Lead Principal AI Engineer

Job Title

Lead Principal AI Engineer

Location

Dublin, CA

Years of Experience

8-10 years of hands-on software engineering experience, including building and scaling AI-powered systems in production

Position Overview

We are on the lookout for a Lead Principal AI Engineer to innovate and execute AI-driven systems across our product platforms. This position is perfect for a technically adept engineer who excels in hands-on contributions, tackles complex challenges, and facilitates the integration of AI into tangible products.

Our ideal candidate possesses solid backend and cloud skills, is proficient in Java and AWS, and has a successful track record of embedding AI and Generative AI capabilities within production environments. You will collaborate closely with product, architecture, and engineering teams to develop reliable and scalable AI-enhanced solutions that deliver significant business results.

Key Responsibilities

• AI Engineering & System Design: Design, build, and manage AI-powered applications, including LLM-based services, ML-driven workflows, and intelligent automation.
• Integrate AI capabilities into Java-based backend systems and cloud-native platforms.
• Design scalable API‑first services (REST & GraphQL) that provide AI capabilities across products.
• Implement data pipelines for feature engineering, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), vector search, and inference.
• Apply best practices for prompt design, model orchestration, evaluation, and observability.

Cloud & Platform Engineering (AWS - Must Have)

• Build and manage cloud‑native AI systems on AWS, using services like EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, and EKS.
• Design containerized workloads with Docker and Kubernetes (EKS).
• Optimize systems for scalability, latency, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Implement Infrastructure as Code through Terraform or AWS CDK.

Data & Distributed Systems

• Design and maintain relational (SQL) and NoSQL data stores suitable for high‑scale, distributed systems.
• Make informed decisions regarding data consistency, availability, and performance.
• Work with event‑driven and asynchronous architectures where appropriate.

Technical Leadership & Impact

• Lead and manage complex technical projects from design to production.
• Influence system architecture and engineering standards through reviews and guidance.
• Mentor senior engineers to elevate the team's AI and cloud engineering excellence.
• Collaborate with Product, Data, UX, Security, and DevOps teams to drive AI‑powered product capabilities.

Qualifications and Skills

Required (Must Have)

• 8-10 years of hands‑on software engineering experience building large‑scale, production systems.
• Strong experience with Java in backend and distributed systems.
• Hands‑on experience with AWS, including the design and operation of cloud‑native workloads.
• Strong familiarity with SQL and NoSQL databases in production environments.
• 3+ years of experience building AI‑powered applications, including ML or LLM‑based systems.
• Experience in API‑first architectures (REST, GraphQL).
• Hands‑on experience with Docker and Kubernetes (EKS).
• A strong capacity for problem‑solving and the ability to oversee systems end‑to‑end.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Generative AI platforms and frameworks (AWS Bedrock, OpenAI APIs, LangChain, LlamaIndex).
• Familiarity with vector databases and semantic search.
• Understanding of MLOps practices, model monitoring, and evaluation frameworks.
• Experience in product‑driven, agile environments.

Leveling Guidance

• Senior AI Engineer: Owns complex components and services with strong execution and technical depth.
• Principal AI Engineer: Oversees multi‑team technical initiatives; influences architecture and engineering standards organization‑wide.

Why Join Us?

• Real AI Impact: Create AI systems that deliver customer value.
• Hands‑On Leadership: Drive progress through profound technical contributions.
• Modern Stack: Engage with Java, AWS, Kubernetes (EKS), SQL/NoSQL, and Generative AI.
• Collaboration: Partner with dedicated product, data, and engineering teams.
• Core Values: Join a company committed to Shattering Boundaries, Sparking Greatness, and Sharing Success.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

As an equal opportunity employer, we uphold a commitment to diversity and inclusion in our hiring practices. All qualified applicants will be considered regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other protected class. If you require accommodations due to a disability, please reach out to us directly.