cross-functional groups including AI engineers, data scientists, and software developers.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with AI tools and platforms, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and machine learning frameworks such as Azure OpenAI, AWS SageMaker, Google Vertex AI, Hugging Face, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.
• 2+ years of experience in application development, particularly in .NET and SQL Server, with a strong foundation in integrating AI capabilities into existing systems.
• 2+ years of experience in data analysis, modeling, and mapping, supporting data-driven AI solution development and governance.
• Proven ability to research, evaluate, and implement AI technologies that align with business objectives and deliver measurable impact.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of interpreting complex datasets, identifying patterns, and turning insights into actionable solutions using ML and AI techniques.
• Skilled in managing multiple AI and software projects, with demonstrated strength in task prioritization, risk mitigation, and deadline-driven execution.
• Well-versed in data governance, quality management, and AI ethics, ensuring scalable and compliant AI deployments within enterprise environments.
• Experienced in Agile, DevOps, and MLOps methodologies, supporting the continuous delivery and lifecycle management of AI solutions.
• Excellent communication and leadership abilities, with a proven record of conveying technical concepts to non-technical audiences and fostering collaboration across business and technical teams.

PREFERENCES:

Preference will be given to candidates who have experience in leading and managing application development using .net technologies.

Preference will be given to candidates who have a Microsoft Certification.

SPECIAL NOTES

Only US citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers will be hired.

Selective Service: All selected male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire. For more information, please visit the SSS website: http://www.sss.gov.

Florida Retirement System (FRS): If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you may be required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.

Veteran’s Preference: Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply. Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code. Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here. All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.

BACKGROUND SCREENING REQUIREMENT: It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and, if applicable, Chapter 408, F.S.  No applicant may begin employment until the background investigation results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency.  Background investigations shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.  Employees also are subject to background re-screening at least every five (5) years. No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency. 

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.