Principal AI-Native Software Engineer

This position requires office presence of a minimum of 5 days per week and is only located in the location(s) posted. No relocation is offered. We're looking for an AI-Native Software Engineer (Principal Engineer) who blends strong fullstack Python engineering with hands-on experience building intelligent systems powered by LLMs, agent orchestration, and AI-augmented development workflows. This is not a traditional software engineering role. We want someone who has fully integrated AI into how they design, code, test, debug, and deliver solutions — and who can work side-by-side with business partners to turn ideas into production-ready applications with speed and precision. In this role, you'll help shape requirements in real time, build scalable AI-enabled systems, and create seamless integrations across backend services, agent frameworks, data sources, and user-facing applications. What You'll Do Partner directly with business stakeholders to understand needs, refine ideas, and translate goals into working software solutions. Operate in a collaborative "2-in-a-box" model, co-owning outcomes from ideation through delivery. Build and integrate AI-powered applications using Python and frameworks such as FastAPI, Flask, or Django . Design and orchestrate intelligent workflows using LLMs, LangGraph, MCP, and multi-agent systems . Develop and optimize prompts, context strategies, session memory, retrieval pipelines, and vector-based search to improve agent performance. Use AI coding assistants and agentic development tools as a core part of your workflow for prototyping, refactoring, testing, documentation, and code review. Integrate backend services, APIs, databases, vector stores, third-party platforms, and machine learning systems into robust end-to-end solutions. Implement testing, monitoring, evaluation, logging, and CI/CD practices to improve reliability and system performance. Apply best practices in security, privacy, scalability, and operational resilience across AI and backend systems. What You'll Bring A strong ability to work directly with business partners and turn ambiguous ideas into clear, deliverable engineering solutions. Clear communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences. Deep, practical use of AI tools in software development , with examples of how they've meaningfully improved your speed, quality, and approach. Experience building AI agents, conversational systems, RAG pipelines, or multi-agent workflows in real-world environments. Strong problem-solving skills, technical curiosity, and a builder mindset. A passion for exploring emerging AI tools and applying them in ways that create real business value. What You'll Need Strong experience in fullstack Python development , including backend frameworks such as FastAPI, Flask, or Django . Experience designing and integrating REST APIs , backend services, and database solutions across SQL and/or NoSQL environments. Hands-on expertise with LLMs, prompt engineering, context engineering, session management, retrieval strategies, and vector search . Experience with LangGraph, MCP, or similar agent orchestration frameworks . Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure . Experience with Docker, CI/CD pipelines, testing frameworks, and production deployment practices . A strong foundation in secure, scalable, and maintainable software design. If you've already embraced AI as a core part of how you build software — and you're excited to partner closely with the business to deliver high-impact solutions quickly — we'd love to hear from you. Our Principal Software Engineer, earns between $174,100.00•$279,800.00 USD Annual. Not to mention all the other amazing rewards that working at AT&T offers. Individual starting salary within this range may depend on geography, experience, expertise, and education/training. Joining our team comes with amazing perks and benefits: Medical/Dental/Vision coverage 401(k) plan Tuition reimbursement program Paid Time Off and Holidays (based on date of hire, at least 23 days of vacation each year and 9 company-designated holidays) Paid Parental Leave Paid Caregiver Leave Additional sick leave beyond what state and local law require may be available but is unprotected Adoption Reimbursement Disability Benefits (short term and long term) Life and Accidental Death Insurance Supplemental benefit programs: critical illness/accident hospital indemnity/group legal Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) Extensive employee wellness programs Employee discounts up to 50% off on eligible AT&T mobility plans and accessories, AT&T internet (and fiber where available) and AT&T phone. #LI-Onsite•Full-time office role•Ready to join our team? Apply today.

Weekly Hours:

40

Time Type:

Regular Location:

Palo Alto, California, USA:

TX:

Dallas / One AT&T Plaza (208 S Akard•Whitacre Tower)•

Adm:

208

S Akard St Salary Range:

$174,100.00•$279,800.00 It is the policy of AT&T to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, AT&T will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. AT&T is a fair chance employer and does not initiate a background check until an offer is made.