Principal Engineer, Agentic AI, App and EcoSystem Safety

Google; Singapore; On-site; SGD 240,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Google Singapore seeks a Principal Engineer to guide production-ready AI safety across APAC, focusing on agentic safety, malware defenses, and secure app ecosystems.

You will define the technical vision, lead architecture, and mentor regional engineers while collaborating with product leadership across the US/UK to advance trusted AI for Google Play and Android.

This IC role demands deep technical mastery, strategic thinking, and the ability to drive cross-functional programs at scale.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in a technical field.
• 15 years of software engineering experience.
• 8 years in a technical engineering or architectural leadership role.
• Experience designing, building, and protecting large-scale distributed systems.
• Technical experience in AI/ML, especially deep learning, NLP, or agentic AI systems.

Responsibilities

• Drive the technical vision, multi-year roadmap, and execution strategy for Google’s transition to autonomous defense.
• Define what ''agentic safety'' means at Google, create safety guardrails and architectures.
• Apply deep AI and ML to build production-ready security apps for malware detection and content abuse across the Play Store and Android ecosystem.
• Serve as the APAC technical lead, guiding engineers in Singapore and teams in India.
• Provide technical oversight and daily work direction for the local engineering team in Singapore.

Skills

Distributed systems

AI/ML

NLP

Agentic AI

Software engineering

Education

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

Job description

Principal Engineer, Agentic AI, App and EcoSystem Safety

Google will be prioritizing applicants who have a current right to work in Singapore, and do not require Google's sponsorship of a visa.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 15 years of experience in software engineering.
• 8 years of experience in a technical engineering or architectural leadership role.
• Experience designing, building, and protecting large-scale, distributed systems.
• Technical experience in AI/ML technologies, particularly in deep learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), or Agentic AI systems.

Preferred qualifications

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience in the Trust and Safety and security domain, specifically in malware detection, endpoint security, operating systems (OS) or platform security.
• Experience providing technical direction, guidance, and coaching to distributed, global teams of engineers as an individual contributor (without direct people management authority).
• Strong track record of leading complex, cross-functional engineering projects and driving alignment across multiple organizations and regions (such as APAC and Mountain View).

About the job

As the Principal Engineer for the Singapore AI Center of Excellence, you will serve as the senior-most on-site technical leader and Individual Contributor (IC) guiding technical efforts across Singapore and the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. In this high-impact, strategic role, you will define and execute the technical vision and roadmap for production-ready AI applications, focusing on applying deep AI and agentic capabilities to real-world product safety and security challenges rather than strictly research-oriented work.

This role requires a rare full-stack ability to operate as both a high-level strategic architect and a deep technical expert. You will lead the transition to Autonomous Defense, securing the Android ecosystem and Play Store by innovating on safety defenses for malware and content abuse to establish trust for our users and developers. Additionally, as the world moves toward an increasingly agentic environment, you will define what "agentic safety" means at Google, architecting frameworks to secure AI agents as they interact with connected apps and servers.

You will provide technical direction, oversight, and guidance to engineering staff. Regionally, you will serve as the technical lead for the APAC region, providing technical oversight and guidance to teams in India and collaborating closely with engineering and product leadership with other teams across the US and UK.

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Our Devices & Services team combines the best of Google AI, Software, and Hardware to create radically helpful experiences for users. We research, design, and develop new technologies and hardware to make our user's interaction with computing faster, seamless, and more powerful. Whether finding new ways to capture and sense the world around us, advancing form factors, or improving interaction methods, the Devices & Services team is making people's lives better through technology.

Responsibilities

• Drive the technical vision, multi-year roadmap, and execution strategy for Google’s transition to autonomous defense, ensuring we can scale our defenses ahead of emerging AI-driven threats.
• Define what "agentic safety" means at Google, creating safety guardrails, policy engines, and architectures to secure environments where AI agents interact with each other and connect to MCP servers and various applications.
• Apply deep AI and machine learning skills to build production-ready, real-world security applications to automate malware detection and content abuse identification across the Google Play Store and Android ecosystem.
• Serve as the technical lead for the APAC region, providing technical guidance, architectural oversight, and coaching to engineers in Singapore and teams in India.
• Provide technical oversight and define the daily work for the local Singapore-based engineering team in partnership with their direct people manager.

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