Lead Architect, Agentic AI Systems

Scale; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 298,000 - 373,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement benefits

Learning stipend

Generous PTO

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Scale AI in Washington, DC seeks a Principal Architect to drive design, development, and deployment of agentic AI products in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment. You will lead a team of 50+ engineers, providing strategic and technical guidance and engaging with executives.

The role requires deep AI/ML knowledge, hands-on Kubernetes and cloud infra experience, and a proven ability to align engineering with business goals. Expect executive engagements and cross-company collaboration.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years in a senior or staff leadership role.
• Deep AI/ML knowledge with experience in LLMs and AI agents.
• Hands-on with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Strong product sense and ability to align engineering with company goals.
• Experience engaging with executive stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a large engineering team with a culture of technical excellence.
• Provide strategic and technical direction on complex AI systems.
• Make high-impact architectural decisions involving distributed systems.
• Engage with executive stakeholders and external partners.
• Develop and communicate a compelling technology vision and progress updates.
• Foster speed, unity, resilience and teamwork amid uncertainty.

Skills

Team leadership

AI/ML expertise

LLMs & AI agents

Executive engagement

Cross-team collaboration

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

Scale AI in Washington, DC seeks a Principal Architect to drive design, development, and deployment of agentic AI products in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment. You will lead a team of 50+ engineers, providing strategic and technical guidance and engaging with executives.

The role requires deep AI/ML knowledge, hands-on Kubernetes and cloud infra experience, and a proven ability to align engineering with business goals. Expect executive engagements and cross-company collaboration.