Director, Engineering, Quality and AI Research, Applied A

Company: Google
Location: Cupertino
Posted on: March 18, 2026

Job Description:

Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. 15 years of professional experience in software engineering, including 10 years of experience in senior leadership roles managing engineering teams. 3 years of experience in the domain of conversational AI, natural language processing (NLP), or large language models (LLMs), including experience with concepts such as fine-tuning, function calling, and agentic systems. Preferred qualifications: PhD or Masters degree in Machine Learning, Computer Science, or a related discipline. Experience translating frontier AI research into robust, production-grade enterprise products. Experience architecting and building large-scale evaluation systems that measure model quality, reliability, and human judgment. Ability to lead high-velocity, mission-driven teams, especially those that interface with research organizations. Exceptional communication skills, serving as an influential advocate for Google Cloud with internal and external partners. Established presence in the AI/ML community, demonstrated through publications or open-source contributions. About the job As the Director of Engineering for Quality and AI Research, you will lead the technical strategy for bringing frontier AI capabilities to enterprise scale. Your mission is to bridge the gap between model breakthroughs and production-grade enterprise solutions that drive user delight and brand loyalty for enterprise customers. You will lead a high-velocity organization responsible for cutting-edge conversational agent technologies and evaluation systems within Google Clouds Applied AI organization. In this role, you will set an uncompromising bar for quality and reliability; you will define what the business-to-consumer experience will be for the billions of interactions that happen every day across the world. Applied AI builds conversational agents deployed at a large scale that achieve very meaningful results in the real world. Some examples include the customer agent built for large call center environments, to fast food ordering handled by our Food AI agent. The team is transforming how enterprises connect with customers through the power of AI. We also offer unique experiences for team members where you get to work directly with the model builders (Google DeepMind / Vertex), learn and work with brilliant AI leaders, and have access to Global 1000 customers via our existing Google Cloud relationships. The opportunity in this space is tremendous. The US base salary range for this full-time position is $307,000-$427,000 bonus equity benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google . Responsibilities Develop and execute the strategic vision for voice agent technologies, agent optimization, and quality evaluation systems within Google Clouds Applied AI organization. Serve as a high-bandwidth interface with research teams in DeepMind, translating frontier capabilities into product capabilities that redefine conversational nuance. Architect evaluation systems that capture real-world deterministic reliability characteristics and human judgement. Build, scale, and inspire an organization of AI quality engineers by maintaining a collaborative approach to architecture and design, raising the technical bar through first-principles thinking. Represent Google Cloud as an industry leader in generative AI development, contributing to conferences, publications, and open-source initiatives.

Keywords: Google, Union City , Director, Engineering, Quality and AI Research, Applied A, IT / Software / Systems , Cupertino, California