Principal AI Tools Engineer

Xapply; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

14 paid holidays

Vacation days (15–25)

401(k) & ESPP

Equity awards

Job summary

Zynga’s AI team is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to shape technical vision and build AI-powered tools used across Zynga’s games and platforms.

You will design scalable AI systems in cloud environments, write frontend and backend code, collaborate with product, design, and studios to raise developer productivity and player experiences, mentor engineers, and help ensure responsible AI practices.

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent.
• 6+ years of hands-on software development with AI/ML or tooling.
• Strong full-stack experience: frontend (React, TypeScript) and backend (Python, Go, or Node.js).
• Experience designing and building LLM-powered applications and AI tools.
• RESTful and event-driven services; familiarity with MCP or similar protocols is a plus.
• Experience with SQL/NoSQL databases and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP).
• Strong OO/SOA design and familiarity with IDE extensions or CLI tooling a plus.
• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and engineering.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain AI-powered developer tools and applications across the full stack.
• Design scalable AI systems and integrations in cloud infrastructure, including LLM features.
• Hands-on coding across frontend and backend of the AI tooling ecosystem.
• Identify and address tech debt and opportunities to enhance AI capabilities.
• Follow engineering best practices for code quality, performance, reliability, and responsible AI.
• Collaborate with teams across Zynga to drive AI-powered productivity.
• Review tech plans and align with AI tools team and broader vision.
• Provide production and integration support for shared AI tools used across studios.

Skills

AI/ML experience

Full stack

Frontend React/TypeScript

Backend Python/Go/Node.js

LLM-powered apps

RESTful services

Cloud infrastructure

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

B.S. in Computer Science

Tools

React

TypeScript

Python

Go

Node.js

AWS/GCP

RESTful APIs

Job description

Zynga’s AI team is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to shape technical vision and build AI-powered tools used across Zynga’s games and platforms.

You will design scalable AI systems in cloud environments, write frontend and backend code, collaborate with product, design, and studios to raise developer productivity and player experiences, mentor engineers, and help ensure responsible AI practices.