Principal AI Architect

Title: Principal AI ArchitectJob Type: Direct Hire RolePay Range: Targeting $300k - $400k Total Compensation (includes salary, bonus, stocks, and RSUs) + benefitsStart Date: ASAPLocation: Hybrid (3 days onsite) in San Francisco, CAAbout The OpportunityOur client, a leader in AI-powered talent and sales intelligence software (SaaS), is looking for a skilled Principal AI Architect to join their team. This role is the founding architect for a greenfield AI initiative to completely rebuild their platform with an AI-first architecture, free of legacy constraints. You will work directly with the founder and leadership team to define and build novel AI systems, including LLM-based applications, RAG pipelines, and agentic architectures. This is a high-impact role that requires a self-motivated professional who can hit the ground running and deliver results quickly.Key Responsibilities & DeliverablesThis role is focused on the successful completion of specific tasks and deliverables. Your responsibilities will include:Define and own the architectural vision for next-generation AI systems, including agent architectures, reasoning systems, and proprietary model development.Prototype and evaluate advanced AI capabilities such as predictive modeling, autonomous signal synthesis, and multimodal intelligence to create defensible IP.Establish technical foundations across data architecture, model serving, agent orchestration, and inference infrastructure for long-term scalability.Evaluate and adopt emerging AI paradigms, including multi-agent reasoning, RLHF, and retrieval-augmented fine-tuning.Develop engineering standards, architecture review processes, and IP documentation practices.Required Skills & Experience:We are looking for someone with a proven track record of successful product delivery. The ideal candidate will have:BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, AI/ML, or a related field (PhD or equivalent research depth preferred).5+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, including at least 2 years in a principal engineer or lead architect role.Deep expertise in LLM training and fine-tuning, agentic system design, knowledge graph construction, and large-scale data modeling.Proven track record of building original AI systems that have been successfully productized.Experience in: LLM fine-tuning, RAG systems, and AI application development, and designing production-grade AI systems from scratch.Ability to operate effectively in greenfield, high-ambiguity environments with a high degree of ownership.Patents, published research, or shipped products with proprietary differentiation are highly valued.Strong communication skills to provide clear and concise status updates to the project team.