Principal AI Engineer, Payments

About GoodLeap GoodLeap is a technology company delivering best-in-class financing and software products for sustainable solutions, from solar panels and batteries to energy-efficient HVAC, heat pumps, roofing, windows, and more. Over 1 million homeowners have benefited from our simple, fast, and frictionless technology that makes the adoption of these products more affordable, accessible, and easier to understand. Thousands of professionals deploying home efficiency and solar solutions rely on GoodLeap’s proprietary AI-powered applications and developer tools to drive more transparent customer communication, deeper business intelligence, and streamlined payment and operations. Our platform has led to more than $30 billion in financing for sustainable solutions since 2018. GoodLeap is also proud to support our award‑winning nonprofit, GivePower, which is building and deploying life‑saving water and clean electricity systems, changing the lives of more than 1.6 million people across Africa, Asia, and South America. About The Role We’re looking for a passionate and experienced Principal AI Agent Engineer to join our team that owns the core of our payments technology. In this role, you’ll help design, build, and scale both our payments platform and customer‑facing payment products, ensuring they are secure, reliable, and performant. You’ll collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and fellow engineers to deliver seamless payments experiences that power every transaction. At the heart of this role is helping to shape and execute our AI strategy with agents powered by LLMs and other AI technologies. You’ll explore and implement how intelligent agents can transform payments — from automating complex workflows to delivering personalized, adaptive product experiences. You’ll balance near‑term product needs with building long‑term platform capabilities that enable innovation at scale. Key Responsibilities Design and lead backend architecture that supports AI/ML‑powered features across web, mobile, SMS/Voice, and API surfaces Own end‑to‑end technical strategy for embedding LLMs, embedding stores, MCP servers, and personalized content delivery Architect and implement agentic workflows, enabling LLM‑powered agents to orchestrate tools, APIs, and data sources to deliver intelligent, adaptive payment experiences Partner with product and design to scope features, validate feasibility, and ensure execution aligns with business impact Build tools and services (including MCP server integrations) to help other team members experiment and ship AI‑enhanced features responsibly and efficiently Influence engineering standards and promote excellence in observability, performance, and security Mentor engineers across teams, helping them level up in areas of backend architecture, AI integration, and delivery quality Collaborate with cross‑functional partners across QA, mobile, data, product, and marketing Required Qualifications 8+ years of experience in backend development, with at least 2+ years working with AI/ML solutions or LLMs Experience developing and deploying MCP servers and working with the Model Context Protocol ecosystem Hands‑on experience designing and implementing agentic workflows using LLMs, including orchestration across APIs, tools, and data sources Experience working with vector databases, embeddings, and semantic search Familiarity with MLOps, CI/CD for AI pipelines, and AI observability tools Strong experience in one or more of the following languages: Node.js, Python, C#, TypeScript Strong experience designing and building APIs, including REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and event‑driven architectures (e.g., webhooks, Pub/Sub, Kafka) Strong experience with cloud architecture on at least one major provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure) Preferred Qualifications Experience with frameworks for agent orchestration (e.g., LangChain, Semantic Kernel, Haystack, or custom‑built frameworks) Familiarity with Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) patterns in production systems Knowledge of payments infrastructure, PCI compliance, and financial‑grade security practices is a plus Track record of technical leadership, including mentoring and influencing engineering culture Preferred Skills Experience with AWS Bedrock Soft Skills & Cultural Fit Strong collaboration skills with a willingness to mentor junior developers and contribute to code reviews Problem‑solving ability: capable of breaking down complex problems and taking ownership of tasks from start to finish Customer‑centric mindset: ability to align development decisions with delivering an excellent user experience Opportunities for Growth At GoodLeap, there are always opportunities for team members to grow and advance within the company. As you outgrow your current role, we will support your development into new opportunities. Salary and Compensation $202,000 – $237,000 a year. In addition to the above salary, this role may be eligible for cash bonus and equity compensation. Additional Information Regarding Job Duties and Job Descriptions Job duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other managers related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and other skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job position or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law. The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law. #J-18808-Ljbffr