Principal R&D AI Software Engineer (AI)

TL;DR

Principal R&D AI Software Engineer (AI): Architect, design, and develop proof-of-concepts and early-stage production systems leveraging LLMs, agentic workflows, vector databases, and emerging AI technologies with an accent on full-stack integrations and cloud-native deployments. Focus on shaping technical direction, building advanced prompts and agent architectures, and transitioning POCs to production readiness.

Location: Remote anywhere in the continental US or corporate office in Utah.

Company

Leading FinTech provider of in-store and e-commerce lease-to-own solutions, subsidiary of PROG Holdings (NYSE: PRG).

What you will do

• Architect, design, and develop AI proof-of-concepts and early production systems using LLMs, agentic workflows, and vector databases
• Collaborate with VP of R&D to shape AI technical direction and identify high-impact opportunities
• Build integrations with platforms like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT using APIs and custom toolchains
• Develop end-to-end full-stack solutions including APIs, data pipelining, and AWS deployments
• Create prompts, tools, and agent architectures to enhance business process automation and decision-making
• Partner with engineering, product, data, and security teams to validate and productionize AI solutions

Requirements

• 10+ years in software engineering with full-stack, distributed systems, and cloud expertise
• Senior-level proficiency in AI integrations, LLM APIs, agent development, prompt engineering, and orchestration
• In-depth AWS cloud infrastructure design, automation, and deployment experience
• Strong Python skills, plus JavaScript/TypeScript and backend frameworks
• Experience with APIs, workflows, SQL/NoSQL databases, vector embeddings, and data modeling for AI
• Ability to design POCs, run experiments, work autonomously, and communicate complex ideas

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive compensation and full health benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and paid parental leave
• Company-matched 401k, paid time off, holidays, and volunteer hours
• Employee resource groups, stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, and charitable gift matching
• Job-required equipment and services provided
• Focus on inclusive collaboration, innovation, and professional development