Principal Architect - AI Engineer

United Airlines•Chicago, IL

36d•$140,600 - $183,108

About The Position

The Principal AI Engineer will be instrumental in designing and delivering foundational Retail AI agentic workflows that transform the customer experience across all channels. This position will drive technological innovation in conversational AI and autonomous systems, shaping United's future as we advance our digital transformation. As a technical leader, you will have exceptional engineering expertise, strong communication skills, and a deep understanding of AI agent architectures, LLM integration patterns, and production-grade system design.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree
Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field preferred
7+ years of software engineering experience with strong Python development expertise
Proven experience designing and deploying production AI/ML systems at scale
Deep understanding of AI agent architectures, prompt engineering, and LLM integration patterns
Strong knowledge of API design, microservices architecture, and cloud platforms (AWS preferred)
Experience with modern software development practices including CI/CD, testing, and observability
Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage stakeholders at all levels
Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams
Ability to effectively use software architecture design tools such as Lucid to create detailed technical architecture diagrams
A mindset for continuous learning and staying updated on AI/ML industry trends and emerging technologies
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship
Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field
Hands-on experience with LangChain and LangGraph for agent development
Experience building conversational AI solutions for customer-facing applications in retail, e-commerce, or travel industries
Knowledge of United's technology stack, SDLC tools, and enterprise systems
Experience with real-time data processing and event-driven architectures
Familiarity with contact center platforms, voice automation tools, and omnichannel customer experience systems
3+ years of experience building Generative AI and Conversational AI platforms
Experience with AI model evaluation, A/B testing, and performance optimization techniques
Understanding of responsible AI principles, bias mitigation, and AI governance frameworks

Responsibilities

Design and implement production-grade AI agentic workflows using modern frameworks and industry best practices
Develop sophisticated conversational AI solutions that integrate seamlessly with United's retail systems and customer-facing channels across web, mobile, and voice
Build scalable, reliable AI agent architectures that support complex customer journeys and deliver measurable business outcomes
Establish engineering standards, patterns, and best practices for AI agent development across the organization
Drive continuous improvement of AI system performance, reliability, and customer experience outcomes
Evaluate emerging AI technologies and frameworks, making strategic recommendations for adoption
Engage and collaborate with product managers, data scientists, business stakeholders, and engineering teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions
Partner with Digital Technology, Customer Support & Advocacy, and Customer Experience organizations to align AI initiatives with strategic business objectives
Share knowledge and mentor engineers, contributing to the growth of United's AI engineering capabilities
Provide technical guidance and thought leadership on AI agent design patterns, prompt engineering, and LLM integration strategies
Foster open communication within cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and successful delivery of AI-powered customer experiences
Design cloud-native AI solutions leveraging AWS services and modern microservices architectures
Implement robust API integrations connecting AI agents with United's retail, inventory, and customer data systems
Ensure compliance with security protocols, data governance standards, and engineering best practices throughout the development lifecycle
Build observability and monitoring capabilities to track AI system performance and customer experience metrics
Collaborate with architecture teams to ensure AI solutions follow enterprise standards and scale effectively