Principal AI Applications Engineer

Description

Join Deltek's Engineering and Technology team to create the first truly AI-native SMB ERP. Users will chat with their system instead of clicking through forms. Intelligent agents will handle routine tasks autonomously. And you'll use AI to write better code faster.

As a principal engineer, you'll solve the hardest technical problems, create reference implementations that set the standard, and mentor engineers in a development paradigm that's still emerging. You'll prove that AI-native enterprise software isn't just possible—it's superior.

• Provide deep technical expertise on critical implementation challenges affecting multiple teams, offering solutions based on extensive hands-on experience
• Champion code quality, comprehensive testing, security best practices, and operational excellence
• Build production-ready ML integration code utilizing the infrastructure provided by the dedicated AI/ML infrastructure team
• Drive innovation through hands-on proofs-of-concept exploring novel approaches to ERP challenges
• Identify and resolve complex technical debt that impacts multiple teams
• Serve as technical advisor to architects and engineering leadership on implementation feasibility and development best practices
• Mentor and develop senior engineers, elevating implementation capabilities across the engineering organization
• Develop reference implementations and coding patterns that other engineers follow when building AI-enhanced features
• Collaborate with architects to validate technical approaches through proofs-of-concept and prototypes
• Implement sophisticated prompt engineering and LLM integration solutions, ensuring security, performance, and cost-effectiveness
• Implement the most technically challenging features of the AI-powered ERP platform, serving as the go-to expert for complex integration and performance challenges

Requirements

AI-First Mindset

Technical Skills

• Development Best Practices: Experience establishing coding standards, testing patterns, and development workflows that improve team productivity
• AI/ML Integration: Comprehensive expertise in implementing LLM systems, prompt engineering at scale, RAG architectures, and model integration
• Database: Expert-level implementation skills with PostgreSQL including performance optimization, complex query development, and multi-tenant data patterns
• Pragmatic Thinking: Ability to balance code quality with delivery timelines, provide practical technical guidance, and align development work with business goals
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Data Science, or related field
• Security: Strong understanding of implementing security controls, authentication/authorization, and data protection
• Programming Languages: Master-level expertise in Java, Python, and ability to work effectively in multiple languages
• Deep expertise in implementing enterprise software and AI/ML integrations with production deployments at scale
• API & Integration: Deep expertise in implementing robust APIs, integration patterns, and extensible features
• Leadership & Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts and influence development approaches through collaboration
• This role requires embracing an AI-first approach where GenAI and agentic AI tools are essential collaborators, not optional supplements. We expect team members who naturally think in AI-enhanced workflows and proactively integrate intelligent automation to solve ERP development challenges more efficiently.
• Proven track record of solving complex implementation challenges that enabled significant business outcomes
• Demonstrated history of technical leadership through exceptional implementation quality on large-scale, business-critical systems
• We're looking for someone who approaches ERP feature development by first asking: "How can AI help me build this functionality faster and better?" This includes being comfortable with rapid AI tool evolution, eager to experiment with new AI capabilities for prompt engineering and ERP optimization, and committed to sharing AI-enhanced approaches with the team.
• Observability & Reliability: Expert in leveraging comprehensive monitoring, logging, and error handling
• Experience providing technical guidance and mentoring senior engineers
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience with extensive hands-on AI/ML systems implementation
• Implementation Expertise: Deep expertise in implementing distributed systems, microservices, event-driven patterns, and domain-driven design
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Expert knowledge of implementing cloud solutions and working with managed services across AWS/Azure/OCI
• The ideal candidate has a strong interest in prompt engineering techniques and conversational AI systems, with an understanding of how to craft effective prompts for business contexts. You should be curious about natural language processing and how AI enhances user experiences, along with basic awareness of AI ethics and prompt safety considerations.
• We value those who apply prompt engineering to solve real-world ERP business problems and see AI as a productivity multiplier for strategic development decisions, rather than a replacement for human expertise.

Benefits

This is a greenfield project. No legacy constraints. No technical debt. Just the opportunity to reimagine what enterprise software can be when designed for AI from day one.

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance