Principal Applied Ai/ml Engineer

Autodesk Autodesk · Enterprise · AMER - Canada - British Columbia, MB +6 · Remote

Principal Applied AI/ML Engineer to lead the design and delivery of high-impact AI systems for Construction AI group, focusing on product, platform, and services for Autodesk’s Forma Construction Cloud. This role requires a self-directed, credible technical leader capable of turning ambiguous opportunities into durable technical outcomes, operating hands-on across applied AI, software engineering, cloud infrastructure, data systems, and delivery execution. The role involves deep dives into architecture and implementation, defining direction, solving cross-functional problems, and raising team effectiveness. It requires a generalist mindset comfortable across AI systems, backend services, AWS infrastructure, database modeling, and project planning.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead the architecture, design, and evolution of production-grade applied AI systems, including LLM, ML, retrieval, agentic, and automation-based capabilities
  2. Own the most complex technical problems across the stack, from model behavior and system design through infrastructure, reliability, quality, and operational scale
  3. Set technical direction for how AI solutions are built, integrated, evaluated, secured, monitored, and improved over time
  4. Drive platform and systems decisions across AWS environments, including performance, resilience, observability, security, and cost optimization
  5. Shape the design and optimization of data systems, including relational and graph databases, data access patterns, schema strategy, and query performance

Skills

Required

  • Python mastery
  • fluent with latest AI/ML research and implementations/patterns
  • leading architecture and delivery for complex, cross-functional technical initiatives
  • backend systems, APIs, services, data pipelines
  • production operations
  • AWS administration and optimization
  • cloud architecture, observability, security, reliability, and cost/performance tradeoffs
  • database systems design and optimization
  • technical generalist across DevOps, infrastructure engineering, quality/QA, and delivery planning
  • judgment in ambiguous situations
  • written communication
  • verbal communication
  • collaborating across geographies, functions, and time zones

Nice to have

  • graph database experience strongly preferred

What the JD emphasized

  • production-grade applied AI systems
  • production software systems with meaningful AI/ML components
  • production operations
  • operational scale

Other signals

  • leading architecture and delivery for complex, cross-functional technical initiatives
  • building and scaling production software systems with meaningful AI/ML components
  • operating as a hands-on technical leader across applied AI, software engineering, cloud infrastructure, data systems, and delivery execution