Principal AI Engineer

Humana Inc; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 207,000 - 284,000; Full time

Job summary

Humana Inc. is seeking a Principal AI Applied Engineer to shape the long‑term AI strategy and hands‑on engineering across the company.

You will define architectures, drive model strategy, and ensure governance and reliability at scale. This role combines technical depth with cross‑functional influence, requiring expert Python/TypeScript, cloud-native design, and experience building AI platforms in regulated environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including large-scale distributed systems.
• Proven track record designing and operating production AI-enabled platforms or products at enterprise scale.
• Deep expertise in LLM technologies, AI platform design, RAG, agentic systems, evaluation methodologies, and AI operations.
• Extensive experience designing cloud-native architectures and scalable, resilient systems.
• Ability to define technical direction influencing multiple teams or product portfolios.
• Experience establishing engineering standards or platforms adopted across teams.
• Strong understanding of AI operational challenges including reliability, latency, cost, governance, observability, and risk.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive long-term technical strategy, reference architecture, and roadmap for AI-enabled products.
• Establish patterns and best practices for retrieval systems, LLM orchestration, agentic workflows, human-in-the-loop processes, evaluation frameworks, and governance.
• Lead organization-wide technical decision-making on model strategy, vendor selection, platform investments, and shared infrastructure.
• Design scalable architectures balancing reliability, performance, security, compliance, maintainability, and cost efficiency.
• Establish engineering standards for evaluation, observability, model lifecycle, responsible AI, and operational excellence.
• Build prototypes, proofs of concept, and reference implementations to de-risk emerging technologies.
• Lead cross-functional architecture reviews and mentor engineers through reviews and coaching.

Skills

Python

TypeScript/JavaScript

Large language models (LLMs)

AI platform design

Distributed systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Vertex AI

OCR/Document AI

Job description

Become a part of our caring community Every large organization is making critical decisions today about how it will leverage AI over the next decade. Few have leaders who can both define that vision and demonstrate its viability through hands‑on engineering. This role requires both. We build the platform that transforms millions of clinical documents into trusted, actionable data. Our systems use large language models (LLMs) to read medical records, extract structured facts, answer complex questions with citations to source documents, and route difficult cases to human experts. These capabilities support decisions that impact real healthcare outcomes for members. As a Principal AI Applied Engineer, you will define the technical strategy, architectural standards, and long‑term vision for AI‑enabled products across the organization. You will influence enterprise‑wide decisions regarding AI platforms, model strategies, engineering standards, and technology investments while remaining deeply hands‑on in prototyping, experimentation, architecture, and software development. This is the highest‑level individual contributor role within the AI Applied Engineering organization. Success requires exceptional technical depth, organizational influence, strategic thinking, and the ability to translate emerging AI capabilities into scalable, reliable, and responsible production systems.

Why Join Us

Shape the long‑term AI architecture and engineering direction for a large enterprise healthcare organization. Influence how AI‑enabled products are designed, built, evaluated, deployed, and governed across multiple teams. Drive strategic decisions involving models, vendors, platforms, infrastructure, and shared capabilities. Prototype and validate emerging technologies before the organization invests at scale. Establish engineering standards and platform capabilities that will influence the business for years to come. Solve complex challenges involving trust, explainability, compliance, reliability, and operational excellence in AI systems. Work on systems that process healthcare information at significant scale and directly support member outcomes. Remain hands‑on with architecture, software development, experimentation, and technical problem solving.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long‑term technical strategy, reference architecture, and technology roadmap for AI‑enabled products and platforms.
• Establish architectural patterns and best practices for retrieval systems, LLM orchestration, agentic workflows, human‑in‑the‑loop processes, evaluation frameworks, and AI governance.
• Lead organization‑wide technical decision‑making regarding model strategy, vendor selection, platform investments, build‑versus‑buy decisions, and shared infrastructure capabilities.
• Design and champion scalable architectures that balance reliability, performance, security, compliance, maintainability, and cost efficiency.
• Establish engineering standards for evaluation, observability, model lifecycle management, responsible AI practices, and operational excellence.
• Build prototypes, proofs of concept, and reference implementations that de‑risk emerging technologies and strategic platform investments.
• Lead cross‑functional architecture reviews and provide technical guidance across multiple engineering teams.
• Mentor Lead Engineers, Senior Engineers, and emerging technical leaders through architecture reviews, design feedback, coaching, and technical sponsorship.
• Develop and communicate technical roadmaps aligned with business strategy and organizational objectives.
• Partner with executive leadership to translate business priorities into technical strategies and communicate technical opportunities, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Represent engineering in strategic vendor evaluations, compliance discussions, governance reviews, and enterprise planning initiatives.
• Drive adoption of common platforms, standards, and engineering practices across teams.
• Ensure AI systems are designed and operated in accordance with privacy, security, compliance, governance, and auditability requirements.
• Use your skills to make an impact.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including extensive experience designing and operating large‑scale distributed systems.
• Proven track record of designing, delivering, and operating production AI‑enabled platforms or products at enterprise scale.
• Deep expertise in large language model technologies, AI platform design, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), agentic systems, orchestration frameworks, evaluation methodologies, and AI operations.
• Extensive experience designing cloud‑native architectures and highly scalable, resilient systems.
• Demonstrated ability to define technical direction that influenced teams, organizations, or product portfolios beyond direct reporting relationships.
• Experience establishing engineering standards, architectural frameworks, or technical platforms that have been successfully adopted across multiple teams.
• Strong understanding of AI operational challenges, including model reliability, latency, cost optimization, governance, observability, and risk management.
• Demonstrated success influencing executive stakeholders and driving organizational decisions through technical leadership and evidence‑based recommendations.
• Expert‑level proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript/JavaScript.
• Ability to prototype, debug, review, and contribute code across multiple layers of the technology stack.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading AI platform strategy across multiple business units or product organizations.
• Experience developing enterprise standards for AI evaluation, testing, observability, governance, and responsible AI practices.
• Expertise evaluating and managing AI vendor ecosystems across multiple model providers and platform technologies.
• Experience building shared AI infrastructure and platform capabilities consumed by multiple engineering teams.
• Experience with agentic architectures, Model Context Protocol (MCP), workflow orchestration, autonomous systems, and emerging AI frameworks.
• Experience operating AI systems at significant scale while managing performance, reliability, and cost tradeoffs.
• Experience working in regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, life sciences, or government.
• Deep understanding of privacy, security, compliance, governance, and risk management requirements in highly regulated environments.
• Experience driving adoption of AI‑assisted software development practices across engineering organizations.
• Experience advising executive leadership on emerging technologies, platform strategy, and enterprise architecture decisions.
• Exceptional communication, leadership, collaboration, and strategic problem‑solving skills.

