AI/ML Engineer - Higher Education - Cengage Group

We believe in the power and joy of learning

At Cengage, our employees have a direct impact in helping students around the world discover the power and joy of learning. We are bonded by our shared purpose – driving innovation that helps millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

Cengage's portfolio of businesses supports student choice by providing a range of pathways that help learners achieve their goals and lead a choice-filled life.

Our culture values inclusion, engagement, and discovery

Our business is driven by our strong culture, and we know that creating an inclusive workplace is absolutely essential to the success of our company and our learners, as well as our individual well-being. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives in everything we do, and strive to ensure employees of all levels and backgrounds feel empowered to voice their ideas and bring their authentic selves to work. We achieve these priorities through programs, benefits, and initiatives that are integrated into the fabric of how we work every day. To learn more, please see https://www.cengagegroup.com/about/inclusion-and-belonging/ .

The AI/ML Engineer – Higher Education builds AI capabilities for Cengage's higher education products to improve student engagement, learning outcomes, and instructor productivity. You will design, build, and ship production AI features integrated directly into platforms used by millions of students and faculty.

This role requires a builder who ships weekly, cares about learning science, and can design AI experiences that genuinely improve educational outcomes. The ideal candidate has experience shipping production ML or LLM features, understands the nuances of higher education workflows, and balances research-driven thinking with shipping discipline.

Key Responsibilities

HED AI Feature Development

Ship and improve AI features weekly across Cengage HED platforms

Build and integrate Student Assistant capabilities including tutoring, hinting, and feedback

Develop Instructor Insight Assistant features for course analytics and at-risk student identification

Create Content Studio capabilities for AI-assisted content authoring and adaptation

Integrate LLMs, RAG systems, and agentic workflows into HED platform architectures

Platform Integration & Engineering

Integrate AI features into existing HED platform architectures and data systems

Partner with platform engineering on API design, scaling, and production deployment

Build retrieval systems against Cengage's proprietary content library (books, assessments, media)

Ensure AI features meet FERPA compliance and accessibility standards (WCAG, DOJ)

Resolve technical blockers and production issues with urgency

Measurement & Optimization

Monitor featu