Job Description
Vertex is seeking a Senior Principal AI Engineer to define and build the foundational enterprise AI platform that powers intelligent applications across the enterprise. This role will lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and reusable capabilities for agentic AI, with a strong focus on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), orchestration frameworks, evaluation systems, and platform architecture.
In addition to building out the core platform, this engineer will own the vision and day-to-day operations of a centralized AI Gateway / Control Plane / Control Tower that enables agent monitoring, observability, policy enforcement, governance, and operational controls across AI solutions at Vertex. This is a highly strategic and hands-on role for an experienced AI engineer who is excited to shape enterprise AI architecture, standards, and long-term technical direction.
Key Responsibilities
Agentic AI platform: the shared architecture, services, and reusable capabilities that make it faster and safer to build AI-powered applications across Vertex
AI Control Tower operations: standing up and running the centralized control plane for agent monitoring, observability, telemetry, policy enforcement, guardrails, usage analytics, and auditability
Own the strategy, architecture, implementation, and day-to-day operation of the centralized AI Gateway / Control Tower as the enterprise control point for model access, routing, governance, cost management, and operational oversight
Intelligent model routing, provider abstraction, fallback, failover, rate limiting, and workload optimization across approved models
AI FinOps, including token and consumption visibility, budgeting, chargeback/showback, cost allocation, forecasting, and model-cost optimization
Centralized guardrails for content safety, prompt-injection defense, data-loss prevention, sensitive-data handling, and responsible AI policy enforcement
Identity, access, security, privacy, regulatory compliance, and lifecycle governance controls for models, agents, tools, and AI interactions
End-to-end observability, telemetry, quality monitoring, latency and reliability metrics, incident response, and operational health management
Usage analytics, immutable audit trails, policy evidence, risk reporting, and executive-level transparency across the enterprise AI estate
Model onboarding, approval, versioning, deprecation, resiliency, capacity management, and third-party provider governance
Retrieval and knowledge systems: RAG pipelines, vector search, document retrieval, and the grounding patterns that make enterprise content usable by agents
Agent lifecycle and quality: deployment, versioning, evaluation frameworks, reliability measurement, and continuous improvement of agents in production
Standards and technical leadership: platform APIs, service contracts, architecture patterns, and the engineering practices other teams build against
Define the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for Vertex’s enterprise agentic AI platform
Design and build reusable platform services that accelerate development of safe, reliable, and scalable AI-powered applications
Lead architecture and implementation for RAG pipelines, knowledge retrieval systems, prompt workflows, tool use, and agent orchestration
Establish core frameworks for agent lifecycle management, including deployment, monitoring, observability, evaluation, and continuous improvement
Develop scalable infrastructure patterns for enterprise AI workloads, including model integration, data access, and orchestration services
Partner closely with product, engineering, data, security, and UX teams to deliver common AI platform capabilities that support multiple use cases across Vertex
Establish best practices for AI reliability, evaluation, safety, and performance measurement
Drive technical standards for platform APIs, service contracts, architecture patterns, and reusable components
Evaluate emerging technologies, frameworks, and vendors in the AI/agentic ecosystem and make strategic recommendations
Mentor engineers and influence cross-functional technical teams through architectural leadership and hands-on guidance
Ensure platform solutions align with enterprise requirements for scalability, resilience, security, and maintainability
Contribute to Vertex’s long-term AI strategy by identifying opportunities to expand platform capabilities and increase enterprise adoption
Required Qualifications
Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related technical field; or equivalent combination of education and experience
10+ years of experience designing and building enterprise-grade AI/ML platforms and distributed systems
Deep expertise in agentic AI architectures, LLM-based applications, and platform engineering
Proven experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, vector search, document retrieval, and knowledge integration patterns
Strong experience with AI orchestration frameworks, workflow engines, and multi-step agent execution patterns
Demonstrated experience designing centralized operational platforms for monitoring, governance, observability, and control
Demonstrated experience using AI-assisted software development and autonomous coding agents to design, generate, test, review, debug, optimize, and refactor code across complex enterprise systems.
