Team Lead AI Software Engineer - Java/React

Korn Ferry; Westlake (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Korn Ferry, based in Texas, seeks an AI Engineering Team Lead to guide a team of software engineers, shaping architecture, development, and technical decisions to deliver scalable AI-enabled solutions.

You will drive delivery outcomes, establish engineering best practices, and collaborate with Product, Engineering and business teams, mentoring engineers and advancing AI-powered capabilities across enterprise applications.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with prior leadership responsibilities.
• Deep expertise with Java, Spring Boot, React, SQL, REST APIs and distributed systems.
• Experience building and scaling B2B SaaS products in production environments.
• Hands-on experience applying AI within commercial software products.
• Experience designing agentic AI workflows and AI-powered automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers while driving accountability and technical excellence.
• Own team delivery outcomes ensuring quality and scalability.
• Drive architectural decisions and establish engineering best practices across applications and services.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering and stakeholders to define priorities and deliver strategic initiatives.
• Champion AI-assisted engineering practices and AI-powered capabilities in enterprise applications.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

React

SQL

REST APIs

Distributed systems

CI/CD

GitHub

Cloud-native

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

Cursor

Job description

We are seeking an AI Engineering Team Lead to lead a team of software engineers while remaining deeply involved in architecture, development, and technical decision-making. This role is responsible for driving engineering outcomes, guiding technical direction, and partnering across Product, Engineering, and business teams to deliver scalable, AI-enabled solutions.

The ideal candidate combines strong leadership skills with hands-on expertise in modern software development. They thrive in fast-paced environments, can bring structure to complex technical challenges, and understand how technical decisions impact long-term product and business success.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers while fostering accountability, collaboration, and technical excellence.
• Own team delivery outcomes, ensuring solutions are delivered with quality, scalability, and business impact in mind.
• Drive architectural decisions and establish engineering best practices across applications, platforms, and services.
• Design, develop, and maintain modern software solutions using Java, React, SQL, and distributed system architectures.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and cross-functional stakeholders to define priorities and deliver strategic initiatives.
• Champion AI-assisted engineering practices using modern engineering tools and workflows.
• Lead the implementation of AI-powered capabilities, agentic workflows, and intelligent automation within enterprise applications.
• Drive modernization efforts, improve code quality, reduce technical debt, and enhance platform scalability.
• Oversee CI/CD processes, automated testing strategies, and GitHub-based development workflows.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including prior experience leading engineering teams and owning technical delivery outcomes.
• Deep expertise with:
  • Java
  • Spring Boot
  • React
  • SQL
  • REST APIs and distributed systems
• Experience building and scaling B2B SaaS products in production environments.
• Hands-on experience applying AI within commercial software products.
• Experience designing and implementing agentic AI workflows, AI orchestration frameworks, intelligent agents, and AI-powered automation solutions.
• Experience integrating LLM-powered capabilities into enterprise applications and software platforms.
• Experience leveraging AI engineering tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, or similar technologies to accelerate software delivery.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, system design, scalability, performance optimization, and cloud-native application development.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, GitHub-based development practices, and modern DevOps methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders, drive technical discussions, and lead initiatives across multiple teams.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to effectively engage both technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building AI-native products, platforms, or customer-facing features powered by LLMs and agentic architectures.
• Experience modernizing legacy applications and transforming monolithic architectures into scalable microservices-based platforms.
• Experience with AWS, Azure, or other cloud platforms.
• Experience leading complex technical initiatives spanning multiple products, teams, or business functions.

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry unleashes potential in people, teams, and organizations. We work with our clients to design optimal organization structures, roles, and responsibilities. We help them hire the right people and advise them on how to reward and motivate their workforce while developing professionals as they navigate and advance their careers. To learn more, please visit Korn Ferry at www.Kornferry.com