Principal Software Developer, Applied AI

Savvas Learning • Northbrook, IL, United States • $140k - $195k / year • 1d ago

Savvas Learning Company is a global education company that produces award-winning learning solutions that empower educators and engage students with the highest quality content.

Recognized as an industry leader, we serve millions of K-12 learners with innovative, student-centered educational programs that turn today's classrooms into active learning environments. By embracing technology, personalized learning, and immersive experiences delivered across multiple platforms, we design our learning solutions to be more accessible and relevant to each student.

Our award-winning, high-quality instructional materials span every grade level and discipline, from evidence-based, standards-aligned core curricula and supplemental and intervention programs to state-of-the-art assessment tools and the industry's most innovative portfolio of college and career readiness solutions - all designed to meet the needs of every learner.

Do you want to impact the way millions of students experience education and learning? Come join Savvas - the number one provider of core curricula in the country. Savvas Learning Company is the industry leader in delivering the highest-quality educational materials. Savvas's flagship K-12 solution Savvas Realize, is one of the edtech industry's most versatile learning management systems (LMS), and was honored in both the primary and secondary education categories as a technology solution that is key to helping schools transition to remote, hybrid, and blended learning environments. You will be part of an exciting team and work on products that are used by students every day. We are looking for engineers who are passionate about building innovative applications of the highest quality, realizing real value from AI and demonstrating ownership of the product area assigned to them.

Responsibilities

Partner with business stakeholders to translate product vision into technical and data requirements for AI-powered solutions, advising on what's achievable, what's risky, and what requires further investigation.
Own LLM application engineering (prompting + RAG + tool use + evaluation + guardrails + orchestration) as a core technical discipline, driving iterative optimization in partnership with subject matter experts.
Define and oversee evaluation frameworks for AI-powered features, coordinating with subject matter experts to ensure inference quality, safety, and alignment with pedagogical standards
Evolve production monitoring and regression testing for inference quality, cost, and latency, driving iterative improvements post-release.
Evaluate emerging technologies and drive adoption of best-in-class tools and frameworks, incorporating their capabilities into the platform.
Lead a globally distributed team and drive sound engineering design, implementation, quality, deployment and monitoring practices on AI-powered microservices and products.
Architect distributed systems to ensure high availability, low latency, and fault tolerance.
Leverage AWS services such as Bedrock, Lambda, ECS, DynamoDB, RDS, and S3 to build cloud-native solutions.
Enforce security best practices across the codebase and AWS infrastructure, implementing defense-in-depth strategies and driving timely risk mitigation and remediation of vulnerabilities.
Drive code automation practices across the team to ensure maintainability and extensibility
Maintain hands-on involvement through prototyping, POCs, and direct contribution to critical implementations.
Provide technical mentorship to engineering teams and conduct code and architecture reviews.
Contribute to the organization's AI Center of Excellence by developing reference implementations, documentation, and best practices, while tracking the evolving AI landscape and identifying the right moments to introduce new capabilities.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including frontend engineers, product managers, and operations teams, to align on technical solutions.

Qualifications

Master's or Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience, with strong fundamentals and problem-solving skills
We are looking for people with a long track record of success in delivering high-quality software. For this role, you should have at least 8 years of experience in software development roles and five years of experience working in an agile environment.
We are seeking a candidate with 2+ years of experience with LLMs/generative AI applications, including production deployment experience.
We need someone with a track record of balancing innovation speed with production reliability
Three years of Python development experience is required, along with experience shipping Node-based services and/or modern web frontends (Angular preferred).
We run a distributed microservices-based architecture in the cloud focused on APIs and event-driven design. Experience in deploying and maintaining production software in AWS is required.

Skills

Software Design, Implementation (i.e., coding), and Testing.
Solid understanding of ML/AI data practices: dataset curation, validation, and evaluation design.
Experience with agent architectures, RAG, and tool-use patterns in production LLM applications is a plus.
Proficient in database development in relational and NoSQL, Postgres and Amazon DynamoDB preferred.
Understanding of Cloud Architecture and experience working with AWS resources, including cloud networking and security fundamentals.
Strong, creative problem-solving and troubleshooting skills are a must, as is the ability to coach junior team members in these areas with proven ability to drive adoption of new processes and tools.
Must assimilate information, distill knowledge, apply experience, and provide solution alternatives and recommendations.
Must have strong time management skills - including the ability to work well under pressure, plan, set priorities across multiple projects, adapt to change, and meet established timelines.
Effective written and verbal communication skills.
AWS certification is a plus (Cloud Practitioner or higher)
Experience in education technology or other high-stakes domains is a plus.

ABOUT SAVVAS

We are proud to be recognized as a Top Workplace. Our employees are our most valuable asset, and we are committed to creating a work environment that promotes their growth, well-being, and success. We develop learning solutions that empower educators and improve student outcomes thanks to our team's passion, creativity, and dedication.

TOTAL REWARDS

At Savvas, compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. We invest in our employees with a rewards package that combines compensation, exceptional benefits and wellness programs in addition to opportunities for professional growth. This role may also be eligible for bonus or incentive compensation. The posted hiring range reflects our good faith estimate at the time of posting and remains subject to modification. Compensation is determined by factors such as but not limited to skills, experience, budget, and internal equity.

Hiring Range: $140,000 - $195,000

BENEFITS

Starting on Day One we are committed to the health, well-being, and development of our employees. As a Savvas employee, you are eligible to participate in benefits that put you first. Our benefits include a wide range of offerings including but not limited to the following:

Medical Coverage: Choose from three distinct medical plan options. HSA/FSA options available.
- Prescription Drug Benefits: Automatically included when you enroll in any medical plan.
- Dental & Vision Coverage: Available to all benefits-eligible employees.
Time to Recharge: Vacation time and 10 paid holidays.
Time to Recover: Sick time and leave programs.
Financial Wellness: Employees can start securing their financial future without any delay with a 401(k) match and immediate vesting.
Wellness Programs: We recognize the importance of emotional and mental well-being, both in our work environment and in our personal lives. We are committed to providing resources and support to promote overall well-being and a healthy work-life balance.
Extra Perks: Discounted gym memberships, pet insurance, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, volunteer opportunities, and much more!

Savvas benefits are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms.

Learn About our Benefits

Savvas Learning Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Savvas Learning complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Savvas prohibits discrimination against individuals based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, and other protected group status. We strive to create a fair and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant.

Savvas Learning Company is an affirmative action employer and participates in E-Verify. Know Your Rights

Notice to California Applicants: Information collected and processed as part of your Savvas Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Savvas' California Applicant Privacy Notice.