Principal Software Engineer – AI/GenAI
Primary ServicesAbout the role
Join one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with 85,000 employees across more than 70 countries supporting energy needs around the globe. This opportunity combines software engineering and AI/GenAI in a true 50/50 technical leadership role, providing enterprise-scale ownership of AI-enabled digital products within a sophisticated energy trading environment. Lead architecture and production delivery while shaping engineering standards, responsible AI practices, and reusable solutions across Product, Data, Infrastructure, and DevSecOps.
The Principal Software Engineer will lead the design, development, deployment, and ongoing operation of production-grade digital products that combine modern software engineering with applied AI and GenAI. This hands-on leadership role will translate complex business needs into secure, scalable solutions using Python, APIs, microservices, Kubernetes, cloud-native architecture, machine learning, LLMs, RAG, and intelligent automation while mentoring engineers and influencing enterprise engineering standards.
Responsibilities
Lead the architecture, development, deployment, and production operation of enterprise-scale AI-enabled applications and services.
Build secure, scalable APIs, microservices, reusable services, and cloud-native application components.
Develop and operationalize AI and GenAI capabilities including LLMs, RAG, machine learning models, and intelligent automation.
Establish engineering standards for system design, coding, testing, code reviews, security, observability, and maintainability.
Define evaluation and monitoring practices for model quality, reliability, performance, and responsible AI.
Partner with Product, Data Engineering, Infrastructure, and DevSecOps teams to improve deployment velocity and runtime resilience.
Own technical delivery across architecture, development, CI/CD, deployment, monitoring, reliability, and ongoing production support.
Mentor software and AI engineers on architecture, engineering practices, testing, and production delivery.
Translate complex business requirements into technical solutions, architecture decisions, and delivery roadmaps.
Develop reusable engineering patterns and best practices that can scale across multiple business lines.
Qualifications
8+ years of software development experience, including significant hands-on technical leadership.
Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical discipline.
Strong hands-on experience with Python plus Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, and/or JVM technologies.
Production experience with AI/GenAI, LLMs, RAG, and machine learning.
Strong experience designing APIs, REST services, microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven architectures.
Hands-on experience deploying and operating applications with Kubernetes and cloud-native infrastructure.
Experience with CI/CD, DevSecOps, automated testing, monitoring, and observability.
Experience taking enterprise applications through development, deployment, and ongoing production support.
Experience establishing architecture patterns, engineering standards, security controls, and responsible AI practices.
Experience leading or mentoring software and/or AI engineers.
Energy, commodities, trading, financial services, or other complex enterprise experience preferred.
Responsibilities
- Lead the architecture, development, deployment, and production operation of enterprise-scale AI-enabled applications and services.
- Build secure, scalable APIs, microservices, reusable services, and cloud-native application components.
- Develop and operationalize AI and GenAI capabilities including LLMs, RAG, machine learning models, and intelligent automation.
- Establish engineering standards for system design, coding, testing, code reviews, security, observability, and maintainability.
- Define evaluation and monitoring practices for model quality, reliability, performance, and responsible AI.
- Partner with Product, Data Engineering, Infrastructure, and DevSecOps teams to improve deployment velocity and runtime resilience.
- Own technical delivery across architecture, development, CI/CD, deployment, monitoring, reliability, and ongoing production support.
- Mentor software and AI engineers on architecture, engineering practices, testing, and production delivery.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of software development experience, including significant hands-on technical leadership.
- Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical discipline.
- Strong hands-on experience with Python plus Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, and/or JVM technologies.
- Production experience with AI/GenAI, LLMs, RAG, and machine learning.
- Strong experience designing APIs, REST services, microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven architectures.
- Hands-on experience deploying and operating applications with Kubernetes and cloud-native infrastructure.
- Experience with CI/CD, DevSecOps, automated testing, monitoring, and observability.
- Experience taking enterprise applications through development, deployment, and ongoing production support.
Skills mentioned
About Primary Services
Primary Services provides job opportunities for Accounting/Financial, Information Technology, HR, Recruiting, Marketing, Procurement, Call Center and Administrative professionals. Primary serves as a strategic recruitment partner for a portfolio of long-served Fortune 500 clients across Texas and Oklahoma, with contract, temp-to-perm, and direct-hire positions. Our commitment to our clients is to serve as a strategic staffing partner providing innovative solutions and world-class customer service – whether placing a high quality candidate into a specific role or serving as the entire outsourced recruiting department. Primary creates staffing success by providing insights, proactively solving problems, and becoming the trusted partner for our clients. Primary Services was named to the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies and received Top 50 Private Employer in Houston designation from the Houston Business Journal in 2014. The WBEA recognized Primary as the WBE Supplier of the Year in 2009. Primary has also been awarded Top 25 Fastest-Growing Woman-Owned Business recognition by Houston Business Journal, a National Star by WBENC, and a Cutting Edge Award by WBEA.