Principal AI Engineer

Summary

Join Thinkific, a learning commerce platform, as a Principal AI Engineer to lead AI strategy and redefine online learning with our AI Teaching Assistant. You will define the technical direction, guide staff engineers, and ensure scalable, high-quality solutions. Partner with R&D leadership to translate strategic AI opportunities into actionable engineering plans. Advise senior leadership, showcase AI capabilities, and share insights internally and externally. Mentor engineers, support hiring, and foster technical excellence. Explore emerging AI/ML tech, assess competitors, and translate findings into product opportunities. Own costs, scalability, and reliability metrics for your AI domains. Contribute to blogs, conferences, and industry discussions. This is a high-impact role offering significant growth opportunities within a supportive and innovative company culture.

Requirements

• Has 10+ years in software engineering, including 3+ years at Staff/Principal level (or equivalent technical leadership)
• Possesses a proven track record of delivering large-scale, event-driven systems and rapid prototypes
• Has hands-on coding expertise in Node.js with TypeScript, while also influencing at a strategic level
• Has experience building and launching AI-powered products with LLMs (e.g., RAG, fine-tuning, vector DBs, embeddings, AI-assisted coding tools)
• Has strong architectural leadership — designing complex, distributed systems, delegating effectively, and mentoring senior engineers
• Holds the ability to translate business goals into actionable, scalable, and maintainable technical roadmaps
• Has high customer/stakeholder empathy with a focus on end-user value
• Is an exceptional communicator who is confident in engaging executives and cross-functional leaders

Responsibilities

• Lead AI architecture & vision - Define technical direction, guide Staff Engineers, and ensure scalable, high-quality solutions
• Shape the roadmap - Partner with R&D leadership to turn strategic AI opportunities into actionable engineering plans
• Be Thinkific’s AI authority - Advise senior leadership, showcase AI capabilities, and share insights internally and externally
• Grow the AI team - Mentor engineers, support hiring, and foster technical excellence
• Research & innovate - Explore emerging AI/ML tech, assess competitors, and translate findings into product opportunities
• Ensure operational excellence - Own costs, scalability, and reliability metrics for your AI domains
• Engage with the community - Contribute to blogs, conferences, and industry discussions while staying ahead of the curve

Preferred Qualifications

• Ruby on Rails
• ML model training or fine-tuning
• SaaS/cloud-native architecture experience
• Familiarity with modern web frameworks beyond Node/TS
• Competitive product/technical research
• AI/ML compliance and governance frameworks
• Public technical evangelism, community contributions, or thought leadership

Benefits

• A competitive compensation package including base salary, equity, team-wide bonuses, and an Employee Share Purchase Plan
• Flexible Paid Time Off to maintain mental and physical health. Our team is encouraged to take a minimum 4 weeks of vacation, plus Thinker Holidays (extended long weekends in the summer) and time off for the December holiday season
• Health Benefits and Wellness: Comprehensive benefits starting on Day 1 include health, vision, and dental coverage for you and your family, $3,000 for mental health care, a short-term health plan, and an additional health or personal spending account. Plus, family friendly benefits include generous parental leave top-ups for up to 32 weeks, as well as fertility coverage and personalized return to work options
• Flexible Work . Choose to work from home from anywhere in Canada, at our Vancouver HQ, a co-working space, or anywhere there’s wifi for a change of scenery
• Learning & Growth. An annual $1500 USD Learn and Grow fund for conferences, seminars, or courses, plus training, mentorship, coaching, and internal promotion opportunities
• A home office setup so you’re ready to succeed with a company-owned Macbook Pro and a budget to order a desk, chair, or any accessories to help you work comfortably and productively