Principal Engineer AI/ML

Adobe Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 261,800 - 379,100; Full time

Job summary

Adobe Inc. is seeking a Principal Engineer to join the GenStudio Engineering team in San Jose, California. This role involves designing and maintaining scalable AI/ML systems, with responsibilities including architectural decision-making and mentorship of engineers. Candidates should have over 14 years of software engineering experience and a strong understanding of machine learning principles. Expected pay range is $261,800 – $379,100 annually, depending on experience and location.

Qualifications

• 14+ years of experience in software engineering with technical leadership.
• Proven expertise in Machine Learning and Deep Learning.
• Strong understanding of transfer learning principles.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, test, and maintain AI/ML systems and applications.
• Analyze trade-offs across cost, latency, and accuracy.
• Work cross-functionally with data, research, and product teams.

Skills

Machine Learning

Deep Learning

Python

Data Engineering

PyTorch

TensorFlow/Keras

CUDA

Hugging Face

JAX

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science

Tools

ML/DL frameworks

GPU

TPU

Job description

The Opportunity

We are seeking a highly experienced and innovative Principal Engineer to join the GenStudio Engineering team. This role is ideal for a technical leader who thrives in a fast‑paced environment and is passionate about building scalable, high‑impact software solutions. You will drive architectural decisions, mentor engineers, and influence the technical direction of GenStudio.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, test, and maintain AI/ML‑based systems and applications that serve as the backbone of scalable, production‑ready technology stacks.
• Frame product features as ML tasks (e.g., classification, recommendation, context engineering).
• Analyze trade‑offs across cost, latency, and accuracy while ensuring compliance with UX, privacy, legal, and security constraints.
• Assess data distribution (variance, sampling, drift) and manage data labeling workflows involving LLMs, SMEs, or user‑generated activity.
• Organize datasets for training, validation, and testing, and engineer high‑quality features using normalization, smoothing, and weighting techniques.
• Implement and adapt techniques from academic research and industry papers; evaluate algorithmic trade‑offs considering data requirements, latency, and runtime.
• Handle cold‑start scenarios and mitigate overfitting/underfitting challenges.
• Define offline benchmarks and metrics; design and analyze A/B tests to validate online performance.
• Architect scalable ML systems (e.g., multi‑agent, recommender, active learning, multi‑stage model training, enterprise search) for both offline and online workflows.
• Optimize model development and deployment in GPU/TPU environments using PyTorch.
• Work cross‑functionally with data, research, and product teams to translate models into production‑ready services.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• 14+ years of experience in software engineering, with a strong track record of technical leadership.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Proven expertise in Machine Learning and Deep Learning, including model design, optimization, and fine‑tuning.
• Strong understanding of transfer learning principles and their application in production settings.
• Proficiency in Python (especially for data workflows) and experience with ML/DL frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow/Keras, CUDA, Hugging Face, and JAX.
• Experience designing and deploying scalable AI/ML systems optimized for GPU/TPU environments.
• Solid grasp of data engineering concepts—dataset management, feature engineering, and handling data drift.
• Ability to balance theoretical ML knowledge with practical, high‑performance implementation.
• Strong understanding of how to transform models into reliable, production‑grade services.

Preferred Attributes

• Recognized as a thought leader within and beyond the organization.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and shaping engineering culture.
• Demonstrated ability to drive innovation and evangelize new technologies.
• Experience with building GenAI‑first applications.
• Contributions to industry forums, conferences, or open‑source communities.

Expected Pay Range

The U.S. pay range for this position is $206,400 – $379,100 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. In California, the pay range is $261,800 – $379,100.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email [e-mail] or call [phone].

State‑Specific Notices

California: Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

Colorado: If this role is open to hiring in Colorado, the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment.