Principal Software Engineer, Applied AI
$204k - $310k • Cambridge, MA USA; San Francisco, CA USA • Full-time
Posted 1y ago
This job has been open for more than 60 days. It may no longer be actively hiring, so check with the company before putting a lot into an application.
About the job
LILA Sciences is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join their Applied AI group. This role focuses on building the next generation of AI-driven scientific platforms by designing and optimizing backend systems, data pipelines, and AI integrations. You will work at the intersection of backend engineering and machine learning, ensuring the platform scales and supports advanced applied AI techniques like Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic AI, and large language model (LLM) integration. The ideal candidate bridges software engineering and applied AI, transforming research into production-grade systems for scientific discovery.
Responsibilities
- Design and deploy backend services and data pipelines for advanced AI applications (LLMs, RAG, agentic frameworks).
- Build high-performance APIs and microservices for seamless integration between AI models, scientific tools, and user-facing applications.
- Architect and manage scalable data pipelines for structured, unstructured, and vectorized data in AI/ML workloads.
- Implement and optimize SQL, NoSQL, and vector databases for low-latency AI retrieval and inference.
- Utilize AWS, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/CloudFormation) for robust AI platforms.
- Diagnose system bottlenecks, optimize for cost and speed, and ensure reliability of AI-driven workflows.
- Collaborate with ML researchers, platform engineers, and scientists to productionize models and algorithms.
Requirements
- Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
- 7+ years of professional experience building and scaling production systems (APIs, data pipelines, distributed services).
- Strong Python skills (FastAPI, Flask, Django) and backend service development experience.
- Proven experience with SQL, NoSQL, and vector databases, including schema design, indexing, and query optimization.
- Hands-on experience integrating ML models or AI-driven workflows into production services.
- Proficiency with AWS, Docker/Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code.
- Ability to work cross-functionally and communicate complex technical concepts.
Benefits
- Competitive base compensation with bonus potential.
- Generous early-stage equity.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage (U.S.).
- Employer-paid life and disability insurance (U.S.).
- Flexible time off with generous company-wide holidays (U.S.).
- Paid parental leave (U.S.).
- Educational assistance program (U.S.).
- Commuter benefits, including bike share memberships (U.S.).
- Company-subsidized lunch program (U.S.).
- International benefits tailored to region.