Principal Engineer - AI​/ML

Role Overview

McAfee is a global leader in online protection. We are seeking a highly experienced Technical Lead Software Engineer with deep expertise in cloud‑native architecture, agentic AI systems, full‑stack development, and large‑scale internet services. The role involves leading critical projects, mentoring engineers, and shaping the future of McAfee’s security products through fast, iterative delivery focused on business outcomes.

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of scalable, resilient, and high‑performance software solutions with a focus on agentic AI/ML capabilities.
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership throughout the entire software development lifecycle, from concept and design to testing, deployment, and operational support.
• Architect and build full‑stack applications and services that operate on an internet scale, ensuring high availability and low latency on modern cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Drive the technical vision and strategy for AI/ML‑powered features and products, translating business requirements into robust technical designs with rapid iteration and incremental delivery.
• Mentor and guide a team of software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, collaboration, speed, and AI‑augmented productivity.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, data scientists, researchers, and other engineering teams to deliver impactful solutions aligned with business goals.
• Leverage AI‑assisted development tools and practices to accelerate delivery (Git Hub Copilot, Claude, LLM‑powered workflows).
• Champion best practices in software engineering, including code quality, testing, CI/CD, and Dev Ops with a pragmatic, outcome‑driven approach.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends, particularly in AI/ML, agentic and LLM‑based systems, multi‑agent architectures, distributed systems, and cloud computing.
• Contribute to code reviews, design discussions, and architectural decisions with hands‑on involvement in implementation.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues in production environments.

• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with a significant portion in a technical leadership role.
• Extensive hands‑on experience in designing, building, and operating large‑scale, distributed internet services.
• Proven experience in developing and deploying agentic AI systems and AI/ML models into production environments, including familiarity with the end‑to‑end MLOps lifecycle.
• Strong proficiency in multiple programming languages such as Python, Java, Go, Rust, C++ or similar.
• Deep understanding of full‑stack development, including front‑end technologies (JavaScript, Type Script, Dart, React, Flutter) and back‑end technologies (gRPC, protobuf).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) as a primary deployment model.
• Advanced cloud and Kubernetes knowledge:
  Helm, ArgoCD, Ingress, Calico, Zero Trust Security (OPA), Service Mesh (Istio/Linkerd), eBPF (Cilium).
• Solid understanding of database technologies (SQL and No
  
  SQL).
• Demonstrated use of AI productivity tools (Git Hub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT) to accelerate software development.
• Bias for action with a track record of fast, iterative, incremental delivery over analysis paralysis.
• Business outcome orientation, focusing on delivering value and measurable results.
• Excellent problem‑solving, analytical, and technical troubleshooting skills.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and leadership abilities.
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, agile environment with a strong hands‑on coding presence.

• Contributions to open‑source projects.
• Experience working at FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) or other leading Big Tech companies.
• Experience with big data technologies (Data Bricks, Snowflake, Big Query, Spark, Hadoop, Kafka, etc.).
• Experience in the cybersecurity domain.

• Medical, Dental and Vision coverage.
• Paid time off and parental leave.
• Bonus program, pension and retirement plans.
• Flexible work hours and family‑friendly benefits.
• Community involvement support.

McAfee prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other legally protected status. This principle applies to all areas of employment: recruitment and hiring, training and performance evaluations, promotions, compensation and benefits, and social and recreational programs.

Starting pay range: $0.00–$0.00. Final salary will be based on skillset, experience, and location. Please discuss details with the Talent Acquisition Partner.