Principal Agent Engineer (AI)

TL;DR

Principal Agent Engineer (AI): Building and productionizing multi-step AI agent workflows integrated with enterprise systems with an accent on tool use, API integration, and reasoning capabilities. Focus on designing reusable agent patterns and improving quality through structured measurement and feedback loops.

Location: Boston, MA. Hybrid (up to 2 days remote) or On-Site.

Salary: $166,640 - $250,000

Company

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

What you will do

• Design, prototype, and productionize AI agents and multi-step workflows for internal and user-facing use cases.
• Integrate agents with enterprise APIs, third-party applications, and business-critical systems.
• Develop scalable agent patterns, prompt libraries, and orchestration logic.
• Iterate on agent behavior using usage data, benchmarks, and qualitative feedback.
• Define best practices for agent design, fallback behaviors, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
• Partner with security and data teams to ensure responsible AI principles and compliance.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in CS, AI, Data Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• Hands-on experience building LLM-powered applications and agentic systems.
• Experience integrating software with enterprise APIs and data sources.
• Proficiency in AI-assisted software development and autonomous coding agents.
• Proven ability to move prototypes into production with operational rigor.
• Must be based in Boston, MA to accommodate hybrid or onsite work requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience in regulated industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, or healthcare.
• Familiarity with orchestration frameworks and retrieval patterns.
• Experience with AI observability, tracing, and operational analytics.

Culture & Benefits

• Inclusive market-leading benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off and annual company shutdowns in Summer and Winter.
• Financial support via 401(k) and student loan repayment programs.
• Commuting subsidy and matching charitable donations.
• Flexible work options: Hybrid (up to 2 days remote) or Full On-Site.