Principal Applied AI Architect, Applied AI & Data Architecture
Amazon Web Services, Inc.· startup· Cloud Computing· Oct 7, 2026 · 21d ago
Arlington, Virginia, USA
In office
Full-time
Principal
$183K–$247K
10+ years exp
Job description
Do you want to help customers build AI agents that change how work gets done? As a Principal, Solutions Architect in AWS, you will design and productionize agentic systems using services like Amazon Bedrock and AgentCore, contribute to open-source AI accelerators, and help customers adopt AI-native software development practices. Your time splits roughly 50/50 between direct customer engagements and building reusable assets that scale your impact. On the customer side, you will guide teams through hands-on architecture and unblock adoption. On the builder side, you will create reference implementations, open-source tools, and technical content that enable the broader community. This is a global role where you will maintain deep relationships with AI service teams and collaborate with specialists and builder customers across regions to stay current on capabilities and influence product roadmaps.
Key job responsibilities
- Design end-to-end agentic solutions for customers, making informed trade-off decisions across model selection, orchestration patterns, tool and context design, evaluation and guardrails, and latency/cost optimization.
- Serve as a trusted technical advisor by diving into technical details with customer teams, identifying opportunities and risks, and leading discussions that accelerate AI service and platform adoption.
- Build and contribute to open-source AI accelerators, reference implementations, and reusable frameworks that help customers and the broader community adopt agentic architectures faster.
- Develop and deliver technical content such as workshops, sample code, presentations, and white papers that share best practices and lessons learned from real-world engagements.
- Collaborate with internal teams including sales, engineering, and support to translate customer feedback into clear technical requirements, resolve root-cause issues, and close the loop between what customers need and what AWS builds.
A day in the life
You start your morning reviewing a customer's architecture proposal, preparing feedback on their scaling strategy and security posture before a design review call. After the call, you sketch out an updated reference architecture that addresses the constraints discussed. In the afternoon, you collaborate with an engineering team to document a feature request a customer raised, then wrap up by refining a workshop you are building to share best practices with a broader customer audience.
About the team
Applied AI and Data Architects (AIDA) is a team of specialized AI prototypers with a product mindset. We build a portfolio of domain-specific products spanning areas like AI agents, data engineering, ML, AI security and governance, and DevOps. Each product is grounded in customer reality. We earn the right to guide by building alongside customers. If you are a strong builder who wants to create open-source products while gaining direct customer exposure, we would love to hear from you.
Diverse Experiences
AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.
Why AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.
Inclusive Team Culture
AWS values curiosity and connection. Our employee-led and company-sponsored affinity groups promote inclusion and empower our people to take pride in what makes us unique. Our inclusion events foster stronger, more collaborative teams. Our continual innovation is fueled by the bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and passionate voices our teams bring to everything we do.
Mentorship & Career Growth
We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.
Work/Life Balance
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.
- 10+ years of specific technology domain areas (e.g. software development, cloud computing, systems engineering, infrastructure, security, networking, data & analytics) experience
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics or equivalent
- Experience developing technology solutions and evangelising end-to-end technology roadmaps that guide IT transformations toward cloud computing
- Experience communicating across technical and non-technical audiences and at C-level, including training, workshops, publications
- Knowledge of distributed systems design and implementation or equivalent
- Knowledge of large scale automation and workflow management or equivalent
- Knowledge of database design and implementation or equivalent
- Knowledge of presentations and whiteboarding skills with a high degree of comfort speaking with internal and external executives, IT management, and developers
- Experience architecting, migrating, transforming or modernizing customer requirements to the cloud
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit amazon.jobs for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at amazon.jobs .
USA, CA, Irvine - 182,800.00 - 247,300.00 USD annually
USA, TX, Dallas - 182,800.00 - 247,300.00 USD annually
USA, VA, Arlington - 182,800.00 - 247,300.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Seattle - 182,800.00 - 247,300.00 USD annually
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Benefits
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Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
401(K)
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave