Principal , Software Engineer, AI

About Us

At Cast & Crew, we’ve empowered creativity and supported the global entertainment industry for decades. Together with our family of brands - Backstage, CAPS, Checks & Balances, Final Draft, Media Services, Sargent-Disc, and The TEAM Companies – we operate as a combined entertainment technology and services provider offering industry standard screenwriting accounting software, digital payroll products, data & reporting, and a host of creative tools.  The industry continues to move faster than ever, and the need for our expertise, our technology, and our people has never been greater.  We are a production’s best ally every step of the way. #OneCastOneCrew

Position Overview
We are seeking a highly experienced and technically exceptional Principal Software Engineer, AI to drive the architecture and hands-on development of AI-powered solutions across our next-generation unified payroll and labor compliance platform. As a senior individual contributor, you will combine deep software engineering expertise with modern AI/ML capabilities—including large language models (LLMs), NLP, IDP, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP)—to build intelligent, scalable systems that power automation and decision-making.
This role is ideal for a self-driven engineer with mastery in Python, TypeScript, Node.js, and cloud-native architecture, capable of designing and delivering full-stack AI solutions that ingest, interpret, and operationalize complex business logic from contracts, policies, and structured/unstructured data.

Key Responsibilities

AI/ML System Architecture & Development

• Design and build AI/ML-powered services and APIs using Python, Node.js, and TypeScript within a microservices architecture on AWS.
• Integrate LLMs and agentic AI into real-time systems using Model Context Protocol (MCP) for enhanced context-awareness and traceability.
• Architect and implement intelligent document processing (IDP) pipelines for parsing labor union contracts, rate tables, deduction rules, and compliance logic.

Full-Stack AI Engineering

• Develop backend services and AI integration layers using Node.js, TypeScript, and REST/GraphQL APIs.
• Build ML pipelines and deploy models using SageMaker, Bedrock, or custom LLM agents in Python.
• Collaborate with frontend engineers to expose AI functionality through React-based UIs and workflow tools.

AI Platform & Data Operations

• Apply prompt engineering, embeddings, and semantic search to enable context-aware query and automation experiences.
• Operationalize LLM and ML models across distributed systems with strong observability, versioning, and fallback strategies.
• Implement event-driven data flow using Kafka, AWS SQS, or Step Functions.

Leadership, Innovation & Best Practices

• Lead technical design sessions, code reviews, and architectural decisions on AI/ML system components.
• Evaluate new tools, frameworks, and vendors for IDP, model orchestration, and intelligent agent execution.
• Drive adoption of AI development standards, including secure model APIs, responsible AI practices, and MCP-based context handling.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 5 in AI/ML product development.
• Proficiency in Python and TypeScript, with strong backend experience using Node.js.
• Production experience deploying AI/ML models, LLMs, or IDP systems at scale.
• Hands-on experience working with or implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) to manage contextual integrity in LLM systems.
• Expertise in NLP, embeddings, transformers, and AI-driven document processing.
• Strong understanding of AWS services including Lambda, SageMaker, DynamoDB, and API Gateway.
• Familiarity with PostgreSQL, Redis, and Elasticsearch for AI data workflows.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with payroll, HR tech, legal tech, or financial systems.
• Familiarity with union labor contract automation, rule engines, and compliance modeling.
• Hands-on experience with LLM platforms (e.g., OpenAI GPT, Claude, Cohere, Bedrock).
• Exposure to agentic AI orchestration frameworks (LangChain, AutoGen, etc.).
• Contributions to open-source AI tools, or published work in AI/ML systems architecture.

Special Work Conditions    

• Sedentary – Involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Some positions may entail exerting up to 15 lbs. of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force to lift, carry, push, or pull.

Benefits 

Cast & Crew provides a comprehensive package of employee benefits including: Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO, health and wellness programs, employee discounts, and more! Note: Cast & Crew benefits are subject to eligibility requirements.

Cast & Crew is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on job-related qualifications and ability to perform a job, without regard to age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, disability, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship or marital status, and to maintain a non-discriminatory environment free from intimidation, harassment or bias based upon these grounds.

CA residents
Your personal information may be collected in connection with certain services provided by Cast & Crew or its affiliated companies.  A summary of your California privacy rights can be found at: https://www.castandcrew.com/privacy-policy/

Compensation is commensurate with various factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, qualifications, skills, training, licensure, certifications, geographic cost of labor, and other business and organizational needs. Compensation range for candidates in other locations may differ based on the cost of labor in that location. The compensation range for this position is: $170,000.00 - $205,000.00 per year.