Tech Lead, Applied AI Software Engineering

Roca Alliances; Medellín; On-site; COP 180,000,000 - 260,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Permanent contract

Private health insurance

Job summary

Roca Alliances in Medellín, Colombia seeks a Tech Lead to own the team's technical direction and production systems, including AI-driven workflows. You will stay hands-on while guiding others and making architectural decisions with real impact on product delivery.

Design backend services and APIs in Python, lead AI-enabled features with LLMs and agent architectures, and ensure reliability, performance and cost balance in distributed systems.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on production experience with Python and backend system design.
• Proven experience leading engineers to deliver complex systems in fast-moving environments.
• Experience leading a team from design through production, owning the technical outcomes.
• Strong understanding of asynchronous architectures and event-driven systems.
• Experience building AI-enabled products with LLMs and agent frameworks.
• Daily use of AI-assisted development tools.

Responsibilities

• Technical direction: own the team's architecture and long-term design balance.
• Backend and APIs: design, build and run production backend services and APIs in Python.
• AI-enabled systems: lead the design and delivery of workflows with LLMs and agent-style architectures.
• Distributed systems: architect and operate asynchronous, event-driven systems.
• Team delivery: translate goals into technical plans and surface risks early.
• Mentoring: coach engineers while contributing to the codebase.
• Full stack: contribute to frontend when needed, with backend focus.
• Engineering quality: set standards for code quality, testing, observability, production readiness.

Skills

Python

Backend design

Distributed systems

AI/LLMs

Leadership

English proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field

Tools

AI tooling

Job description

Tech Lead, Applied AI Software Engineering

Medellin, Colombia

At Roca Alliances Our mission is to inspire nearshore outsourcing to Latin America, as our expertise is providing customized services to help companies from the U.S., Canada, and Europe expand their operations through guided entry with our consolidated experience in the Latin American region. We are an expert recruitment firm, connecting top talent with leading global companies. We deliver tailored hiring solutions to ensure the perfect match for each role. With deep insight into industry trends, we drive targeted, efficient recruitment that builds long-lasting partnerships and supports business growth. Our mission is to inspire and help businesses thrive by delivering the right professionals to meet their needs.

Job Description

About the client

Our client is a global SaaS company building field service management software for trades businesses. This role joins a small, founder-led team that operates at startup speed inside the company, building AI-first products embedded directly in the core workflows customers use every day.

About the role

We are looking for a high-caliber Tech Lead to own the team's technical direction and execution. This is not a maintenance role: from day one you will own backend-heavy production systems and AI-driven workflows, making real architectural decisions with real consequences. You will stay deeply hands-on while helping the team make sound decisions, stay focused and ship. If you have built something from 0 to 1 and already can't stop thinking about the next thing you want to build, this role is for you.

What you'll do

• Technical direction: own the team's architecture, balancing immediate product needs with long-term system design.
• Backend and APIs: design, build and run production backend services and APIs in Python, end to end.
• AI-enabled systems: lead the design and delivery of workflows that integrate large language models and agent-style architectures, with clear ways to evaluate quality, reliability, latency and cost.
• Distributed systems: architect and operate asynchronous, event-driven systems, identifying risks and balancing performance, reliability and delivery speed.
• Team delivery: work with product and design to turn ambiguous goals into technical plans, break down complex work, surface risks early and unblock engineers.
• Mentoring: coach engineers through design, implementation and production challenges while staying an active contributor to the codebase.
• Full stack: contribute to frontend work when needed, with a clear focus on the backend.
• Engineering quality: set practical standards for code quality, testing, observability and production readiness, leading by example in code and design reviews.

Tech environment

Python Backend services and APIs LLMs and AI agents Event-driven and distributed systems AI-assisted development tools

Requirements

Required

• 5+ years of hands‑on production experience with Python and backend system design, including systems you have built, shipped and operated.
• Proven experience leading engineers to deliver complex systems in fast‑moving environments with high ownership and minimal process.
• Experience leading a team or a significant engineering initiative from design through production, and owning the technical outcomes.
• Solid understanding of asynchronous architectures and event-driven systems, and of operating distributed systems in production.
• Experience building AI-enabled products, or a demonstrated obsession with LLMs, agent frameworks and AI-powered workflows and the curiosity to go deep fast.
• Daily use of AI-assisted development tools and the ability to help the team use them effectively.
• Comfortable with ambiguity: able to set direction, make decisions and move the team forward without heavy guidance.
• Advanced written and spoken English (CEFR C1 or equivalent), with the ability to lead technical discussions, push back constructively and align engineering, product and design.

Preferred

• Startup or greenfield (0 to 1) experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field.
• Permanent contract (contrato a término indefinido) with all legal benefits
• Private health insurance (medicina prepagada)