Lead AI Engineer

Overview

Lead AI Engineer

Lead innovation at Virtuoso as a Principal Software Engineer, shaping the future of autonomous AI-powered testing. Drive backend system design, distributed computing & AI integration.

A bit about us:
Virtuoso's mission is to enable and lead the world's quality-first revolution. We reimagine how software is tested by developing a platform used by large software teams, with a focus on codeless test automation powered by AI and ML. This role is remote in the UK or Portugal.

At Virtuoso, we are redefining the landscape of autonomous software testing. As a Lead Principal Software Engineer with deep understanding of the AI landscape, you will lead the technical charge in defining and building Virtuoso QA’s future Agentic and autonomous testing functionality—a cutting-edge system that blends AI with test automation to deliver intelligent, context-aware autonomous testing.

This role centers around backend engineering and AI system development, with a stack primarily built in Java and Go, operating within a cloud-native SaaS environment. While full-stack experience is a plus, and Vue.js is part of the tech stack, the core requirements focus on backend system design, distributed computing, and AI integration.

You will work in a remote-first, highly collaborative team based across Europe, including Lisbon hub. We’re looking for someone who thrives in both independent R&D and leadership, and who can drive innovation and execution across the Agentic AI roadmap.

• Work closely with the research team and the wider company to strategise, identify and prioritise what we should be building.
• Architect and implement backend systems powering Virtuoso QA’s Agentic and autonomous capabilities.
• Lead R&D and productization of AI techniques (LLMs, autonomous agents, vector search, orchestration frameworks).
• Translate research and user needs into scalable, production-grade AI features.
• Build and maintain performant microservices using Java in a SaaS context.
• Guide the team in building resilient, observable, and maintainable systems in the cloud.
• Collaborate with product, design, and AI research stakeholders to shape the product roadmap.
• Mentor and grow a high-performance engineering team with a focus on backend excellence.
• Optionally contribute to or oversee frontend feature integration in Vue.js as needed.

• Advanced expertise in Java for backend development.
• Strong knowledge of distributed systems, event-driven architectures, and cloud-native development.
• Hands-on experience building systems that leverage LLMs, RAG, vector databases, and agentic AI frameworks.
• Familiarity with Redis, Postgre
  
  SQL, and AWS or containerized services.
• Test automation domain experience is a strong plus.
• Exposure to Vue.js or frontend development is a plus, but not required.

• Strategic Leadership:
  Proven ability to lead complex technical programs and align engineering with broader business goals.
• AI Systems Thinking:
  Deep understanding of AI system behavior, from architectural patterns to prompt engineering and agent orchestration.
• Technical Authority:
  High-impact contributor who sets engineering standards and fosters technical rigor.
• Autonomous R&D:
  Capable of exploring, validating, and implementing AI solutions with minimal supervision.
• Team Building & Mentoring:
  Builds strong, motivated teams with a healthy culture of growth, ownership, and collaboration.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  
  Effective at working across disciplines to deliver user-focused, technically sound features.

• 8+ years of experience in backend software engineering, including leading high-performing teams.
• 4+ years of experience in technical leadership or mentoring engineers.
• Practical experience in AI/ML system development, especially involving LLMs and orchestration frameworks.
• Experience in cloud SaaS environments with microservices architecture.
• Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field—or equivalent practical…