Principal Engineer, AI

Description & Requirements

About the Role

As the Principal AI Engineer, you will act as the technical leader for AI solution design, implementation, and operationalization across Harman’s BI, AI, and Data ecosystem. Your primary focus will be defining how AI is applied at scale—ensuring solutions are robust, secure, explainable, testable, and production-ready.

You will lead the development of both prebuilt AI integrations and custom AI/ML solutions, while establishing enterprise standards for MLOps, model governance, and lifecycle management. You will ensure AI solutions are not isolated experiments, but fully integrated, scalable systems built on top of the data platform (Databricks).

What You Will Do

1. AI Strategy & Technical Leadership

• AI Engineering Leadership:
• Define best practices for AI solution design, deployment, and lifecycle management.
• Use Case Prioritization:
• Identify high-value AI opportunities and guide their technical execution.
• Standards & Governance:
• Establish standards for model development, validation, deployment, and monitoring.

2. AI Solution Architecture & Development

• Define architectural patterns for:
• Batch vs real-time inference
• Feature engineering pipelines
• Model reuse across use cases
• Standardize implementation of common AI solutions:
• Forecasting frameworks
• Classification pipelines
• Anomaly detection frameworks
• NLP/document intelligence pipelines
• Ensure solutions are modular, reusable, and scalable

3. Data & Platform Integration

• Data Pipeline Alignment:
• Ensure AI solutions effectively leverage enterprise data pipelines (e.g., Databricks).
• Feature & Data Strategy:
• Guide design of features and data structures required for high-performing models.
• Platform Collaboration:
• Work closely with Platform Engineers on infrastructure, compute, and scalability.

4. MLOps, CI/CD & Lifecycle Management

• Define and enforce MLOps standards using MLflow, including:
• Experiment tracking
• Model versioning and registry
• Promotion workflows (Dev → QA → Prod)
• Co-design CI/CD pipelines with Platform Engineering:
• Automated model testing
• Validation gates before deployment
• Environment consistency across stages
• Establish deployment patterns:
• Batch scoring pipelines
• Scheduled retraining jobs
• Model serving endpoints where needed

5. Testing, Validation & Trust

• Define testing frameworks covering:
• Model performance validation
• Data validation and schema enforcement
• Backtesting (especially for forecasting)
• Establish standards for:
• Drift detection (data + model)
• Monitoring and alerting
• Drive adoption of:
• Explainability techniques (SHAP, feature importance)
• Business-level validation (not just statistical metrics)

6. Security, Governance & Responsible AI

• Define model governance standards:
• Model approval workflows
• Version control and rollback strategies
• Auditability via MLflow and logging
• Ensure:
• Data access controls and compliance
• Traceability from raw data → features → models → outputs
• Drive responsible AI practices:
• Bias detection and mitigation
• Transparency and explainability where required

7. Cross-Functional Leadership & Mentorship

• Technical Mentorship:
• Guide AI Engineers and support broader team development.
• Collaboration:
• Align AI initiatives with Data Engineering, BI, and Platform strategies.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• Translate complex AI solutions into business value and ensure adoption.

8. Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Technology Evaluation:
• Continuously assess emerging AI tools, frameworks, and capabilities.
• AI Platform Evolution:
• Drive improvements in AI tooling, workflows, and scalability.
• Automation & Efficiency:
• Promote automation and reusable AI components.

What Success Looks Like

• AI solutions are scalable, production-ready, and reusable across use cases
• Models are governed, traceable, and continuously monitored
• MLOps processes (MLflow, CI/CD) are standardized and widely adopted
• AI solutions are deeply integrated into data pipelines and business workflows
• The organization consistently delivers reliable, trusted AI at scale—not experiments

What You Need to Be Successful

• Expert-level Python and deep experience with ML/AI frameworks
• Strong hands-on experience with MLflow (tracking, registry, lifecycle management)
• Deep experience building and deploying production-grade AI/ML systems on Databricks
• Strong experience with MLOps, CI/CD pipelines, and model lifecycle governance
• Experience standardizing AI patterns (forecasting, NLP, anomaly detection, classification)
• Strong understanding of data pipelines and feature engineering dependencies
• Experience with model monitoring, drift detection, and explainability techniques (e.g., SHAP)
• Strong understanding of AI security, governance, and auditability requirements
• Proven ability to define standards and lead technical direction across teams
• 7+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, AI/ML engineering, or related technical fields
• 3+ years designing and deploying production AI/ML systems at enterprise scale
• Experience leading technical strategy and architecture across multiple teams or business domains
• Experience designing and deploying Generative AI solutions using LLMs
• Experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vector search, embeddings, and prompt engineering

