Staff Software Engineer: AI-Driven, Front-to-Back Builder

Pearson; Springfield (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Pearson is seeking a forward deployed engineer to work directly with internal stakeholders, designing and delivering end-to-end systems that address real problems. You will ship working software in production using frontier LLMs, agents, and MCP servers, while operating autonomously in ambiguous environments.

You will own the full tech stack, from frontend to observability, and iterate rapidly across engagements. Come join a team embedding with business lines to drive AI adoption and impact.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of full-stack engineering experience shipping production systems end to end.
• Strong CS fundamentals; ability to whiteboard service architectures and discuss tradeoffs.
• Frontend depth with React/TypeScript and state management that looks finished.
• Backend depth across Node.js, Java, Python; API design, data modeling, auth, error handling.
• Production LLM experience with prompt engineering, agents, evaluation, deployment at scale.
• Fluency with AI-assisted development tools and agentic coding; measurable results.
• Data fluency with databases and Python data tooling.
• Cloud deployment fluency (AWS/GCP/Azure) with real URL behind auth; CI/CD, containers.
• Integration experience with SSO, OAuth, APIs, internal platforms.
• High agency and cooperation; strong communication across executives and engineers.
• Stays current with LLM capabilities and AI product stacks.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in CS or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Go where the problem is; work directly with internal stakeholders to understand pain points and workflows.
• Conduct discovery with users; translate observations into buildable software during engagement.
• Build during conversations; ship working software quickly for feedback and iteration.
• Handle messy inputs (spreadsheets, PDFs, emails) and turn them into coherent systems.
• Ship production AI applications on frontier LLMs, agents, and retrieval systems.
• Iterate across engagements; adapt to changing requirements and deliver new versions.
• Own the full stack from frontend to observability; no handoffs if not done.
• Codify patterns (prompts, evaluation harnesses, integration shims) for reuse.
• Maintain relationships with lines of business through the lifecycle and identify opportunities.

Skills

Full-stack engineering

CS fundamentals

React/TypeScript

Node.js/Java/Python

Production LLM experience

AI-assisted development tools

Data fluency

Cloud deployment (AWS/GCP/Azure)

System design

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS or equivalent

Tools

React

Node.js

Python

LLMs

APIs

CI/CD

Job description

Pearson is seeking a forward deployed engineer to work directly with internal stakeholders, designing and delivering end-to-end systems that address real problems. You will ship working software in production using frontier LLMs, agents, and MCP servers, while operating autonomously in ambiguous environments.

You will own the full tech stack, from frontend to observability, and iterate rapidly across engagements. Come join a team embedding with business lines to drive AI adoption and impact.