Principal Architect

Scale; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 298,000 - 373,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement benefits

Learning stipend

Generous PTO

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Scale AI in Washington, DC seeks a Principal Architect to drive design, development, and deployment of agentic AI products in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment. You will lead a team of 50+ engineers, providing strategic and technical guidance and engaging with executives.

The role requires deep AI/ML knowledge, hands-on Kubernetes and cloud infra experience, and a proven ability to align engineering with business goals. Expect executive engagements and cross-company collaboration.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years in a senior or staff leadership role.
• Deep AI/ML knowledge with experience in LLMs and AI agents.
• Hands-on with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Strong product sense and ability to align engineering with company goals.
• Experience engaging with executive stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a large engineering team with a culture of technical excellence.
• Provide strategic and technical direction on complex AI systems.
• Make high-impact architectural decisions involving distributed systems.
• Engage with executive stakeholders and external partners.
• Develop and communicate a compelling technology vision and progress updates.
• Foster speed, unity, resilience and teamwork amid uncertainty.

Skills

Team leadership

AI/ML expertise

LLMs & AI agents

Executive engagement

Cross-team collaboration

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

About the Role We are seeking a Principal Architect to drive the design, development, and deployment of our agentic AI products in a fast-paced, collaborative, extremely high-visibility environment.

In this role, you will lead a team of 50+ engineers, providing both strategic and technical guidance. You’ll be responsible for high-impact architectural decisions, cross-company collaboration, and executive level engagements.

What You’ll Do

• Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a high-performing engineering team of 80+, fostering a culture of technical excellence and ownership.
• Technical Direction: Guide your team through complex challenges involving LLMs, AI agents, and large-scale distributed systems.
• Executive Stakeholder Engagement: Represent Scale AI in high-stakes negotiations and strategic discussions with senior external partners, demonstrating strong technical competence and credibility.
• Strategic Planning & Communication: Develop and communicate a compelling vision for Scale AI’s technology applied to your program. Provide regular updates to senior leadership and key stakeholders on progress, risks, and opportunities.
• Culture & Teamwork: Foster a culture of speed, unity of purpose, resilience, and teamwork. Lead through uncertainty with determination and adaptability.

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years in a technical leadership or staff role.
• Deep understanding of modern AI/ML technologies, including experience working with LLMs and AI agents.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Strong product and business sense, with a track record of aligning engineering efforts with company goals.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-changing environments and guide your team to do the same.
• Experience in executive level engagement with industry partners and Public Sector customers

Success Metrics

Within 6 months:

• Successful demonstration of agentic AI’s mission value in high-stakes customer demonstrations
• Establish Scale AI as the preferred agentic AI partner for the PEO
• Establish high velocity, agile engineering cadence both internally and with our industry partners

Within 12–18 months:

• Secure follow-on contract award with expanded scope for Scale
• Position Scale AI as the global AI leader in this mission area
• Establish developed solutions as Scale product offerings to deliver on future contracts

Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.

The base salary range for this full-time position in the location of Washington DC is:

$298,400 - $373,000 USD

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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