Leadership Expectations

• Serve as the highest‑level technical authority within the AI Applied Engineering organization.
• Influence organizational outcomes through technical excellence, credibility, and demonstrated results rather than formal authority.
• Balance innovation with operational discipline and long‑term sustainability.
• Establish scalable technical standards that enable teams to move faster while maintaining quality and reliability.
• Drive alignment across engineering, product, business, clinical, compliance, and executive stakeholders.
• Build organizational capability by mentoring and developing the next generation of technical leaders.
• Foster a culture of engineering rigor, continuous learning, accountability, and responsible AI development.

Success in This Role

Successful candidates are respected technical leaders who combine strategic thinking with hands‑on execution. They influence organizations through technical expertise, data‑driven decision‑making, and working solutions rather than formal authority alone. You are energized by difficult, long‑horizon problems and are comfortable making high‑impact decisions that affect multiple teams and products. You view AI architecture, governance, reliability, and responsible deployment as critical engineering disciplines, not afterthoughts. Most importantly, you remain a builder. Your strategies are informed by real experience developing, testing, and operating production systems, and your credibility comes from your continued ability to solve hard technical problems through architecture, experimentation, and code.

Technology Stack

• TypeScript React / Next.js
• Python PostgreSQL
• Gemini on Vertex AI OCR and Document AI technologies
• Docker Kubernetes Modern CI/CD platforms and tooling

Additional Information

This role operates in a highly regulated environment where responsible handling of sensitive and protected information is fundamental. Success requires a commitment to building secure, compliant, auditable, and trustworthy AI systems that meet the highest standards for privacy, reliability, and quality. Work Style: This position follows a hybrid work schedule, requiring employees to work three days per week in the office and the remaining days remotely. Qualified candidates must currently reside within, or be willing to relocate to, a commutable distance from one of the talent markets.

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Pay Range

The compensation range below reflects a good faith estimate of starting base pay for full time (40 hours per week) employment at the time of posting. The pay range may be higher or lower based on geographic location and individual pay will vary based on demonstrated job related skills, knowledge, experience, education, certifications, etc. $206,600 - $284,300 per year This job is eligible for a bonus incentive plan. This incentive opportunity is based upon company and/or individual performance.

Description of Benefits

Humana, Inc. and its affiliated subsidiaries (collectively, “Humana”) offers competitive benefits that support whole‑person well‑being. Associate benefits are designed to encourage personal wellness and smart healthcare decisions for you and your family while also knowing your life extends outside of work. Among our benefits, Humana provides medical, dental and vision benefits, 401(k) retirement savings plan, time off (including paid time off, company and personal holidays, paid parental and caregiver leave), short‑term and long‑term disability, life insurance and many other opportunities.

About Us

Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is a leading U.S. healthcare company. Through our Humana insurance services and our CenterWell healthcare services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare and Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. Learn more about what we offer atHumana.comand atCenterWell.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of Humana not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. It is also the policy of Humana to take affirmative action, in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and VEVRAA, to employ and to advance in employment individuals with disability or protected veteran status, and to base all employment decisions only on valid job requirements. This policy shall apply to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, upgrading, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, recall, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for training, including apprenticeship, at all levels of employment.