Principal AI Developer

Arctic Wolf; United States; On-site; USD 254,000 - 382,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity for all employees

Flexible time off

401k match

Training and career development

Job summary

Arctic Wolf is seeking a Principal AI Developer to lead the technical direction for AI at Arctic Wolf Labs. You’ll design architectural roadmaps for ML, generative AI, and agentic features, and ship production-grade systems that fuse diverse data sources in cloud-native environments.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with data science and product teams, and drive measurable customer value while maintaining a security-first mindset.

Qualifications

• 10+ years building intelligent systems or AI-enabled apps.
• 5+ years leading technical direction and mentoring senior contributors.
• Experience architecting ML, data science, generative AI, and agentic workloads.
• Production experience with generative AI at scale (fine-tuning, prompts, evaluation).
• Familiarity with agentic frameworks and LLM integration patterns.
• Proven cross-functional collaboration with data science, product, and ops.
• Strong written and verbal communication across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Hands-on coding ability; shipping is expected.
• Experience with cloud-native data services (AWS) and CI/CD.
• Exposure to cybersecurity concepts and MITRE ATT&CK, telemetry.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision and architecture roadmap for AI capabilities.
• Design scalable, production-grade systems integrating diverse data sources.
• Define best practices for secure, observable AI in cloud environments.
• Evaluate new AI tech and advise on the right approach for Arctic Wolf.
• Build ML/data pipelines for training, deployment, and monitoring of models.
• Partner with data science, product, and security teams to deliver customer value.
• Lead hands-on delivery, review code, and mentor engineers.

Skills

Architectural leadership

ML & AI systems

Generative AI

Agentic workloads

Cross-functional collaboration

Cloud-native / AWS

CI/CD & DevSecOps

Data pipelines

Communication

Hands-on coding

Tools

Spark

Flink

Kafka

Databricks

AWS

Bedrock

LangGraph

AgentCore

CI/CD

Job description

At Arctic Wolf, you won’t just watch the cybersecurity industry evolve – you'll help lead the change. Our global Pack is made up of people who thrive on solving hard problems, moving fast, and building technology that protects organizations around the world. We’re proud to be recognized by Forbes, CNBC, Fortune, CRN, Bartner Peer Insights and IDC MarketScape – but what matters most is the work behind it: delivering real outcomes for customers through award winning innovation like our Aurora Platform.

If you’re looking for meaningful work, smart teammates and the chance to make a real impact in a high-growth company that’s redefining security operations, Arctic Wolf is the right place for you!

Our mission is simple: End Cyber Risk. We’re looking for a Principal AI Developer to be part of making that happen.

About the Role

The Principal AI Developer will set the technical direction for their area within Arctic Wolf Labs, designing architecture that supports machine learning, data science, generative AI, and agentic feature delivery. This is a senior leadership role that blends strategic vision with hands‑on execution: you'll define the “how” and “where next” while rolling up your sleeves to help the team ship.

You don't need to be a specialist in every AI discipline, but you need to be able to engage easily with the data science team to discuss data science concepts, delivery mechanisms, and trade-offs across ML, generative AI, and agentic systems – enough to make sound architectural decisions and partner credibly with specialists.

Technical Direction & Architecture

• Own the technical vision and architecture roadmap for your team's AI capabilities - spanning ML model pipelines, generative AI features, and agentic workflows.
• Design scalable, production‑grade systems that unify heterogeneous data sources using rule‑based, probabilistic, and ML‑based approaches.
• Define best practices for building secure, observable, and scalable AI systems in cloud‑native environments (AWS preferred).
• Evaluate emerging technologies and frameworks (agentic orchestration, fine‑tuning approaches, evaluation methods) and advise on the right approach for Arctic Wolf's context.
• Establish ML and data pipelines for training, deploying, and monitoring fine‑tuned generative AI and machine learning models.

Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Partner closely with other product area principals and AI teams to define the best technical solution for the customer - contributing AI expertise while integrating their domain knowledge and perspectives.
• Work with the data science team, engineering management, product, and security operations analysts to co‑create solutions that deliver measurable customer value.
• Translate between disciplines - helping data scientists understand production constraints and helping other product areas understand requirements unique to the AI solution.
• Collaborate with security operations, threat researchers, and product teams to ground AI solutions in real operational workflows and quality feedback loops.
• Influence product roadmaps by connecting technical capability to customer outcomes.

