Principal Software Engineer

📋 Description

• • As a Principal Software Engineer focused on Emerging Technology at Strayer University, Inc., you will be at the forefront of innovation, leading the charge in the analysis, design, and development of sophisticated, enterprise-grade conversational AI solutions and their supporting applications. Your primary mission will be to address critical business needs by architecting and implementing cutting-edge AI technologies that enhance user experience and operational efficiency.
• • You will collaborate closely with a diverse team of professionals, including Architects, Systems Developers, Project Managers, Scrum Masters, Quality Assurance Analysts, Product Owners, Product Managers, and Business Analysts. This cross-functional partnership is essential for the seamless development and ongoing maintenance of systems, ensuring they align with strategic objectives and technical best practices.
• • A key aspect of your role will be to foster a culture of continuous learning and skill development within the engineering team. By sharing your expertise and promoting modern techniques, you will empower team members to enhance their capabilities and contribute more effectively to project success.
• • The Principal Software Engineer is expected to approach design activities with a comprehensive enterprise mindset. This involves a deep understanding of the intricate relationships between mission-critical applications, the underlying architectural frameworks, and the long-term strategic goals of the business. Your designs will ensure that technology solutions not only meet immediate needs but also align with and support the organization's enduring vision.
• • You will serve as the primary technical thought leader for the development team. This entails a thorough grasp of the broader technological ecosystem and the ability to translate this understanding into sound, forward-looking design decisions for all relevant applications and for the guidance of team members.
• • **Strategy & Architecture:** Define the overarching vision, strategic roadmap, and architectural blueprint for enterprise-scale conversational AI, with a strong emphasis on Google Dialogflow CX and other advanced AI/ML capabilities. Establish robust standards for chatbot architecture, API patterns, performance benchmarks, scalability requirements, reliability protocols, and observability practices. Actively participate in the selection of appropriate platforms and software solutions.
• • **Design & Development (Chatbot):** Spearhead the end-to-end design and implementation of sophisticated virtual agents. This includes meticulously crafting conversation flows, defining pages, managing intents and entities, configuring parameters, and developing state handlers and fulfillment logic. You will be responsible for delivering exceptional user experiences across both chat and telephony channels, supporting use cases such as call deflection and real-time customer support.
• • **Integrations & Platforms:** Lead the architectural design and implementation of integrations with back-end services. This will involve leveraging REST APIs and webhooks, utilizing technologies like Google Cloud Functions or custom Python/Node.js services. You will also play a crucial role in collaborating with API development teams to design and build robust APIs and work closely with API gateway management teams, such as Apigee.
• • **Generative AI & LLMs:** Explore and implement cutting-edge Generative AI technologies. This includes leveraging platforms like Google Vertex AI, employing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques, mastering prompt engineering, and developing agentic workflows to enrich and personalize guided user experiences. You will also be instrumental in defining evaluation strategies and establishing governance frameworks for the responsible deployment of GenAI within the higher education sector.
• • **Performance, Reliability & Operations:** Implement comprehensive automated testing strategies, including Natural Language Understanding (NLU) evaluation, regression testing, and end-to-end testing. Establish robust monitoring, alerting systems, and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices to ensure system stability and performance. Analyze conversation logs and NLU metrics to drive continuous optimization, ensuring high availability, scalability, and resilience of the conversational AI platforms.
• • **Leadership & Collaboration:** Lead, mentor, and guide both onshore and offshore engineering teams. Coach team members on best practices, emerging technologies, and modern software development techniques. Drive Proofs of Concept (PoCs), deliver compelling demonstrations, and conduct informative workshops. Proactively identify and propose new techniques and technologies to advance software development within the organization.
• • **Risk, Security & Compliance:** Ensure strict adherence to all relevant security, privacy, data governance, and compliance policies. Define and implement controls for the secure handling and auditing of conversational data, maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of user information.