Principal AI Engineer

Confiz; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Confiz is seeking a Principal AI Engineer in Phoenix, AZ to design and drive end-to-end AI-powered solutions, spanning data engineering, model architecture, and full-stack integration. The role connects data platforms, AI/ML systems, and application development to deliver scalable, secure, and production-ready outcomes.

You will lead architecture for LLM-based apps, manage model lifecycle, and mentor teams across data, ML, and development disciplines, ensuring alignment with business objectives

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software/solution architecture with focus on AI/ML.
• Strong understanding of LLMs, RAG architectures, agentic AI systems, and MLOps.
• Hands-on Databricks Lakehouse (Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, MLflow) experience.
• Full-stack development knowledge across front-end and back-end tech.
• Experience with Azure/AWS/GCP AI and data services.
• Data engineering familiarity with ETL/ELT and data governance.
• Proficiency in Python; exposure to SQL and at least one full-stack language.
• Experience designing scalable, secure distributed systems and CI/CD.
• Excellent stakeholder communication translating tech to business value.

Responsibilities

• Design and architect AI/ML solutions including LLM-based apps and predictive models.
• Define data pipelines and architecture for large-scale training and serving.
• Create full-stack solutions integrating AI models into web/enterprise apps.
• Evaluate AI frameworks, LLM providers, and vector databases for use-case fit.
• Establish lifecycle management practices: versioning, monitoring, retraining, governance.
• Collaborate with data/ML engineers, frontend/backend developers, and product owners.
• Design scalable, secure cloud architectures (Azure/AWS/GCP) for AI workloads.
• Conduct architecture reviews, POCs, and feasibility assessments.
• Mentor teams on AI integration patterns, prompts, and RAG workflows.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy and responsible AI practices.

Skills

AI architecture

LLMs

Databricks

Full-stack

Cloud platforms

Python

System design

DevOps/CI-CD

Stakeholder comms

RAG pipelines

Tools

Databricks Lakehouse

Spark

React

Node.js

.NET

Python

Job description

Confiz is seeking a Principal AI Engineer in the Phoenix AZ market, who can design and drive end-to-end AI-powered solutions from data engineering and model architecture to full-stack integration and deployment. This role bridges data platforms, AI/ML systems, and application development, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, and production-ready.

Responsibilities

• Design and architect AI/ML solutions, including LLM-based applications, agentic systems, and predictive models, aligned with business objectives.
• Define data architecture and pipelines using Databricks (Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, MLflow) for large-scale data processing and model training/serving.
• Architect full-stack solutions that integrate AI models into web/enterprise applications — covering front-end, back-end APIs, and cloud infrastructure.
• Evaluate and select appropriate AI frameworks, LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure AI Foundry, etc.), and vector databases for use‑case fit.
• Establish best practices for model lifecycle management: versioning, monitoring, retraining, and governance.
• Collaborate with data engineers, ML engineers, full-stack developers, and product owners to translate business requirements into technical architecture.
• Design scalable, secure, and cost-optimized cloud architectures (Azure/AWS/GCP) for AI workloads.
• Conduct architecture reviews, POCs, and technical feasibility assessments for new AI initiatives.
• Mentor engineering teams on AI integration patterns, prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, and agentic workflows.
• Ensure solutions meet performance, security, and compliance standards (data privacy, responsible AI practices).

Requirements

• 10+ years in software/solution architecture, with 4+ years specifically in AI/ML architecture.
• AI/ML: Strong understanding of LLMs, RAG architectures, agentic AI systems, prompt engineering, model fine-tuning, and MLOps.
• Databricks: Hands-on experience with Databricks Lakehouse (Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, MLflow, Databricks Workflows), Spark-based data processing.
• Full-Stack Development: Working knowledge of front-end (React/Angular) and back-end (Node.js/.NET/Python) development, API design (REST/GraphQL), and microservices architecture.
• Cloud Platforms: Experience with Azure (AI Foundry, Cognitive Services) and/or AWS/GCP AI & data services.
• Data Engineering: Familiarity with ETL/ELT pipelines, data modelling, and data governance.
• Programming: Python (mandatory), plus exposure to SQL, and at least one full-stack language (JavaScript/TypeScript, C#, or Java).
• Architecture: Proven experience designing scalable, distributed systems; solid grasp of system design principles, security, and DevOps/CI-CD practices.
• Strong stakeholder communication skills - ability to translate technical architecture into business value for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice to Have

• Experience with vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Snowflake Cortex).
• Exposure to containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/Bicep).
• Prior experience in a client-facing or pre-sales/solutioning capacity.
• Certifications in Azure/AWS AI or Databricks (Databricks Certified Data Engineer/ML Associate).

We have a global team of amazing individuals working on highly innovative enterprise projects & products. Our customer base includes Fortune 100 retail and CPG companies, leading store chains, fast growth fintech, and multiple Silicon Valley startups.

What makes Confiz stand out is our focus on processes and culture. Confiz is ISO 9001:2015 (QMS), ISO 27001:2022 (ISMS), ISO 20000-1:2018 (ITSM) and ISO 14001:2015 (EMS) Certified. We have a vibrant culture of learning via collaboration and making workplace fun.

People who work with us work with cutting-edge technologies while contributing success to the company as well as to themselves.

To know more about Confiz Limited, visit https://www.linkedin.com/company/confiz/