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Principal AI Software Architect (Contract-to-Hire)

neteffects

St. Louis · On-site Contract Lead $80 – $86/hr 1mo ago

About the role

Overview

Seeking a Principal AI Software Architect to lead the design and delivery of enterprise-scale AI and software solutions. This role will drive technical strategy, architect scalable systems, and partner across engineering and business teams to implement AI-driven platforms.

This is a hands-on architecture role with strong leadership and mentorship responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

Architect and lead development of AI-driven platforms and scalable software systems
Partner with engineering, product, and business teams to define and deliver AI use cases
Evaluate and select technologies, frameworks, and tools for scalability and performance
Establish best practices across:
- AI/ML development
- MLOps
- Software engineering & architecture
- DevOps / CI-CD
Drive technical strategy and long-term architecture planning
Mentor engineers and promote engineering excellence
Ensure compliance with data privacy, security, and ethical AI standards
Lead code quality initiatives including code reviews, testing, and automation

Required Experience

7+ years in software engineering / architecture
2+ years focused on AI/ML systems
Strong experience designing and deploying AI solutions at scale in cloud environments:
- AWS, Azure, or GCP
Expertise in:
- Machine Learning / Deep Learning
- NLP / Computer Vision
- Generative AI
Experience with MLOps and production AI systems
Strong programming background (modern languages across enterprise environments)
Experience with:
- .NET / Visual Studio
- MS SQL Server or relational databases
Ability to align technical solutions with business strategy