Principal AI Engineer, Aerospace & Defense

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal AI Engineer, Aerospace & Defense based in Canada.

This is a Principal-level opportunity to shape the future of AI-powered mobility solutions for the Aerospace & Defense sector.

You will work closely with customers in real-world operational environments to design, deploy, and scale mission-critical technology.

The role combines deep expertise in Applied AI, mobile engineering, forward-deployed engineering, and modern software architecture.

You will build AI capabilities using technologies such as RAG, agentic architectures, prompt engineering, model integration, and MLOps.

You will also help transform how engineering teams use AI-assisted development to build products faster and more effectively.

With significant technical autonomy, you will influence architecture and strategy across product groups while mentoring other engineers.

This is an opportunity to make a tangible impact on complex aviation and defense operations where reliability, connectivity, and performance matter.

Accountabilities:

• Define and deliver next-generation mobile experiences for aviation maintenance, with a focus on speed, reliability, usability, and operation in connectivity-constrained environments.
• Design and ship production-grade AI capabilities, including model integration, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agentic architectures, evaluation frameworks, and MLOps.
• Establish AI-assisted and agentic development practices that improve engineering speed, quality, and effectiveness across the wider team.
• Work directly within customer environments to deploy, integrate, and harden solutions against real-world operational requirements and constraints.
• Connect products with complex enterprise ecosystems, including ERP, CRM, IoT, telemetry, legacy, and mission-critical systems.
• Own solution architecture and the full engineering lifecycle, from design and development through automated testing, CI/CD, deployment, monitoring, and operational reliability across cloud, edge, and mobile environments.
• Set technical strategy and architectural direction across multiple product groups, making high-impact decisions on design and shipping quality.
• Mentor engineers, elevate technical standards, and strengthen the organization’s capabilities in AI and forward-deployed engineering.
• Represent the engineering organization confidently with customers and partners, translating complex technical concepts into clear business outcomes.
• Use direct customer insight and deep understanding of Aerospace & Defense challenges to identify high-value problems where AI can deliver meaningful operational improvements.

Requirements:

• Demonstrated hands-on experience using AI both to build software products and to embed production AI capabilities within products, including experience with AI-assisted and agentic development tooling.
• Strong practical experience with prompt engineering, RAG, agentic architectures, model integration, AI evaluation and testing, and MLOps.
• Proven track record building and shipping production mobile applications, with the technical depth to establish direction for a mobile product; native iOS experience is strongly preferred.
• Principal-level experience as a recognized technical authority capable of influencing strategy, architecture, and delivery across multiple teams or product groups.
• Significant experience with forward-deployed engineering, including deploying and operating enterprise software directly in customer environments.
• Experience integrating complex enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM, IoT, telemetry, legacy platforms, or mission systems.
• Strong full-lifecycle software engineering foundations spanning architecture, development, automated testing, cloud, DevOps, security, deployment, and operations.
• Proficiency in modern general-purpose programming languages beyond a single framework or technology stack.
• A strong ownership mindset, with the ability to take responsibility from initial design through production operations and reliability.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, raise technical standards, and build organizational capability.
• Experience in Aerospace & Defense, aviation maintenance, MRO, fleet readiness, asset management, enterprise asset management, field service, or maintenance-management solutions is an advantage.
• Experience working in agile environments and with globally distributed teams is beneficial.
• A degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline is preferred, though equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Benefits:

• Flexible paid time off, including vacation and sick leave.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with company contributions.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Life insurance and disability benefits.
• Tuition assistance and opportunities for continued professional development.
• Community involvement and volunteering opportunities.
• Flexible and hybrid work options designed to support different working styles and lifestyles.
• An inclusive, collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives, innovation, and meaningful professional connections.