Deep understanding of AI-native software engineering practices and experience establishing standards, governance, and best practices for the responsible use of AI coding assistants and software engineering agents across engineering teams
Experience defining architecture, standards, and reusable services for large-scale enterprise environments
Strong understanding of AI system evaluation, quality measurement, and performance optimization
Experience partnering with cross-functional stakeholders and influencing technical direction across teams
Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills
Ability to balance strategic architecture leadership with hands-on technical execution
Technical Skills Required
Agentic AI platform architecture
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
AI orchestration and workflow design
Agent monitoring and observability
AI governance, policies, and controls
AI FinOps, token economics, budgeting, cost allocation, consumption forecasting, and model-cost optimization
AI Gateway / Control Tower architecture, including model routing, provider abstraction, fallback, rate limiting, and policy enforcement
Evaluation frameworks for AI systems
Platform engineering and reusable service design
Distributed systems architecture
API and service design
Knowledge retrieval systems
Telemetry, logging, and operational analytics
Scalability, reliability, and performance engineering
Security and enterprise controls for AI platforms
Preferred Skills
Experience building enterprise AI platforms in regulated or highly governed environments
Familiarity with human-in-the-loop workflows and responsible AI practices
Experience implementing policy engines, guardrails, and audit frameworks for AI applications
Knowledge of ML infrastructure, model serving, and production AI operations
Experience with cloud-native architectures and modern DevOps/MLOps practices
Exposure to user experience considerations for AI-powered applications and intelligent systems
Ability to translate complex technical capabilities into scalable enterprise adoption strategies
Experience leading technical teams through platform transformation initiatives
#LI-HYBRID
At Vertex, we embrace continuous learning and encourage employees to stay informed on advances in AI, technology, automation, and industry trends. We seek talent who bring an external perspective, demonstrate curiosity and sound judgment, and thoughtfully adopt new capabilities that improve decision-making, drive innovation, increase efficiency, and help deliver better outcomes for patients.
Pay Range:
$188,000 - $282,000Disclosure Statement:
The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the base salary pay range for this job at the time of posting. This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards. Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements. Actual base salary pay will be based on a number of factors, including skills, competencies, experience, and other job-related factors permitted by law.
At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations. From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.
Company Information
Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.
Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.
Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at [email protected]
Skills Required
- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related technical field, or equivalent education and experience.
- 10+ years of experience designing and building enterprise-grade AI/ML platforms and distributed systems.
- Deep expertise in agentic AI architectures, LLM-based applications, and platform engineering.
- Experience with retrieval-augmented generation systems, vector search, document retrieval, and knowledge integration patterns.
- Strong experience with AI orchestration frameworks, workflow engines, and multi-step agent execution patterns.
- Experience designing centralized operational platforms for monitoring, governance, observability, and control.
- Experience using AI-assisted software development and autonomous coding agents across complex enterprise systems.
- Understanding of AI-native software engineering practices and experience establishing governance and best practices for AI coding assistants and software engineering agents.
- Experience defining architecture, standards, and reusable services for large-scale enterprise environments.
- Strong understanding of AI system evaluation, quality measurement, and performance optimization.
- Experience partnering with cross-functional stakeholders and influencing technical direction across teams.
- Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to balance strategic architecture leadership with hands-on technical execution.
- Experience building enterprise AI platforms in regulated or highly governed environments.
- Familiarity with human-in-the-loop workflows and responsible AI practices.
- Experience implementing policy engines, guardrails, and audit frameworks for AI applications.
- Knowledge of ML infrastructure, model serving, and production AI operations.
- Experience with cloud-native architectures and modern DevOps/MLOps practices.
- Exposure to user experience considerations for AI-powered applications and intelligent systems.
- Ability to translate complex technical capabilities into scalable enterprise adoption strategies.
- Experience leading technical teams through platform transformation initiatives.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Vertex Pharmaceuticals and has not been reviewed or approved by Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies provide 12 weeks of 100% paid bonding leave for all U.S. parents with additional fully paid time for birth parents. Family-forming supports include adoption and surrogacy assistance, fertility options like IVF and egg cryopreservation, breast‑milk shipping, subsidized childcare, backup care, and a DCFSA match.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off includes roughly four weeks of vacation, 13 holidays, sick time, and two companywide shutdowns (summer and year‑end). Some roles also include flexible or unlimited time off and paid volunteer time.
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Retirement Support — Programs include a 401(k) plan with employer contributions and an employee stock purchase plan. Filings describe employer contributions occurring in company stock, supporting long‑term ownership.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Insights
What We Do
Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases. We discovered and developed the first medicines to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF), a rare, life-threatening genetic disease. In addition to clinical development programs in CF, Vertex has more than a dozen ongoing research programs focused on the underlying mechanisms of other serious diseases. Founded in 1989 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, our corporate headquarters is now located in Boston’s Innovation District, and our international headquarters is in London, United Kingdom. We currently employ approximately 3,500 people in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and Latin America with nearly two-thirds of our staff dedicated to research and development. Vertex is consistently recognized as one of the industry’s top places to work by Science Magazine, The Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal and the San Diego Business Journal. Our research and medicines have also received esteemed recognitions, including the Robert J. Beall Therapeutics Development Award, the French Prix Galien and the British Pharmacological Society awards.
