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Principal Engineer, Applied AI
Location: Columbia, MO — Hybrid/Remote (with regular on-site presence)
Reports to: Chief Product Officer
Type: Full-time
The Role
We’re looking for a hands-on AI engineer who thrives on turning ideas into production-ready tools — fast. This role is about shipping, not just advising. You’ll be the one prototyping, testing, and deploying AI-powered solutions that directly impact how we serve our customers.
If your favorite place is in VS Code (Cursor, or your AI-enabled IDE of choice) rather than PowerPoint, you’ll feel right at home here.
What You’ll Do
- Drive AI-focused initiatives from concept to launch.
- Design, build, and deploy AI/ML-powered tools into mortgage and customer service workflows.
- Rapidly prototype and iterate — getting usable versions in front of real users quickly.
- Partner with product, design, and business teams to deliver solutions that solve real problems.
- Implement and optimize LLM-based systems, RAG pipelines, and other applied AI architectures.
- Build and integrate APIs with internal systems and external AI platforms (OpenAI, AWS, Azure, etc.).
- Write production-ready, secure, and reliable code that others can scale.
- Stay ahead of AI trends — and bring back the ones that matter most.
What You Won’t Do
- Spend months perfecting specs before writing code.
- Hand off “concepts” for someone else to make real.
- Get lost in AI theory without shipping.
What You Bring
- Strong programming skills (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, or similar).
- Hands-on experience with LLM APIs, fine-tuning, and retrieval-augmented generation.
- Proven track record of delivering AI-powered applications or features in production.
- Ability to quickly connect AI capabilities to practical business use cases.
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and secure API integration.
- Understanding of privacy, compliance, and data governance.
- A builder’s mindset: quick, practical, and effective > perfect-but-late.
Success Looks Like
- Multiple AI tools in production that employees and customers rely on daily.
- Prototypes moving from “cool demo” to “critical workflow” — fast.
- Shorter cycle time from idea to working solution with each project.
- Engineers across the company want to join your projects because they deliver results.
At Goodwin Recruiting, we are committed to our core values and providing world class customer service. We are committed to helping our clients navigate and comply with the complex and ever-changing labor laws as well as help ensure that in every hiring decision, internally and with our client partners, that all viable candidates are considered, and the most qualified candidate is offered the role. We evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities that meet the requirements of the position and aim to open doors and change lives. We value all people, understanding that uniqueness and diversity foster a stronger team that is innovative and brings varying perspectives to the table. We put our money where our mouth is and are proud of our efforts to identify a broad slate of candidates, with many hiring success stories to share.
JOB ID: 164621
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Jeffrey Elwood