Principal AI Enablement & SDLC Coach (AI Developer/Coach)

Akaasa Technologies; Illinois; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Akaasa Technologies is seeking a Principal AI Enablement & SDLC Coach to lead AI-driven software development initiatives in Chicago. This onsite role emphasizes training, coaching, and establishing standards for Claude Code and AI-assisted delivery across engineering teams.

You will drive organizational change, build Communities of Practice, and collaborate with security, governance, and architecture to scale AI-enabled practices. Strong leadership and 15+ years in SDLC are required.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of SDLC experience or equivalent.
• 2+ years of hands-on AI-assisted development experience.
• Deep expertise with Claude Code (Required).
• Experience training, coaching, or mentoring developer communities.
• Organizational Change Management (OCM) experience.
• Experience building developer enablement programs.
• Full-stack technical background with Java, Spring Boot, APIs, Microservices, React.
• Architecture-level technical credibility.
• Experience guiding developers on AI-assisted coding best practices.
• Experience reviewing AI-generated code for quality and standards.
• Strong GitHub and CI/CD experience.
• Cloud experience: AWS, Azure, GCP.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Experience influencing senior engineers, architects, and leadership teams.

Responsibilities

• Train developers on Claude Code and AI-assisted development.
• Coach engineers to adopt AI-enabled software delivery practices.
• Drive AI adoption across the engineering organization.
• Create standards and best practices for AI-driven development.
• Build and lead Communities of Practice.
• Partner with Engineering, Architecture, Security and AI Governance teams.
• Help developers transition from manual coding to AI-orchestrated development.
• Act as a technical trainer, mentor and organizational change leader.

Skills

Claude Code

SDLC experience

AI-enabled development

Developer enablement

OCM experience

Coaching communities

Communication skills

Leadership influence

Arch. credibility

AI governance awareness

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

GitHub

CI/CD

React

Spring Boot

APIs

Microservices

Job description

HOT REQUIREMENT: Principal AI Enablement & SDLC Coach (AI Developer/Coach)

Location: Downtown Chicago, IL

Onsite/Hybrid: Local Candidates Only (Commute Not to Exceed 60 Miles/60 Minutes)

Final Interview: Mandatory Onsite Interview

Duration: 6-Month Contract (Possible Extension to 9 Months or Contract-to-Hire)

Nearby ZIP Codes:

60601, 60602, 60603, 60604, 60605, 60606, 60607, 60610, 60611, 60654

Quick Capture Requirements

Must Have:

IMPORTANT - READ BEFORE SUBMITTING

The selected candidate is not being hired to write code all day.

• Training developers on Claude Code
• Coaching engineers on AI-assisted software development
• Driving AI adoption across the engineering organization
• Creating standards and best practices for AI-driven development
• Building and leading Communities of Practice
• Partnering with Engineering, Architecture, Security, and AI Governance teams
• Helping developers transition from manual coding to AI-orchestrated development
• Acting as a technical trainer, mentor, and organizational change leader

What They Are:

AI Enablement Lead
AI Adoption Coach
Developer Productivity Leader
Principal Developer Advocate
Engineering Transformation Consultant
AI Engineering SME
Organizational Change Leader for Engineering

What They Are NOT:

Senior Java Developer
Principal Architect
Full-Stack Developer
Engineering Manager
QA/Test Lead
AI Research Scientist

Quick Capture Requirements

Must Have:

1. 15+ years of SDLC experience
2. 2+ years of hands-on AI-assisted development experience
3. Deep expertise with Claude Code (Required)
4. Experience training, coaching, or mentoring developer communities
5. Organizational Change Management (OCM) experience
6. Experience building developer enablement programs
7. Full-stack technical background with:
   • Java
   • Spring Boot
   • APIs
   • Microservices
   • React
8. Architecture-level technical credibility
9. Experience guiding developers on AI-assisted coding best practices
10. Experience reviewing AI-generated code for quality and engineering standards
11. Strong GitHub and CI/CD experience
12. Cloud experience:
    • AWS
    • Azure
    • GCP
13. Strong communication and presentation skills
14. Experience influencing senior engineers, architects, and leadership teams

Strong Pluses:

1. Claude Code implementation experience at enterprise scale
2. AI Governance collaboration
3. Developer Productivity initiatives
4. Community of Practice leadership
5. AI strategy and transformation programs
6. Legacy modernization initiatives
7. TDD and engineering excellence programs
8. Technical training curriculum development
9. Large enterprise transformation experience
10. Insurance or regulated industry experience

Ideal Candidate Profile:

Senior engineering leader who has successfully adopted and scaled AI-assisted development within large organizations. Candidate should possess deep Claude Code expertise, strong software engineering credentials, and the ability to teach, coach, and influence developers while driving organizational adoption of AI-enabled software delivery practices.