Principal AI Architect - Public Sector

Principal AI Architect - Public Sector at Centific Principal AI Architect - Public Sector at Centific in Kirkland, Washington Posted in 7 days ago.

Type:

full-time

Job Description:

About the Role We are building a next-generation Vision AI software platform designed specifically for US-based public sector clients - spanning federal agencies, defense contractors, smart-city programs, and critical infrastructure operators. As our Principal AI Architect, you will be the technical authority shaping every layer of the platform: from constrained edge devices streaming sensor data via MQTT, through GPU-accelerated inference running on NVIDIA hardware, to the cloud-side orchestration and data pipelines that give our clients actionable intelligence. You will work at the intersection of systems design, security engineering, and product strategy, translating complex government requirements into elegant, scalable architecture - and then ensuring a globally distributed engineering team executes against that vision with coherence and velocity. Key Responsibilities Platform Architecture & Technical Leadership Own the end-to-end architecture of the Edge AI / IoT platform, defining reference designs, component boundaries, data flows, and integration contracts across edge, on-premises, and cloud tiers. Drive adoption of open standards (MQTT, VSS, OPC-UA, ONVIF, etc.) and NVIDIA ecosystem tooling (CUDA, TensorRT, Jetson, NGC) across the product. Establish and govern architecture decision records (ADRs), technology radar, and technical roadmap in close collaboration with product management and the CTO. Identify and mitigate systemic technical risks - latency, bandwidth constraints, model drift, security boundaries - before they become production incidents. Security & Compliance Lead the architecture design to achieve and maintain

NIST SP 800-171

compliance, with a clear pathway toward CMMC Level 2 (and Level 3 where required by contracts). Define zero-trust principles, secure-by-design patterns, cryptographic key management, and supply chain security practices for all platform components. Collaborate with our compliance and legal teams to produce architecture documentation, system security plans (SSPs), and evidence packages required during government procurement. Engineering Excellence & Team Enablement Serve as the primary technical mentor for a globally distributed engineering team spanning multiple time zones; run architecture reviews, design sprints, and internal tech talks.

Define and enforce engineering standards:

API design, containerization and orchestration (Kubernetes), CI/CD pipeline quality gates, observability, and disaster recovery. Partner with engineering leads to decompose the architecture into actionable epics and ensure architectural intent is preserved through implementation. Client & Stakeholder Engagement Act as the senior technical point of contact during pre-sales and onboarding with US public sector clients, translating customer mission requirements into platform capabilities. Participate in government-facing technical evaluations, RFP responses, and architecture briefings - demonstrating deep understanding of federal IT environments (FedRAMP-adjacent infrastructure, air-gapped deployments, etc.). Maintain trusted relationships with technology partners including NVIDIA, cloud providers, and standards bodies relevant to the IoT / edge AI space. Required Qualifications 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 4 years in a principal architect, staff engineer, or equivalent technical leadership role. Proven track record designing large-scale distributed systems with real-time or near-real-time constraints - IoT telemetry pipelines, sensor fusion, or similar. Deep expertise with MQTT (broker architecture, QoS, retained messages, MQTT over TLS) and at least one complementary messaging/streaming technology (Kafka, AMQP, ROS 2, etc.). Hands-on experience with the NVIDIA ecosystem: CUDA development, TensorRT optimization, Jetson or similar edge AI hardware, and

NVIDIA NGC

/ Triton Inference Server. Solid understanding of Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) or comparable hierarchical signal / data modeling standards for edge device abstraction. Practical knowledge of

NIST SP 800-171

controls and experience translating them into concrete architecture and engineering requirements. Proficiency in containerized, cloud-native architectures: Kubernetes, Helm, service mesh, GitOps, and modern observability stacks (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana). Exceptional written and verbal communication skills - able to produce crisp architecture diagrams and documents for both engineering peers and non-technical government stakeholders. Ability to work effectively across globally distributed teams, exercising influence without direct authority. Nice to Have Experience with CMMC Level 2/3 assessments or FedRAMP authorization processes. Familiarity with additional edge / embedded protocols: OPC-UA, DDS, Matter, LoRaWAN, or TSN. Background in one or more US public sector verticals: defense, smart cities, utilities / SCADA, transportation, or emergency services. Contributions to open-source projects in the IoT, edge AI, or cloud-native space. Experience with software-defined networking, 5G private networks, or network slicing for edge deployments. Domain-specific certifications like GCP, TOGAF, Open Group, etc. US Person status (useful for certain client engagements, not a hard requirement). What We Offer A mission-driven role with direct impact on critical infrastructure and public services across the United States. Full autonomy to shape a greenfield platform architecture from the ground up. Competitive compensation package including base salary, equity, and performance bonus - benchmarked globally. Flexible, fully remote work environment with async-first culture and periodic team on-sites. Access to cutting-edge

NVIDIA GPU

infrastructure for research and development. Dedicated learning & conference budget, and active participation in industry standards bodies. Work Location - Remote Full-time with

Centific Benefits:

Comprehensive healthcare, dental, and vision coverage 401k plan Paid time off (PTO) And more! Learn more about us at centific.com. Centific is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, mental or physical disability, medical condition, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.