Principal AI Engineer

Ladders; United States; Remote; USD 195,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health and wellness

Retirement savings with company match

Professional development and training

Flexible work arrangements and PTO

Employee assistance programs

Job summary

Ladders is seeking a Principal AI Engineer to lead enterprise AI initiatives with a strong governance and regulatory focus. This remote role shapes the technical direction for scalable ML and LLM solutions across teams, partnering with engineering, legal, and executive stakeholders.

Responsibilities include setting standards, driving architecture choices, and mentoring senior engineers, while influencing governance policy in collaboration with Legal and Compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years in software engineering, with 6+ years in AI/ML/LLM/NLP.
• Hands-on production LLMs at scale and APIs usage.

Responsibilities

• Own the multi-year technical strategy and roadmap for the AI platform across teams.
• Serve as the final technical escalation point for complex architecture and reliability issues.
• Set architecture, security, and evaluation standards for multiple teams.
• Act as a primary technical advisor to executive leadership on AI strategy and risk.
• Lead architecture and prototyping for high-risk AI initiatives.
• Mentor Lead and Senior AI Engineers through design reviews and coaching.
• Shape enterprise-wide AI governance policy with Legal and Compliance.

Skills

LLM at scale

Python/Java/REST

Cloud-native design

LLM APIs

AI governance

Leadership experience

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

For our client, we are seeking a Principal AI Engineer to join the team of a leader in the Pharmaceuticals & Biotech space.

This role will shape the technical direction for enterprise AI capabilities, with a strong emphasis on scalable machine learning and LLM solutions in a regulated healthcare environment. You will partner closely with engineering, legal, compliance, and executive stakeholders to define standards, guide high-impact initiatives, and ensure the AI platform is both reliable and governance-ready. The work will span architecture, strategy, and hands‑on technical leadership across multiple teams, with influence that reaches well beyond a single product or squad.

Location: Remote

Compensation: $195,000 – $325,000 annually

Responsibilities

• Own the multi-year technical strategy and roadmap for the AI platform across all teams
• Serve as the final technical escalation point for complex architecture and reliability issues
• Set architecture, security, and evaluation standards for multiple teams
• Act as a primary technical advisor to executive leadership on AI strategy and risk
• Lead architecture and prototyping for high-risk AI initiatives
• Mentor Lead and Senior AI Engineers through design reviews and technical coaching
• Shape enterprise-wide AI governance policy in collaboration with Legal and Compliance

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Typically 12+ years in software engineering, including 6+ years in AI/ML, LLM, or NLP systems
• Demonstrated technical leadership above a Lead AI Engineer, influencing multiple teams
• Proven track record in setting technical strategy adopted by multiple teams
• Hands‑on expertise in building production LLM applications at scale
• Experience with commercial large language model APIs and tool‑integration protocols
• Strong software engineering fundamentals in Python, Java, REST APIs, and cloud‑native design
• Deep familiarity with regulated healthcare data environments and AI governance frameworks

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and wellness programs
• Retirement savings plans with company match
• Professional development and training opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements and paid time off
• Employee assistance programs and mental health resources

Our client is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification—your background could be exactly what this team needs.