Principal, AI Strategy – Engineering Transformation

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California, +2 more states.

📋 Description

• Define and uphold Vantor's strategy, roadmap, and investment priorities for AI-assisted software engineering.

• Assess AI development tools based on their capabilities, security, compliance, cost, supportability, portability, and alignment with operating models.

• Create, prototype, and validate agentic and AI-assisted workflows for coding, testing, documentation, code review, bug detection, repository automation, and workflow orchestration.

• Develop solutions utilizing contemporary AI tools, APIs, scripting, prompt and context engineering, and integrations with developer tools.

• Identify friction in engineering workflows and redesign processes across requirements, backlog management, development, testing, release coordination, documentation, and post-launch learning.

• Lead or assist in source-control governance, collaboration integrations, workflow migrations, ownership models, and phased rollout planning.

• Conduct structured pilots with engineering teams, gather evidence, eliminate obstacles, and make scaling decisions.

• Convert successful pilots into playbooks, reference implementations, automation, templates, skills, and internal knowledge resources.

• Foster adoption through Pioneer and Champion networks, coaching, teach-backs, demonstrations, and pulse checks.

• Establish practical governance and sanctioned AI usage patterns with Security, Compliance, Privacy, IT, and engineering stakeholders.

• Address identity, authorization, secrets, network and egress controls, data management, storage, logging, retention, and human review.

• Define success metrics and gather evidence on adoption, developer friction, productivity, quality, outcomes, risk, and vendor value.

• Manage a cross-functional portfolio through milestones, decision gates, dependencies, ownership, risks, and leadership updates.

• Assist in vendor evaluation and procurement decisions with quantifiable evidence.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 8 years of relevant experience in software engineering, developer platforms, technical product or program leadership, engineering enablement, or enterprise technology transformation.

• Practical experience in building AI-assisted workflows, agents, prototypes, integrations, or developer automation using modern generative-AI tools.

• Strong comprehension of the software delivery lifecycle, including Git-based workflows, CI/CD, testing, code review, repository automation, and secure development practices.

• Proficiency in programming or scripting, APIs, and automation tools to create prototypes, evaluation harnesses, and repeatable workflows.

• Capability to transform ambiguous opportunities into structured experiments, measurable outcomes, roadmaps, and clear decisions.

• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving engineers, senior leaders, platform owners, security, compliance, infrastructure, and business stakeholders.

• Familiarity with enterprise security, data governance, responsible AI, and controls for the safe use of AI in software delivery.

• Ability to influence without direct authority, coach technical teams, facilitate working sessions, and promote the adoption of unfamiliar tools or practices.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical evidence into concise executive recommendations.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data or AI, Systems Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.

• Must be a U.S. Person: U.S. citizen, permanent resident, Asylee, or Refugee.

• Preferred: experience deploying AI development tools in regulated, export-controlled, disconnected, or restricted environments.

• Preferred: experience evaluating or scaling AI coding assistants, agent frameworks, retrieval-augmented systems, local inference, or related developer tools.

• Preferred: experience building Champion networks, communities of practice, embedded enablement models, or enterprise change programs.

• Preferred: experience with developer-productivity measurement, experimentation, engineering metrics, or platform-value assessment.

• Preferred: experience with GitHub Enterprise governance, source-control or collaboration-platform migrations, cloud platforms, and modern DevOps practices.

• Preferred: experience supporting vendor evaluation, procurement, implementation planning, and sustainable operating or support models.

🏝️ Benefits

• Robust 401(k) with company match.

• Mental health resources.

• Student loan repayment assistance.

• Adoption reimbursement.

• Pet insurance.

• Incentive eligible, with targets based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results.