Principal AI Engineer

ZeroRFI • Full-time • Remote (San Francisco, California, United States) • 3d ago

Artificial intelligence is rewriting every industry it touches — but construction, the second largest sector in the global economy, has barely felt it yet. That's not a problem. That's an opening. ZeroRFI is the AI company building the intelligence layer for the built environment — the platform that makes every building project smarter, faster, and more predictable than the last. We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to architect the systems that put AI at the center of how buildings get designed, built, and operated. This isn't AI as a feature. It's AI as the foundation.

We are seeking a Principal AI Engineer - Full Stack to architect our technology foundation and lead our engineering team in building next-generation solutions for the AEC industry. You'll define our technical strategy, establish engineering excellence standards, and mentor a growing team of engineers while remaining hands-on with critical systems. This role requires both deep technical expertise and the ability to translate complex architectural decisions into practical, scalable solutions that transform how buildings are designed, built, and operated.

This is a unique leadership opportunity to shape the technical direction of a company at the forefront of digital transformation in one of the world's most critical industries.

Key Responsibilities

Architect and design scalable, cloud-native software systems that serve as the foundation for our technology platform, making critical decisions about technology stack, system boundaries, and integration patterns.
Lead and mentor a team of engineers ranging from interns to senior developers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and pragmatic innovation.
Drive technical strategy by evaluating emerging technologies, defining architectural patterns, and establishing best practices for code quality, testing, and documentation.
Build and maintain critical full-stack applications using React, Python, and modern cloud services, demonstrating hands-on leadership in complex technical implementations.
Design and implement microservices architectures with containerized services, APIs, and event-driven systems that can scale to meet enterprise AEC workflow demands.
Collaborate with stakeholders including CTO, product owners, and domain experts to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions that balance innovation with reliability.
Establish engineering standards for CI/CD pipelines, code reviews, testing strategies, and operational excellence across all development teams.
Lead technical initiatives such as system modernization, performance optimization, and the integration of AI/ML capabilities into core platform services.
Champion DevOps culture by working closely with infrastructure teams to ensure seamless deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of production systems.
Participate in architectural reviews, provide technical guidance on complex problems, and make build-vs-buy decisions for critical system components.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
8+ years of professional software development experience with at least 3 years in a technical leadership or principal engineer role.
Deep expertise in full-stack development with production experience in React.js, Python, and at least one additional backend language (Go or Rust preferred).
Proven track record of architecting and delivering large-scale, distributed systems in cloud environments (AWS preferred).
Strong understanding of microservices architecture, API design principles, and event-driven systems.
Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration technologies (Kubernetes/ECS).
Expertise in data architecture including relational databases, NoSQL solutions, and streaming platforms.
Experience with modern DevOps practices including infrastructure-as-code (CDK/CloudFormation), CI/CD pipelines, and observability tools.
Excellent communication skills with ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Strong problem-solving abilities with a pragmatic approach to balancing technical debt, feature delivery, and system reliability.
Understanding of compliance frameworks (SOC2, ISO 27001) and security best practices.

Preferred Qualifications (A plus, not a requirement)

Experience in the AEC industry or with CAD/BIM technologies (Revit, AutoCAD, IFC standards).
Familiarity with AI/ML integration and MLOps practices for production systems.
Background in computational geometry, 3D graphics, or spatial data processing.
Knowledge of event sourcing, CQRS patterns, and distributed system design patterns.
Contributions to open-source projects or published technical articles/talks.
Experience with graph databases and complex data modeling for interconnected systems.
Track record of successful technical transformations or legacy system modernizations.

What We Offer

Compensation that reflects the role: Base salary $280,000–$320,000 plus meaningful early-stage equity. You're not joining a company where the upside is already priced in — you're one of the people pricing it.
Hybrid work, your way: San Francisco or Atlanta, with a one-time home office stipend to build the setup you actually want.
Healthcare done right: Comprehensive coverage with multiple plan options — we're not making you figure it out yourself.
Unlimited PTO: We care about output, not hours logged.
Retirement options: Multiple investment vehicles to plan long-term.
Tools without bureaucracy: A curated toolkit of AI, development, and research resources with the autonomy to use what works.
A network you can't buy: Direct exposure to ZeroRFI's owner and developer community — 53,000+ AEC industry subscribers, live events, and the relationships that matter in this industry.