[Remote] Principal Software Engineer – Applied AI (Technical Lead)

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. CENSUS is a cybersecurity engineering powerhouse specializing in building secure and resilient systems. They are seeking a Principal Software Engineer, Applied AI (Technical Lead) to architect, build, and productize AI-enabled capabilities across their cybersecurity engineering solutions. Responsibilities • Own the reference architecture for LLM/AI features (service boundaries, APIs, data contracts, trust boundaries, deployment patterns) • Convert prototypes into production-ready services with clear interfaces, type/schema discipline, and controlled dependencies • Define versioning strategy for prompts, tools, policies, and model endpoints (including rollbacks) • Design and implement LLM pipelines for: Natural language → structured queries for database engines with guardrails • Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) where appropriate (vector stores, hybrid retrieval, context management) • Safe tool execution (bounded retries, timeouts, sandboxing, rate limits, strict output schemas) • Implement schema-first output (e.g., Pydantic models / JSON schema) and robust parsing/validation • Own non-functional requirements: latency budgets, throughput, resilience, and cost control • Implement production patterns: caching, batching, streaming responses, backpressure/queues, circuit breakers, idempotency, and graceful degradation • Build observability: structured logs, traces, metrics, and error taxonomies that make failures actionable • Implement AI security controls (prompt injection defenses, tool access controls, data minimization, audit logging) aligned with client requirements • Translate requirements from client stakeholders and internal security / engineering teams into robust AI-enabled solutions and data integrations • Lead technical delivery for AI components across client environments (cloud/on-prem), aligning with security, compliance, and operational constraints • Own handover artifacts: architecture docs, runbooks, deployment guides, and support playbooks • Document solutions and participate in knowledge transfer with internal and partner teams • Act as the technical lead for Applied AI delivery: raise engineering bar, mentor DS/engineers, and drive code quality • Own architectural reviews, refactoring plans, and prioritization of technical debt tied to reliability and delivery Skills • BSc/MSc in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) • 8+ years of software engineering experience, including technical leadership on production systems and AI-/ML-powered applications • Track record of making architecture decisions and driving cross-team execution • Strong Python engineering skills (services, tooling, testing) and experience building maintainable codebases • Demonstrated experience shipping LLM/AI-enabled applications into production • Proven ability to build robust APIs and services (FastAPI or equivalent) • Experience with production reliability practices, including observability, incident response, performance tuning, and scalability • Comfortable integrating with big data and analytics platforms • Proven ability to define engineering standards and guide teams through architectural tradeoffs in ambiguous environments • Excellent written and verbal communication in English; able to lead technical discussions with engineers and client stakeholders • Experience with database query planning/optimization and guardrailed NL→SQL systems • Experience with vector databases / retrieval systems (FAISS or managed equivalents) and hybrid retrieval strategies • MLOps/serving experience: model gateways, inference optimization, caching strategies, cost controls • Experience with Docker/Kubernetes and deployments in restricted/on-prem environments • Security engineering exposure: threat modeling, secure coding, data handling requirements, and common AI security risks Company Overview • CENSUS is an internationally acclaimed IT Security service provider. It was founded in 2008, and is headquartered in Thessaloníki, Thessaloniki, GRC, with a workforce of 51-200 employees. Its website is https://census-labs.com/. Company H1B Sponsorship • CENSUS has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 1 in 2024, 2 in 2023, 1 in 2022. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Apply tot his job Apply To this Job