Senior/Lead Software Engineer (AI Adoption)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 26, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 12, 2026. Gradion scores A on the Alion truth index.
The next step after Senior doesn't have to be management.
Some engineers reach the top of their craft and get told the next step is managing people. If you'd rather keep solving the hardest technical problems, this role is built for you.
At Gradion, you'll work across our teams and projects wherever serious engineering judgement is needed: architecture, system design, scalability, performance, reliability, technical debt and new technology.
You stay hands-on. You design systems, build with AI agents, prototype ideas, track down the failures nobody else can reproduce, review the work that matters most, and step in next to engineers and Tech Leads whenever deeper expertise is needed.
You won't have direct reports. Your influence comes from the systems you make better, the technical decisions you shape, and the engineers who grow from working with you.
Where you'll make the difference
Lead architecture and design decisions on the most complex systems we run
Build, prototype and debug inside the teams, not from the sidelines
Review the highest-risk implementations, and lift the standard by example
Partner with Tech Leads on scalability, performance, reliability and technical debt
Assess new technologies: try them out, make a decision, and document why
Help clients and non-technical stakeholders turn unclear problems into a clear technical direction
How AI fits in
We're building an AI-first engineering organisation, and we want to go well beyond AI-assisted coding. You'll work hands-on with LLMs, AI APIs, agents, RAG and evaluation, on problems in our own engineering and in the products we build for clients.
That doesn't mean adding AI everywhere. The job is to find where it really pays off, build it properly, and write up what we learn so other teams can reuse it.
What you bring
Technical depth
8+ years building and running production software, with strong engineering foundations built through hands-on work. You've designed, coded and debugged production systems yourself, and you can still go deep into the code when it matters.
Strong system design and architecture skills: scalability, performance, distributed systems and reliability
Deep expertise in at least one language and comfort in several others
You get your bearings quickly in an unfamiliar codebase
Experience with stacks such as Python, Go, Node.js, Java, cloud native (AWS/GCP) and Docker/Kubernetes. This list isn't a strict requirement.
Hands-on AI experience
You've built real LLM-based systems, not just read about them. That includes AI APIs, prompt and context design, and at least one of agents, RAG or evaluation.
You use AI coding agents such as Claude Code or Codex daily on real work, and you know what to delegate, what to keep under your control, and how to verify the result
Leadership and judgement
A track record of setting technical direction across multiple teams, or on one large, long-running program
You can mentor senior engineers and change their minds without formal authority
Good judgement on when not to build, when to pay down debt and when to say no
You're comfortable working directly with clients and non-technical stakeholders
You keep up with where the field is heading
Bonus points
You've run AI systems in production at scale: evaluation harnesses, guardrails, cost and latency tuning
You have deep experience in one of our domains: data platforms, cybersecurity, robotics or enterprise systems
You've built internal tools or platforms that helped other teams move faster
You've contributed to open source, spoken at conferences or written about technical topics
Why Gradion
You’d be joining Vietnam’s Best IT Company, recognized by ITViec for 8 consecutive years, including 2 successive years as the Winner.
That reputation didn’t happen overnight. It’s built on 23 years of shipping real digital platforms and Deep Tech solutions for 100+ enterprise clients, backed by more than 300 specialists across 7 countries.
From AI and data to cybersecurity, robotics, and enterprise platforms, the work here gives you something a single-product environment rarely can: a much wider technical surface area.
Different systems. Different industries. Different problems worth going deep on.
If you want Principal Engineer scope without stepping away from engineering, let’s talk.
Why You’ll Love Working Here
- Gradion Vietnam (formerly NFQ Vietnam) has been recognized by ITViec for 8 consecutive years, including 2 successive years as the Winner.
- Collaborate with engineers, technical leaders, and clients across global markets.
- Experiment with AI-native engineering, emerging technologies, and real-world AI applications - not just demos.
- No unnecessary bureaucracy. We care about the quality of your thinking and the impact of your work.
- Attractive salary, performance-based bonus, and benefits that reflect your impact.
- Up to 2 months’ performance bonus, twice-yearly performance reviews, premium healthcare, 15 days annual leave, full salary during probation, hybrid working, tech communities, global projects, and continuous learning opportunities.
Working time: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 6 PM
Locations: Ho Chi Minh City · Da Nang · Remote from Hanoi or Can Tho
Data protection
According to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), and Vietnam's Decree 13/2023/ND-CP, while also ensuring compliance with other applicable local data protection laws in the jurisdictions where we operate, including but not limited to Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, Gradion applies the “Personal Data Protection Policy” to all candidates to ensure compliance with the laws.
By submitting your application to Gradion, you agree to allow us to process your provided information in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Policy that you have carefully read, understood, and agreed to in its entirety at Link.