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Senior Principal Software Engineer (ML/AI Tooling)

Come be a part of Red Hat's charge to democratize AI with open source!

Red Hat's Global Engineering Team is looking for a Senior Principal Software Engineer to join our newly formed AI Engineering organization.

About the Team

This role will be located within the AI Innovation team in Red Hat AI Engineering, which leads frontier AI research in Red Hat and drives innovation for Red Hat's AI Portfolio.

The AI Innovation Team conducts customer- and science-driven research and productizes outcomes via open-source software. Our focus is on bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and production by productizing research papers (often featured in top AI conferences like NeurIPS, ICLR, and ICML) onto the Red Hat AI platform. We operate as an open organization where contributions are valued and expected from all levels.

About the Role

You will serve as a strategic technical leader bridging the gap between AI algorithms, open source AI/ML tooling, and the Red Hat AI platform. In this high-impact role, you will architect the frameworks that enable novel AI Algorithms in areas like synthetic data generation, model training, and inference-time scaling.

We are seeking a technical visionary with deep expertise in developing ML/AI tooling frameworks and a passion for open-source innovation. You will not only contribute code at an expert level but also define the technical strategy for the team, help to shape Red Hat’s open source AI/ML strategy, and help to "lift" the capabilities of our engineering organization. You will work across multiple teams to ensure that our research converts smoothly into successful, popular open-source projects and enterprise-ready products. Furthermore, you will be the driving force to shape the team's practice to leverage AI tools in daily workflows, instilling a modern, efficient engineering mindset across the organization.

What You Will Do

Strategic Architecture & Leadership

+ Define the technical strategy and architecture for AI/ML tooling and frameworks to work smoothly with platform components, ensuring scalability, resilience, and maintainability.

+ Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the organization, advising leadership and stakeholders on the design of frameworks that drive community adoption and developer delight.

+ Mentor and coach Principal and Senior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and helping to build specialized AI/ML tooling skills within the team.

+ Influence the broader open-source AI ecosystem by designing frameworks that make our tools popular in the community.

+ Champion and define the team's best practices for leveraging AI-assisted development tools to accelerate coding, testing, and documentation workflows.

Engineering & Execution

+ Lead the development of complex projects on data generation, model training, inference-time scaling, and new algorithms.

+ Set engineering standards for code reviews, testing frameworks (CI/CD), and system documentation.

+ Evaluate and select appropriate technologies to build robust, user-friendly developer tools.

+ Drive the design of our open-source tools to ensure they are accessible, extensible, and ready for widespread community adoption.

What You Will Bring

+ 10+ years of software development experience, with significant experience architecting and building developer tooling for Machine Learning workflows.

+ Ability to work in the Boston MA office

+ Proven track record of maintaining or creating AI/ML projects, with a strong preference for popular Open Source projects or large-scale enterprise internal tooling frameworks.

+ Deep knowledge of machine learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and the developer pain points associated with the ML lifecycle.

+ Experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), particularly in the context of tooling, fine-tuning, or serving.

+ Demonstrated ability to identify and integrate the latest AI tooling frameworks and best practices into the organization to accelerate engineering efficiency.

+ Proficiency in at least one modern backend programming language (e.g., Python, Go, Rust) with a strong preference for languages common in the ML ecosystem.

+ Demonstrated ability to lead technical strategy for tooling frameworks or platform engineering teams.

+ Proven experience designing software frameworks or APIs that have achieved significant adoption.

+ Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence Red Hat leadership and shape open-source strategy.

+ Proven track record of mentoring senior engineers and elevating the technical bar of an organization.

Considered a Plus

+ Advanced programming expertise in Python, specifically related to the ML ecosystem (libraries, packaging, performance).

+ Experience with state-of-the-art post-training techniques.

+ Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Machine Learning, NLP, or a related field.

+ Experience with Red Hat products.

The salary range for this position is $189,600.00 - $312,730.00. Actual offer will be based on your qualifications.

Pay Transparency

Red Hat determines compensation based on several factors including but not limited to job location, experience, applicable skills and training, external market value, and internal pay equity. Annual salary is one component of Red Hat’s compensation package. This position may also be eligible for bonus, commission, and/or equity. For positions with Remote-US locations, the actual salary range for the position may differ based on location but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience.

About Red Hat

Red Hat (https://www.redhat.com/) is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source (https://www.redhat.com/en/about/open-source) software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Spread across 40+ countries, our associates work flexibly across work environments, from in-office, to office-flex, to fully remote, depending on the requirements of their role. Red Hatters are encouraged to bring their best ideas, no matter their title or tenure. We're a leader in open source because of our open and inclusive environment. We hire creative, passionate people ready to contribute their ideas, help solve complex problems, and make an impact.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

• Flexible Spending Account - healthcare and dependent care

• Health Savings Account - high deductible medical plan

• Retirement 401(k) with employer match

• Paid time off and holidays

• Paid parental leave plans for all new parents

• Leave benefits including disability, paid family medical leave, and paid military leave

• Additional benefits including employee stock purchase plan, family planning reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, transportation expense account, employee assistance program, and more!

**Note:** These benefits are only applicable to full time, permanent associates at Red Hat located in the United States.

Inclusion at Red Hat

Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. When this is realized, it empowers people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to come together to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and drive innovation. Our aspiration is that everyone experiences this culture with equal opportunity and access, and that all voices are not only heard but also celebrated. We hope you will join our celebration, and we welcome and encourage applicants from all the beautiful dimensions that compose our global village.

Equal Opportunity Policy (EEO)

Red Hat is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We review applications for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Red Hat does not seek or accept unsolicited resumes or CVs from recruitment agencies. We are not responsible for, and will not pay, any fees, commissions, or any other payment related to unsolicited resumes or CVs except as required in a written contract between Red Hat and the recruitment agency or party requesting payment of a fee.

Red Hat supports individuals with disabilities and provides reasonable accommodations to job applicants. If you need assistance completing our online job application, email** **[email protected]** **.** **General inquiries, such as those regarding the status of a job application, will not receive a reply.