Principal AI & ML Architect

Description: MSI Data is embarking on a transformative initiative to integrate advanced Artificial Intelligence across our entire application suite. We are seeking a Principal AI & ML Architect to lead this charge. This is not a maintenance role. As the most critical hire in our new AI organization, you will be the technical visionary responsible for defining the "how" and "what" of our ML & AI strategy. You will build the foundation, hire the team, and architect a scalable, rapid-growth AI product line from the ground up. You will operate at the intersection of systems architecture, agent design, and engineering leadership. Key Responsibilities 1. Technical Strategy & Leadership • Define the Vision: Own the technical roadmap for MSI’s ML & AI initiatives. You will select the technology stack, define the architectural standards, and ensure our strategy aligns with long-term business goals. • Build the Team: You will lead the hiring process for the AI technical team. You will mentor, guide, and initially manage this team through a period of rapid growth and high-velocity execution. • Vendor & Tech Selection: Lead the evaluation and selection of LLMs, vector databases, inference engines, and third-party AI tools. Make build vs. buy decisions that optimize for speed and scalability. 2. Core AI & System Architecture • Agent Design: Architect sophisticated, autonomous AI agents and define the tooling required for them to interact with external systems and user data effectively. • Information Retrieval (RAG): Design robust Information Retrieval architectures (RAG) that ensure our AI is grounded in accurate, context-aware data. • Real-Time Architecture: Build low-latency, real-time communication infrastructures (streaming/WebSockets) to support seamless, conversational AI experiences. • Systems Infrastructure: Design the cloud infrastructure required to host, scale, and monitor AI services, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance. 3. Quality, Performance & Security • Metrics & Optimization: Partner with Product to define success metrics. You will be responsible for the technical realization of these metrics, focusing on latency, token usage efficiency, and response quality. • Security & Governance: Architect "secure-by-design" AI systems. Manage data privacy, API security, and compliance within the AI workflow to protect customer data. • Scalability & Standards: Establish rigorous code quality standards and API design patterns. Ensure the platform is built to handle rapid user adoption and data volume growth without technical debt. Requirements: • Experience: 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3-5 years dedicated to AI/ML architecture, System Design, or Data Engineering at scale. • Leadership: Proven experience hiring, mentoring, and managing high-performing technical teams. You are comfortable wearing the "Manager" hat during our initial growth phase. • Architectural Mastery: Deep understanding of modern application architecture, including microservices, event-driven architecture, and API design (REST/gRPC). • AI Proficiency: Hands-on experience with LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Llama), Vector Databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Milvus), and frameworks like LangChain or LlamaIndex. • Agentic Workflows: Experience designing AI agents that can use tools (function calling) to perform actions, not just generate text. • Scale: A track record of building systems that scale. You understand the nuances of latency, throughput, and cost optimization in an AI context. Why Join Us? • Greenfield Opportunity: This is a rare chance to build a new product line and team from scratch within an established company. • High Impact: Your architectural decisions will directly shape the future of our product and the efficiency of our customers. • Leadership Track: As the founding member of this team, you will have significant influence over the culture and technical direction of the organization. Apply tot his job