Principal AI Engineer

Company Description

We are SGS – the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. Today, that mission is driven by data. With 99,500 employees across 2,500 locations, we generate a unique and massive dataset on global trade, product quality, and sustainability. We are now launching a new Hub in Madrid to turn that data into intelligent products and services. This is your opportunity to build the intelligence layer that will redefine our industry. 

Job Description

We're looking for a pioneer to tackle the next frontier: building intelligent agents that can reason and act using one of the world's most unique industrial data sets. This is a greenfield role where you won’t just fine-tune models – you’ll build the entire Gen AI – native foundation for a global leader, with the executive backing and autonomy to make it happen. 

As SGS’s founding Principal AI Engineer, your mission is to lead the charge in applying cutting-edge Generative AI to solve our most complex business challenges. You will be a hands-on builder, crafting everything from custom fine-tuned LLMs to sophisticated agentic workflows that automate and augment expert tasks. You will move fast, ship impactful product, and set the standard for practical, value driven AI.

What You'll Build and Own:

• Pioneer Generative AI Solutions: Lead the design and hands-on development of our most advanced AI initiatives, focusing on LLMs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and multi-step agentic systems.
• Build & Fine-Tune Models: Go beyond off-the-shelf APIs. You will fine-tune open-source models (e.g., Llama, Mistral) on our proprietary data to create highly specialized, defensible AI capabilities.
• Engineer Agentic Workflows: Architect and build systems where AI agents can use tools, call functions, and interact with other systems to execute complex, real-world tasks like analyzing inspection reports or drafting compliance documentation. 
• Own the Pragmatic AI Stack: Select, implement, and champion a lean, effective AI/ML stack (e.g., LangChain/LlamaIndex, vector databases, modern MLOps tools) that prioritizes speed and developer velocity.
• Collaborate & Scale: Partner with other engineering teams to package your breakthroughs into reusable patterns and services, acting as a force multiplier for AI adoption across the company.
• Establish the AI Vision: As the foundational AI expert, you will be a thought leader, shaping our technical strategy and mentoring the team that will form around your vision. 

Qualifications

• Generative AI & LLMs: Deep, hands-on experience building applications with LLMs. This includes prompt engineering, RAG architecture, fine-tuning, and evaluating model performance.
• AI Agent & Workflow Development: Proven experience with frameworks like LangChain, LlamaIndex, or building custom agentic systems. Understanding of concepts like ReAct, function calling, and planning.
• Core ML & Python: Expert-level Python and a strong foundation in classical ML and deep learning (PyTorch preferred).
• AI Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and cloud AI services (GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock/SageMaker).
• Data & APIs: Ability to process unstructured data, build robust data pipelines for model training, and expose models via high-performance APIs (e.g., using FastAPI).

Who You Are

• You are a builder at heart, with extensive experience (e.g., 8+ years) in AI/ML and a recent, intense focus on the LLM space.
• You are obsessed with shipping real products, not just publishing papers.
• You thrive in a fast-paced, high-autonomy environment and are comfortable with ambiguity.
• You are a pragmatist who chooses the right tool for the job, whether it's a simple script or a complex distributed system.

Additional Information

What We Offer

• Top-of-Market Compensation: A highly competitive salary and bonus package for Madrid, designed to attract and retain premier talent for this strategic role. 
• Greenfield Ownership & Autonomy: This is not an R&D role with no path to production. You have a mandate to build and ship, with the freedom to choose your stack, backed by C-level sponsorship. 
• Foundational Impact: You will be the first Principal AI Engineer in our new Digital Hub, shaping the technology, culture, and future of AI at a global leader. 
• A Unique Problem Space: Apply cutting-edge AI to one-of-a-kind datasets from global supply chains, materials science, and industrial testing. This is your chance to solve tangible problems that few others can. 
• A Clear Growth Path: This role offers a direct path to technical leadership and the opportunity to build and mentor a team around your architectural vision.