Principal AI Engineer, Aerospace & Defense

Job Description

• This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal AI Engineer, Aerospace & Defense based in Canada. This is a Principal-level engineering opportunity focused on transforming how AI is built into products and how modern software is delivered. You will help shape next-generation mobile solutions for aviation maintenance and mission-critical field operations. The role combines Applied AI, mobile engineering, forward-deployed delivery, and full-lifecycle software ownership. You will work directly with Aerospace & Defense customers, integrating solutions into complex operational environments. Your work will span AI capabilities such as RAG, agentic architectures, prompt engineering, evaluation, and MLOps. You will also influence how engineering teams use AI-assisted development and agentic tooling to improve speed and quality. As a technical authority, you will set direction across teams while staying hands-on with architecture, delivery, deployment, and reliability.
• Accountabilities: Shape next-generation mobility: Define and deliver fast, reliable, field-ready mobile experiences for aviation maintenance teams, including solutions designed to perform effectively in environments with constrained connectivity. Build AI-powered capabilities: Design and ship production AI features using model integration, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agentic architectures, evaluation frameworks, automated testing, and MLOps practices. Advance AI-assisted engineering: Make AI-assisted development and agentic engineering tools a core part of the development workflow, helping establish measurable improvements in engineering speed, quality, and effectiveness. Deploy directly with customers: Work alongside Aerospace & Defense customers in their environments to deploy, integrate, and harden solutions. Connect applications with ERP, CRM, IoT, telemetry, legacy, and mission-critical systems while owning the solution architecture in real-world operating conditions. Own the complete delivery lifecycle: Design, develop, test, deploy, and operate solutions across the full stack using modern general-purpose programming languages. Maintain high standards for automated testing, CI/CD, security, cloud, edge, mobile, and operational reliability. Provide Principal-level technical leadership: Establish technical strategy across product groups, make high-impact architectural and delivery decisions, mentor engineers, and strengthen the organisation’s capabilities in AI and forward-deployed engineering. Stay anchored in customer value: Use direct customer evidence and business outcomes to guide technical decisions, identifying the operational challenges where AI and modern software can deliver the greatest impact. Requirements Applied AI expertise: Demonstrated hands-on experience building production software with AI-assisted and agentic development tools, as well as embedding AI into products through machine-learning integration, prompt engineering, RAG, agentic architectures, evaluation, testing, and MLOps. Mobile engineering experience: Proven experience building and delivering production mobile applications, with the technical depth to establish direction for a mobile product. Native iOS development experience is strongly preferred. Principal-level technical impact: A strong record as a recognised technical authority who has driven strategy and delivery across multiple teams or product groups and has operated successfully on complex, large-scale initiatives. Forward-deployed engineering: Significant experience deploying, integrating, and operating enterprise software directly within customer environments, including integrations with ERP, CRM, IoT, and legacy systems and ownership of architecture in customer contexts. Full-lifecycle engineering: Strong foundations across software design and development, quality and testing, cloud and DevOps, and security, with proficiency in modern general-purpose programming languages beyond a single framework or technology domain. Leadership and ownership: A strong you-build-it, you-run-it mindset, excellent communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, and a proven ability to mentor engineers and raise the capabilities of surrounding teams. Aerospace & Defense knowledge: Experience working with Aerospace & Defense organisations or developing solutions related to asset management, maintenance, MRO, fleet readiness, or similarly complex operational environments is a plus. Enterprise maintenance expertise: Familiarity with enterprise asset management, field service, or maintenance-management solutions is advantageous. Education: A degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline is preferred, though equivalent practical experience is also considered. Agile and global collaboration: Experience with agile delivery methodologies and working effectively with globally distributed engineering teams is desirable. Benefits Flexible paid time off, including vacation and sick leave. Medical, dental, and vision insurance. 401(k) plan with employer contribution. Flexible spending accounts. Life insurance and disability benefits. Tuition assistance to support continued learning and professional development. Community involvement and volunteering opportunities. Flexible and hybrid work opportunities designed to support different working styles and individual needs. An inclusive, collaborative environment that encourages innovation, connection, and professional growth.
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