Principal Engineer, AI Authoring

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 166,640 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Paid time off

Commuting subsidy

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is seeking a Principal Engineer, AI Authoring, to lead the design and optimization of an AI-driven content generation engine. You will drive architecture, ensure scalability, and tackle complex challenges in regulatory document creation using LLM-powered tools.

You will prototype features, ensure compliance, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality outputs and robust cloud infrastructure for high-compute workloads.

Qualifications

• Design AI-driven platforms and LLM-based systems.
• Experience with retrieval pipelines and modular AI design.
• Experience in regulated environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design end-to-end architecture for AI-assisted document generation.
• Build and optimize RAG systems from data sources for document creation.
• Engineer data connectors to feed data into AI models.
• Develop testing/validation for compliant AI outputs.

Skills

LLM-based platforms

Prompt engineering

RAG architectures

Cloud infrastructure

Data workflows

Regulated industries

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/AI/Data Science

Tools

AWS/Azure/GCP

Distributed computing

Job description

Job Description

Position Summary: We are seeking a highly skilled and visionary Principal Engineer, AI Authoring to join our AI Authoring Platform team. Reporting to the Director of AI Authoring Platform, you will lead the design, development, and optimization of Vertex's AI-driven content generation engine. This role is pivotal in shaping the technical architecture of our platform, ensuring the performance, accuracy, and scalability of our LLM-powered authoring tools. You will tackle complex engineering challenges, including automated document workflows and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)-based architectures, to support the creation of high-quality, compliant, and efficient regulatory documents.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Design and maintain the end-to-end technical architecture for AI-assisted document generation, focusing on modular LLM integration, prompt engineering, and retrieval pipelines, while partnering closely with the AI Architect to ensure alignment with enterprise standards and scalability.
• Build and optimize sophisticated Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems that accurately pull from vast clinical and regulatory data sources to assist in document creation.
• Engineer the data connectors and transformations required to feed structured and unstructured data into AI models for automated document population.
• Develop and implement automated testing and validation frameworks to ensure AI-authored outputs meet the strict safety and compliance standards of the Life Sciences industry.
• Rapidly prototype new AI authoring features, such as automated summarization or cross-document consistency checks, to determine technical viability before full-scale development.
• Serve as the final escalation point for complex technical blockers, from debugging model hallucinations to optimizing cloud infrastructure for high-compute AI workloads.

Knowledge and Skills

• Proven experience in designing and implementing AI-driven platforms, particularly those leveraging LLMs and RAG architectures.
• Expertise in prompt engineering, retrieval pipelines, and modular AI system design.
• Strong background in engineering data workflows, including structured and unstructured data integration.
• Experience with automated testing and validation frameworks, particularly in regulated industries.
• Proficiency in cloud infrastructure optimization for AI workloads.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, with the ability to address complex technical challenges.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams
• Familiarity with the Life Sciences industry and its compliance requirements (preferred).
• Experience with automated document workflows and AI-based content generation (preferred).

Education and Experience

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on AI, machine learning, or technical platform development.
• Proven track record of leading the design and implementation of AI-driven systems, including LLM-based platforms and RAG architectures.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related technical field.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP) and distributed computing systems.
• Demonstrated expertise in building and deploying production-grade AI/ML systems in complex, data-intensive environments.
• Experience working in regulated industries, such as Life Sciences, is a strong plus.

Pay Range

$166,640 - $250,000

Disclosure Statement

The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the base salary pay range for this job at the time of posting. This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards. Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements. Actual base salary pay will be based on a number of factors, including skills, competencies, experience, and other job-related factors permitted by law.

At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations. From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

Flex Designation

Hybrid-Eligible Or On-Site Eligible

Flex Eligibility Status

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as:
1. Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select
2. On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at [e-mail].