Principal Software Engineer / Principal AI Engineer

United States Digital Space LLC; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension Plan

Sabbatical Leave

Family Leave

Personal Budget

Employee Networks

Employee Discounts

Recruitment Bonus

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Hours

Job summary

United States Digital Space LLC seeks a Principal Software Engineer / Principal AI Engineer to lead an embedded Innovation Squad from discovery to production. You will harden AI prototypes, establish agentic AI patterns, and guide architecture, security and data residency decisions within enterprise environments.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with stakeholders, and deliver reusable patterns, starter kits and reference implementations across functions to accelerate customer value and

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with hands-on AI system design, build or integration and a track record of taking AI prototypes to production in enterprise environments.
• BS in Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
• LLM orchestration, prompt engineering, context-window management and production guardrails; MCP, tool-augmented agents and RAG at enterprise scale.
• Integrating AI into enterprise systems via APIs and data pipelines, with strong security, data governance and residency practices.
• Cloud experience with AWS, Azure or GCP, including managed AI/ML services.
• Delivery discipline: Agile, CI/CD, modern SDLC and TDD.
• Data modelling across relational, columnar and vector stores.
• Thrives in ambiguity, frames problems, and ships validated outcomes at pace.
• Languages: Python, Java, TypeScript/JavaScript, SQL and AI SDKs.
• Leadership and delivery management to plan, sequence work and remove blockers.
• Clear communication and influence with stakeholders and senior management.
• Commercial awareness and ability to partner with internal/external resources.
• Measurement: establishing baselines and tracking productivity, cost and quality from pilot to scale.

Responsibilities

• Own technical execution from discovery to production; build, assess and harden prototypes and proofs of concept, and deliver new ones.
• Design and govern reusable agentic AI patterns (orchestration, tool use, memory, retrieval).
• Ensure delivery meets architecture, security and data-governance standards; recommend infrastructure, hosting and data residency.
• Codify validated solutions into patterns, reference implementations and starter kits to scale across functions.
• Provide design input, finalize requirements, and work with internal stakeholders and end users.
• Write specifications, fix complex bugs and design complex data models.
• Act as the primary technical contact for external resources and the squad's go-to on coding and AI.
• Establish baselines and report measurable outcomes for every initiative.
• Maintain visibility of in-flight AI pilots to prevent duplication and surface reuse candidates.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise security, compliance, and technology standards.
• Mentor and elevate team members; adapt to evolving squad needs.
• Take on related responsibilities as the squad evolves.

Skills

AI system design

LLM orchestration

Enterprise integration

Cloud platforms

Agile/CI-CD/SDLC/TDD

Data architecture

Programming languages

Leadership & delivery

Communication & influence

Commercial awareness

Measurement

Ways of working

Education

BS in Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Principal Software Engineer / Principal AI Engineer

Embedded Innovation Teams are cross‑functional squads embedded within our segments to rapidly turn internal AI experimentation into validated, reusable solutions, building the capabilities we need to deliver customer value and growth. We work problem‑first rather than tool‑first, directly inside segment and function teams, improving the internal workflows that help our people deliver better outcomes for customers, faster.

About the role

As a Principal AI Engineer, you will be the technical lead for an embedded Innovation Squad, owning technical execution from discovery through to production. You will assess and harden existing AI prototypes, deliver new ones, and establish agentic AI patterns, orchestration, tool use, memory and retrieval that other squads reuse. You are the senior source of expertise on AI architecture, integration and delivery.

You will work directly with internal stakeholders and end users in the host function, finalising requirements, making architectural calls, and codifying validated solutions into reusable patterns, reference implementations and starter kits. You may also provide sizing, infrastructure and budget recommendations, and you will mentor and elevate the engineers around you.

Key Responsibilities

• Own technical execution from discovery to production; build, assess and harden prototypes and proofs of concept, and deliver new ones.
• Design and govern reusable agentic AI patterns (orchestration, tool use, memory, retrieval).
• Ensure delivery meets architecture, security and data‑governance standards; recommend infrastructure, hosting and data residency.
• Codify validated solutions into patterns, reference implementations and starter kits so they can be picked up and scaled across other functions.
• Provide design input, finalise requirements, and work directly with internal stakeholders and end users in the host function.
• Write specifications, fix complex bugs and design complex data models.
• Act as the primary technical contact for external resources and the squad's go‑to on coding and AI.
• Establish baselines and report measurable outcomes for every initiative.
• Maintain visibility of in‑flight AI pilots within the function to prevent duplication and surface candidates for reuse.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise non‑negotiables: security, compliance and central technology infrastructure standards.
• Continuously evaluate emerging technologies and mentor and elevate team members.
• Take on related responsibilities as the squad's needs evolve.

Requirements

• Engineering experience: 10+ years in software engineering, with hands‑on AI system design, build or integration and a track record of taking AI prototypes to production in enterprise environments.
• Education: BS in Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
• Agentic AI / LLMs: LLM orchestration, prompt engineering, context‑window management and production guardrails; MCP, tool‑augmented agents and RAG at enterprise scale.
• Enterprise integration: Integrating AI into enterprise systems via APIs and data pipelines, with strong security, data governance and residency practices.
• Cloud: AWS, Azure or GCP, including managed AI/ML services.
• Delivery: Agile, CI/CD, modern SDLC and TDD.
• Data and architecture: Modelling across relational, columnar and vector stores, grounded in sound architectural principles.
• Ways of working: Thrives in ambiguity, framing the problem, extracting a defined spec, and prioritises shipping validated outcomes over perfect solutions, moving pilots to production at pace.
• Languages: Python, Java, TypeScript/JavaScript, SQL and relevant AI SDKs.
• Leadership and delivery management: Plans and sequences work, manages scope, dependencies and priorities, removes blockers and drives delivery to keep innovation moving.
• Communication and influence: Presents concisely to senior management, host‑function stakeholders and cross‑functional teams, builds buy‑in and drives technical decisions across.
• Commercial awareness: Budget‑aware; partners with internal and external resources, including managed services and staff augmentation.
• Measurement: Establishes baselines and instruments solutions to track productivity, cost and quality outcomes from pilot through scale.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Pension Plan
• Generous vacation entitlement and option for sabbatical leave
• Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Family Care Leave
• Personal Choice budget
• Internal communities and networks
• Various employee discounts
• Recruitment introduction reward
• Employee Assistance Program (global)
• Working flexible hours – flex your schedule to fit your most productive times.

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or contacting 1‑855‑833‑5120.