Communication & Influence

• Communicate technical strategy, progress, and trade‑offs clearly - in writing, verbally, and to audiences ranging from individual contributors to executives and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Represent Arctic Wolf Labs' AI capabilities externally where appropriate (conferences, customer conversations, recruiting).
• Write clear technical documents: architecture decision records, design docs, and status communications that a broad audience can act on.

Hands‑On Delivery & Team Leadership

• Roll up your sleeves - unblock the team, debug production issues, review PRs, and write code when needed. Bring a 'get it done' attitude that raises the bar for everyone.
• Mentor senior engineers and foster a culture of innovation, ownership, and engineering excellence.
• Lead by example in code quality, testing, observability, and operational hygiene.
• Drive iterative improvement: instrument AI quality, measure outcomes, and close the feedback loop with operations teams.

We're Looking For Someone With

• 10+ years building intelligent systems, distributed platforms, or AI‑enhanced applications.
• 5+ years leading technical direction and mentoring senior contributors.
• Demonstrated ability to architect systems that support ML, data science, generative AI, and agentic workloads - without necessarily being a deep practitioner in all of them.
• Production experience with generative AI systems at scale (fine‑tuning, prompt engineering, evaluation, guardrails).
• Experience with agentic frameworks and LLM integration patterns (e.g., AgentCore, Amazon Bedrock, LangGraph, or equivalent).
• Track record of partnering with cross‑functional teams (data science, product, operations) to deliver customer‑facing outcomes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Hands‑on coding ability - you still ship, not just direct.
• Experience with cloud‑native data services (AWS preferred) and infrastructure‑as‑code / CI/CD practices.
• Exposure to cybersecurity concepts: threat detection, alert triage, risk modelling, exposure management, MITRE ATT&CK, telemetry.
• Familiarity with data engineering tools (Spark, Flink, Kafka, Databricks).
• Experience with ML quality measurement and evaluation frameworks (LLM-as-judge, human-in-the-loop evaluation).
• DevSecOps and security‑first development mindset.

On-Camera Policy

To support a fair, transparent, and engaging interview experience, candidates interviewing remotely are expected to be on camera during all video interviews. Being on camera fosters authentic connection, improves communication, and allows for full engagement from both candidates and interviewers. We understand that technical, bandwidth, or location-related challenges may occasionally prevent video use. If this applies, candidates are required to notify us in advance so we can explore appropriate accommodations.

About Arctic Wolf

At Arctic Wolf, we foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment that thrives on diversity of thought, background, and culture. This is reflected in our multiple awards, including Top Workplace USA (2021-2024), Best Places to Work – USA (2021-2024), Great Place to Work – Canada (2021-2024), Great Place to Work – UK (2024), and Kununu Top Company – Germany (2024). Our commitment to bold growth and shaping the future of security operations is matched by our dedication to customer satisfaction, with over 7,000 customers worldwide and more than 2,000 channel partners globally. As we continue to expand globally and enhance our technology, Arctic Wolf remains the most trusted name in the industry.

Our Values

Arctic Wolf recognizes that success comes from delighting our customers, so we work together to ensure that happens every day. We believe in diversity and inclusion and truly value the unique qualities and unique perspectives all employees bring to the organization. And we appreciate that—by protecting people's and organizations' sensitive data and seeking to end cyber risk— we get to work in an industry that is fundamental to the greater good.

All wolves receive compelling compensation and benefits packages, including:

• Equity for all employees
• Flexible time off and paid volunteer days
• RRSP and 401k match
• Training and career development programs
• Comprehensive private benefits plan including medical, mental health, dental, disability, life and AD&D, and value-added services
• Robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with mental health services
• Fertility support and paid parental leave

Arctic Wolf is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other basis forbidden under federal, provincial, or local law. Arctic Wolf is committed to fostering a welcoming, accessible, respectful, and inclusive environment ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. As such, we strive to make our entireemployeeexperience as accessible as possible and provideaccommodationsas required for candidates and employees with disabilities and/or other specific needs where possible. Please let us know if you require any accommodations by emailing [e-mail].

Security Requirements

• Conducts duties and responsibilities in accordance with AWN’s Information Security policies, standards, processes, and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of AWN business information (in accordance with our employee handbook and corporate policies).
• Background checks are required for this position.
• This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"). Please note that, if applicable, an offer for employment will be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations.

The base salary range for this job family is 254,000 to 382,000 USD annually. This range reflects the base pay the company reasonably expects to offer for this position, aligned to the broader job family base pay structure. Actual base pay may vary based on skills, experience, and location, including job family level. In addition to base pay, Arctic Wolf offers variable incentive compensation, new hire equity grants, and a comprehensive benefits package.