Staff AI Application Engineer Lead

Job Responsibilities

• Architect, design and implement scalable AI agent and backend systems for high-volume, real-time operational workloads, and build resilient user experiences.
• Design and implement robust data flows (e.g., event streams, message queues, job orchestration) to support next-gen SOC/NOC capabilities.
• Integrate LLMs and GenAI components into production workflows, including fine-tuning, prompt orchestration, retrieval pipelines, and evaluation loops.
• Integrate AI agents with databases, APIs, and third-party services
• Develop, debug, test and troubleshooting the AI agent application and backend systems.
• Collaborate with business users and other developers to define the functional/non-functional system requirements, design workflows and decision logic
• Collaborate with other departments for the system security, compliance and reliability.
• Continuously maintaining, monitoring and improving the systems.

Required Qualifications

• BS: 5+ years in backend or full-stack systems for high-availability, security-sensitive environments OR MS: 3+ years in the same OR PhD: 0+ year in the same
• Proven track record shipping data-intensive and AI-enhanced applications at scale.
• Experience owning features from system architecture through production delivery.
• Experience of project collaboration with multiple teams.
• Experience with LLM service, prompt engineering and evaluation techniques.
• Proficiency with Python and associated frameworks.
• Strong background in designing APIs (REST/WebSocket/GraphQL) and integrating with real-time/event-driven systems.
• Deep understanding of databases and storage.
• Experience with authentication/authorization, session management, and enterprise integrations.
• Familiarity with distributed systems, scalability, and observability best practices.
• Good communication skills.

Pay

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $183,000-$224,000.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 401(k)
• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation time
• Sick time
• A comprehensive leave program

About Us

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) secures the largest enterprise, service provider, and government organizations around the world. Fortinet empowers its customers with intelligent, seamless protection across the expanding attack surface and the power to take on ever-increasing performance requirements of the borderless network - today and into the future. Only the Fortinet Security Fabric architecture can deliver security without compromise to address the most critical security challenges, whether in networked, application, cloud or mobile environments. Fortinet ranks number one in the most security appliances shipped worldwide and more than 500,000 customers trust Fortinet to protect their businesses. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@fortinet.com. Fortinet is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity in our company, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, military/veteran status or any other applicable legally protected characteristics in the location in which the candidate is applying.