Bonus Points if You Have

• Experience implementing Generative AI solutions using OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or similar foundation models
• Experience building enterprise RAG architectures, vector databases, semantic search, and agent-based AI solutions
• Experience with Databricks Mosaic AI, Vector Search, Model Serving, Unity Catalog, and Lakehouse AI capabilities
• Experience with cloud AI services on Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform
• Experience deploying and operating AI workloads using Kubernetes and containerized architectures
• Experience with feature stores, online/offline feature serving, and real-time inference systems
• Experience implementing Responsible AI frameworks, model risk management, and regulatory compliance requirements
• Experience with experimentation platforms, A/B testing, and causal inference methodologies
• Familiarity with modern deep learning frameworks including PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Hugging Face ecosystems
• Experience supporting forecasting, optimization, recommendation systems, supply chain analytics, or manufacturing AI use cases
• Experience contributing to AI platform strategy and enterprise-wide AI transformation initiatives
• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field

What Makes You Eligible

• Ability to work from an office in Novi, MI, 3+ days per week (hybrid)

#LI-AA1

Pay Transparency

$ 125,250 - $ 183,700

Dependent on the position offered, other forms of compensation are also available, such as bonuses or commission.

Pay is based on a wide range of factors, including, without limitation, skill set, experience, training, location, and business need. While the above range is a reasonable estimate of the wage range for this position, please note the disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographical differential associated with the location where the position may be filled.

Benefits

HARMAN is interested in the health and wellbeing of you and your family and offers a range of benefits designed to support your needs for holistic wellbeing. Benefits and perks may vary depending on the nature of your employment with HARMAN, and may include paid vacation and holidays, paid sick leave, volunteer leave, and paid bonding and care giver leave. Employees may also be eligible to participate in comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, fertility support and adoption assistance, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan with employer match, short and long term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

About HARMAN: Where Innovation Unleashes Next-Level Technology 

Ever since the 1920s, we’ve been amplifying the sense of sound. Today, that legacy endures, with integrated technology platforms that make the world smarter, safer, and more connected.  

Across automotive, lifestyle, and digital transformation solutions, we create innovative technologies that turn ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences. Our renowned automotive and lifestyle solutions can be found everywhere, from the music we play in our cars and homes to venues that feature today’s most sought-after performers, while our digital transformation solutions serve humanity by addressing the world’s ever-evolving needs and demands. Marketing our award-winning portfolio under 16 iconic brands, such as JBL, Mark Levinson, and Revel, we set ourselves apart by exceeding the highest engineering and design standards for our customers, our partners and each other. 

If you’re ready to innovate and do work that makes a lasting impact, join our talent community today!

Important Notice: Recruitment Scams

Please be aware that HARMAN recruiters will always communicate with you from an '@harman.com', ‘@careers.harman.com’ or ‘@harmanglobal.avature.net’ email address. We will never ask for payments, banking, credit card, personal financial information or access to your LinkedIn/email account during the screening, interview, or recruitment process. If you are asked for such information or receive communication from an email address not ending in one of the above email domains about a job with HARMAN, please cease communication immediately and report the incident to us through: View email address on jobsearch.harman.com.

You Belong Here 

HARMAN is committed to making every employee feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. No matter what role you play, we encourage you to share your ideas, voice your distinct perspective, and bring your whole self with you – all within a support-minded culture that celebrates what makes each of us unique. We also recognize that learning is a lifelong pursuit and want you to flourish. We proudly offer added opportunities for training, development, and continuing education, further empowering you to live the career you want.  

HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. HARMAN strives to hire the best qualified candidates and is committed to building a workforce representative of the diverse marketplaces and communities of our global colleagues and customers.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. HARMAN attracts, hires, and develops employees based on merit, qualifications and job-related performance.() 

HARMAN is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process, please contact us at  View email address on jobsearch.harman.com . Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable law.