Principal AI Engineer

About the role

We're not just a workplace - we're a Great Place to Work certified employer! Proudly certified as a Great Place to Work, we are dedicated to creating a supportive and inclusive environment. At Sonic Healthcare USA, we emphasize teamwork and innovation. Check out our job openings and advance your career with a company that values its team members! Sonic Healthcare USA is seeking a Principal AI Engineer to lead the design, development, and deployment of enterprise AI solutions. This is a senior technical leadership role for a hands-on engineer who can define AI architecture, influence strategy, and build production-grade systems leveraging machine learning, large language models (LLMs), AI agents, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). The ideal candidate will work closely with Engineering, Product, Security, and Data teams to transform complex business challenges into scalable, secure, and innovative AI solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and technical direction for enterprise AI and machine learning solutions.
• Design, build, and deploy AI applications, LLM-powered products, RAG pipelines, and agent-based systems.
• Establish best practices for model development, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and governance.
• Drive AI platform strategy, scalability, reliability, security, and performance.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to translate business needs into AI-powered solutions.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend adoption opportunities.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across AI initiatives.
• Ensure AI solutions align with security, privacy, and compliance requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience with 4+ years building AI/ML systems in production.
• Proven experience designing and deploying scalable AI solutions.
• Strong programming skills, preferably in Python.
• Experience with: Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Machine Learning platforms and frameworks, AI orchestration frameworks (LangChain or similar), Vector databases and AI inference platforms.
• Experience leading complex technical initiatives from concept through production.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Qualifications

• Experience in healthcare, cybersecurity, or other regulated industries.
• Experience with MLOps, model monitoring, and AI governance frameworks.
• Knowledge of Responsible AI practices, security controls, and compliance requirements.
• Experience with distributed training, large-scale inference, and AI infrastructure.
• Contributions to open-source AI projects or published technical research.

Skills

• Required Technical Skills: Python, PyTorch and/or TensorFlow, Hugging Face, LLM APIs, RAG Architecture, Vector Databases, LangChain or Similar Frameworks, Kubernetes and Container Technologies.
• Preferred Technical Skills: MLflow, Databricks, Azure AI Services, AWS AI/ML Services, vLLM, Okta/SSO Integration, Security and Observability Platforms.

Schedule

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40