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    VI

    Vitol

    Energy and Commodities Trading

    Forward Deployed Engineer

    Houston, United StatesOn-SiteFull-time3+ yrs experiencePosted 1mo ago
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    Job description

    We are looking for a hands-on Forward Deployed AI Engineer to join our global AI team. This is a hybrid role across engineering and commercial teams. You will sit directly with commercial users, build and ship agentic solutions that solve real workflow problems, and communicate technical requirements back to our foundational engineering teams.

    You will own technical design and delivery from prototype to production. As Vitol's AI portfolio grows, you will help shape what gets built, in what order, and make sure what the team builds gets used.

    The successful candidate will join a growing, collaborative team of experienced practitioners who are solving some of the most challenging and impactful problems the energy industry is facing, as well as pushing the boundaries around the 'art of the possible'.

    Key Responsibilities

    • Embed with commercial teams to understand their workflows, constraints, and business objectives; identify high-value opportunities for AI solutions
    • Translate business problems into clear technical requirements, solution designs, and delivery plans to build, integrate, and deploy agentic solutions
    • Development of the firm's internal GenAI platform, extending its capabilities through new integrations, data connectors, MCP servers, tool-calling, and domain-specific skills
    • Apply a broad range of AI and modelling techniques, including LLMs, RAG, NLP, time-series forecasting, and optimization, to commodity pricing, supply/demand signals, trade flow analysis, and operational optimization problems
    • Communicate requirements, technical constraints, and reusable patterns back to the foundational AI and platform engineering teams
    • Present capabilities, assumptions, and limitations clearly to traders and senior management, supporting confident commercial decision-making and building trust in AI outputs among technical and non-technical audiences
    • Champion AI best practice on the desk and across the team: participate in code reviews, experiment and evaluation design, and tooling decisions; mentor colleagues and help raise the overall standard of engineering and applied-AI practice
    • Degree in computer science, statistics, mathematics, data science, or a related quantitative field
    • Fluency in Python for both applied AI and engineering purposes: clean, modular, well-documented code, with strong understanding of software engineering best practices including version control, testing, and code review
    • Minimum 3 years of experience in software engineering, AI engineering, machine learning, data science or a related hands-on technical role
    • Practical understanding of generative AI concepts, including prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation, tool use, agentic workflows, model evaluation, and responsible AI considerations. Including proficiency with modern GenAI orchestration and tooling frameworks (e.g. LangChain, LlamaIndex, or equivalent)
    • Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred)
    • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; able to engage effectively with technical teams and commercial stakeholders
    • Self-motivated and comfortable working autonomously in a fast-paced environment, with a collaborative, non-political style and high personal integrity
    • Strong curiosity for emerging AI developments, with a proactive commitment to continuously learning, experimenting and expanding your skills
    • Genuine intellectual curiosity about commodities markets, global energy flows, and the commercial dynamics of trading; willingness to develop deep domain knowledge as part of the role
    • Strong management commitment to putting AI at the heart of the future of Vitol's operations

    This Role is located in Houston, TX - In office 5x a week

    • Competitive salary and benefits package
    • Large diversity of projects with real-world impacts on a truly global scale
    • Entrepreneurial environment within a flat hierarchy, where great ideas come to life quickly
    • Direct, close collaboration with trading desks and other business units across our key regions (e.g. London, Singapore, Houston, Geneva)
    • A highly motivated AI team comprised of experienced individuals with a supportive attitude and great team spirit
    • Being part of the energy transition through increased emphasis on renewable and alternative energy sources at a pivotal moment in the industry

    Comprehensive benefit coverage includes:

    • Medical
    • Dental
    • Vision
    • Paid Vacation
    • 401k with company contributions
    • Life insurance
    • Short-term & Long-term disability

    All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

    Job details are sourced from the employer's original posting.

    Open job posting
    VI

    About the company

    Vitol

    We are the world’s largest independent energy and commodities trading company. Every day we use our expertise and logistical networks to distribute energy around the world, efficiently and responsibly. From 40 offices worldwide, we seek to add value across the energy supply chain, including deploying our scale and market understanding to help facilitate the energy transition. To date, we have committed over $1 billion of capital to renewable projects, and are identifying and developing low-carbon opportunities around the world. Our people are our business . Talent is precious to us and we create an environment in which individuals can reach their full potential, unhindered by hierarchy. Our team comprises more than 65 nationalities and we are committed to developing and sustaining a diverse work force.  Learn more about us here . ATB is owned by Vitol and it is the 7th crude refinery plant in Malaysia. Located at Pontian, Johor Darul Ta'zim, the 32kbpd refinery, is well-positioned to supply both the local bunkering and growing energy markets across the region. The refinery neighbours VTTI-owned ATB terminal which includes over 1m m3 storage as well as 6 onsite jetties and can accommodate any size or type of tanker. This unique positioning enables us to offer our customers a secure and fully integrated supply chain, from production and blending of quality marine fuels, to storage and delivery. Designed to be highly energy-efficient, the refinery deploys state-of-the-art technology including a distillation unit with a prefractionation column.

    View all Vitol jobs
    Industry
    Energy and Commodities Trading
    Open roles
    17

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