Job

Principal Software Engineer

Location San Diego, CA 92127
Date Posted April 10, 2026
Job ID 14152
Employment Type Direct Hire
Scion Technology has been engaged to conduct a search for an experienced Principal Software Engineer for our client, a rapidly growing & innovative AI startup shaping the future of generative AI technology! This is a full-time, direct hire position open to remote candidates throughout the United States.

POSITION OVERVIEW
As a core leader, you will shape architectural standards, drive production readiness of GenAI systems and influence the future of our product as we scale.

PERKS
  • Competitive salary up to $300k annually (depending on experience) + ESOP
  • Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance
  • Work remotely from anywhere in the US with flexible hours that fit your lifestyle
  • Earn meaningful equity in a company projected to scale rapidly
  • Shape the technological backbone of a rapidly growing GenAI infrastructure company

RESPONSIBILITIES
  • Define and Lead Architecture: Own the technical vision and core system design for our GenAI platform, setting standards for reliability, scalability, and safety.
  • Productionize AI Capabilities: Lead end-to-end development and deployment of AI features, including evaluation pipelines, inference orchestration, safety guardrails, and dataset workflows.
  • Influence Roadmaps and Priorities: Partner with product teams to translate ambiguous user needs into robust technical solutions that are ready for production at scale.
  • Mentor and Elevate Teams: Set high engineering standards through code reviews, documentation, and mentorship for senior engineers, fostering a culture of excellence.
  • Operational Excellence: Establish and monitor metrics related to latency, cost efficiency, safety, and performance, ensuring our systems meet rigorous standards.
  • Hands-On Development: Contribute directly to Python services, Typescript APIs, and React UI components as needed, maintaining a deep technical involvement.

QUALIFICATIONS
  • Experience: 10+ years of software engineering with recent, hands-on coding, with leadership experience at Principal, Senior, Staff, or Lead levels (or equivalent while still coding).
  • Technical Expertise:
    • Deep knowledge of production GenAI systems, including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), evaluation frameworks, safety mechanisms, and observability tools.
    • Proficiency in Python; strong skills in TypeScript, React, and Node.js.
    • Cloud and platform expertise (AWS, GCP, Azure), Kubernetes, CI/CD, and distributed systems architecture.
  • Leadership & Communication: Proven ability to drive multi-team decisions, articulate trade-offs clearly to senior stakeholders, and influence technical strategies.
  • Additional Plus: Experience with vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Milvus, Qdrant), performance tuning of inference systems, or familiarity with blockchain/tamper-evidence concepts.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
This full-time position offers an annual base salary up to $300k, commensurate with experience. The organization provides a robust benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage in addition to unlimited PTO & ESOP.

ABOUT OUR FIRM
Scion Staffing is a national award-winning staffing firm! Since 2006, we have had the pleasure of successfully placing thousands of talented professionals with amazing career opportunities. Through our innovative team building and recruiting solutions, we bridge the gap in executive leadership searches, direct hire recruiting, interim leadership placement, and temporary professional staffing. We are proud to be part of the Forbes lists of the Best Recruitment Firms and the Best Executive Search Firms in America. Additionally, Scion has been recognized as a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing firm as well as a top recruitment firm by The Business Times. Additional information about our firm can also be found online.

Scion Staffing, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and service provider and does not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, sexual orientation, disability, political affiliation or belief, or any other protected class. We are committed to the principles of Equal Opportunity Employment and are dedicated to making employment decisions based on merit and value, for ourselves, our client companies, and the candidates we represent. For opportunities located in a region that have enacted fair chance, arrest or conviction-based employment ordinances, Scion Staffing proactively follows the enacted guidance and considers for employment all qualified applications with arrest and conviction records. We engage in socially conscious business practices and believe that diverse, inclusive, and non-biased talent and recruitment processes are foundational to the success of Scion as well as every client organization with whom we partner.

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