Principal AI Architect / Staff Engineer

Overview

A prominent global organisation based in Dublin is seeking a seasoned Principal AI Architect / Staff Engineer to join its expanding AI engineering department. This role requires a technically skilled individual who balances hands-on architectural design and software delivery with shaping technical strategies for cutting-edge AI platforms. You will be tasked with steering engineering teams toward constructing scalable, production-grade AI solutions that generate tangible business results.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and direct the architecture and technology roadmap for AI-driven platforms and applications.
• Engineer scalable, secure, and fault-tolerant cloud-native systems adhering to contemporary engineering standards.
• Lead implementation of AI best practices including large language models (LLMs), AI agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and automated workflow coordination.
• Make architectural decisions influencing multiple engineering projects while ensuring uniformity and high technical standards.
• Create reusable platform services, developer tools, and shared functionalities to expedite product development.
• Collaborate with engineering and product leadership for long-term strategy and platform advancements.
• Provide mentorship to senior engineers via architecture evaluations, technical advice, and promotion of engineering best practices.
• Advocate for modern software engineering techniques such as CI/CD, automated testing, system observability, security protocols, and dependable platform operations.
• Assess emerging technological trends and identify integration opportunities that enhance business value.
• Engage with diverse stakeholders to convert complex business requirements into scalable technical implementations.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Over 8 years of professional experience in software engineering including prominent roles like Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, Lead Architect, or similar positions involving senior technical leadership.
• Track record of designing and deploying extensive cloud-native platforms and distributed systems.
• Expertise in software architecture encompassing backend services, API design, cloud infrastructure, and advanced application development.
• Hands-on coding experience with a strong preference for Python.
• Proficient with Google Cloud or equivalent knowledge of AWS or Azure cloud services.
• Commercial expertise in delivering generative AI production solutions using LLMs, AI agents, RAG, vector databases, prompt engineering, and orchestration frameworks.
• Experience creating reusable AI platforms and engineering components, moving beyond isolated proof of concepts.
• Deep understanding of software quality assurance, security measures, scalability, CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and governance in engineering.
• Proven mentorship capabilities with senior engineers and demonstrable influence on technical trajectories across multiple teams.
• Strong communication and stakeholder interaction skills to effectively engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable working in fast-evolving, high-growth technical environments.

Preferred Additional Skills

• Familiarity with Google Agent Platform (Vertex AI), Gemini APIs, or comparable AI ecosystems.
• Experience in developing internal developer platforms, engineering tools, or AI infrastructure.
• Knowledge of MLOps, AI governance frameworks, and managing AI production lifecycles.
• Background in media, entertainment, digital content, or other large-scale consumer technology sectors.
• Contributions to open source initiatives or recognized leadership within technical communities.