Principal Software Developer, Applied AI

Do you want to impact the way millions of students experience education and learning? Come join Savvas - the number one provider of core curricula in the country. Savvas Learning Company is the industry leader in delivering the highest-quality educational materials. Savvas’s flagship K‑12 solution Savvas Realize is one of the ed tech industry’s most versatile learning management systems (LMS), and was honored in both the primary and secondary education categories as a technology solution that is key to helping schools transition to remote, hybrid, and blended learning environments. You will be part of an exciting team and work on products that are used by students every day. We are looking for engineers who are passionate about building innovative applications of the highest quality, realizing real value from AI and demonstrating ownership of the product area assigned to them. Responsibilities Partner with business stakeholders to translate product vision into technical and data requirements for AI‑powered solutions, advising on what’s achievable, what’s risky, and what requires further investigation. Own LLM application engineering (prompting + RAG + tool use + evaluation + guardrails + orchestration) as a core technical discipline, driving iterative optimization in partnership with subject matter experts. Define and oversee evaluation frameworks for AI‑powered features, coordinating with subject matter experts to ensure inference quality, safety, and alignment with pedagogical standards. Evolve production monitoring and regression testing for inference quality, cost, and latency, driving iterative improvements post‑release. Evaluate emerging technologies and drive adoption of best‑in‑class tools and frameworks, incorporating their capabilities into the platform. Lead a globally distributed team and drive sound engineering design, implementation, quality, deployment and monitoring practices on AI‑powered microservices and products. Architect distributed systems to ensure high availability, low latency, and fault tolerance. Leverage AWS services such as Bedrock, Lambda, ECS, DynamoDB, RDS, and S3 to build cloud‑native solutions. Enforce security best practices across the codebase and AWS infrastructure, implementing defense‑in‑depth strategies and driving timely risk mitigation and remediation of vulnerabilities. Drive code automation practices across the team to ensure maintainability and extensibility. Maintain hands‑on involvement through prototyping, POCs, and direct contribution to critical implementations. Provide technical mentorship to engineering teams and conduct code and architecture reviews. Contribute to the organization’s AI Center of Excellence by developing reference implementations, documentation, and best practices, while tracking the evolving AI landscape and identifying the right moments to introduce new capabilities. Collaborate with cross‑functional teams, including frontend engineers, product managers, and operations teams, to align on technical solutions. Qualifications Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience, with strong fundamentals and problem‑solving skills. At least 8 years of experience in software development roles and five years of experience working in an agile environment. 2+ years of experience with LLMs/generative AI applications, including production deployment experience. Track record of balancing innovation speed with production reliability. Three years of Python development experience, along with experience shipping Node‑based services and/or modern web frontends (Angular preferred). Experience deploying and maintaining production software in AWS for a distributed microservices‑based architecture. Skills Software design, implementation, and testing. Solid understanding of ML/AI data practices: dataset curation, validation, and evaluation design. Experience with agent architectures, RAG, and tool‑use patterns in production LLM applications is a plus. Proficiency in database development in relational and NoSQL; Postgres and Amazon DynamoDB preferred. Understanding of cloud architecture and experience with AWS resources, including cloud networking and security fundamentals. Strong, creative problem‑solving and troubleshooting skills with proven ability to coach junior team members and drive adoption of new processes and tools. Ability to assimilate information, distill knowledge, provide solution alternatives and recommendations. Strong time‑management skills and ability to work under pressure, plan, set priorities across multiple projects, adapt to change, and meet established timelines. Effective written and verbal communication skills. AWS certification is a plus (Cloud Practitioner or higher). Experience in education technology or other high‑stakes domains is a plus. Total Rewards At Savvas, compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. We invest in our employees with a rewards package that combines compensation, exceptional benefits and wellness programs in addition to opportunities for professional growth. This role may also be eligible for bonus or incentive compensation. The posted hiring range reflects our good faith estimate at the time of posting and remains subject to modification. Compensation is determined by factors such as but not limited to skills, experience, budget, and internal equity. Hiring Range: $140,000 - $195,000. Benefits Medical Coverage: Choose from three distinct medical plan options. HSA/FSA options available. Prescription Drug Benefits: Automatically included when you enroll in any medical plan. Dental & Vision Coverage: Available to all benefits‑eligible employees. Time to Recharge: Vacation time and 10 paid holidays. Time to Recover: Sick time and leave programs. Financial Wellness: Employees can start securing their financial future without any delay with 401(k) match and immediate vesting. Wellness Programs: We recognize the importance of emotional and mental well‑being, both in our work environment and in our personal lives. We are committed to providing resources and support to promote overall well‑being and a healthy work‑life balance. Extra Perks: Discounted gym memberships, pet insurance, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, volunteer opportunities, and much more! Savvas benefits are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms. Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Savvas Learning Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Savvas Learning complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Savvas prohibits discrimination against individuals based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, and other protected group status. We strive to create a fair and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant. Savvas Learning Company is an affirmative action employer and participates in E‑Verify. Know Your Rights. Notice to California Applicants: Information collected and processed as part of your Savvas Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Savvas' California Applicant Privacy Notice. #J-18808-Ljbffr