What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Software Engineer position at SoTalent?
Job Title : Lead Software Engineer
Location : Austin, Texas, United States
Job Type : Full Time
Job Summary
Our client is seeking a seasoned technology leader to guide the design, development, and deployment of advanced cloud-based and AI-driven solutions. The ideal candidate brings a strong engineering foundation, deep hands-on experience with modern cloud platforms, and a proven track record leading teams through complex technical transformations.
Core Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a computing or engineering discipline—or equivalent industry experience
- At least seven years of professional software development experience
- Several years serving as a technical lead, architect, or similar leadership role
- Practical experience delivering applications on major cloud providers such as Google Cloud, AWS, or Azure
- Hands-on background implementing and operationalizing AI/ML solutions
- Exposure to modernizing legacy systems and guiding migration initiatives
- Experience working with cutting-edge Large Language Model technologies (e.g., GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, PaLM)
- Real-world delivery of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures
- Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) or orchestration frameworks for AI agents
- Working knowledge of vector search technology (Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma, Vertex AI Vector Search, etc.)
- Strong ability to design, refine, and optimize prompts for large language models
- Experience with platforms such as Vertex AI on GCP or Amazon Bedrock
- Proficiency in Python for AI/ML, .NET for enterprise systems, and SQL for data modeling and queries
- Background with event-streaming tools like Kafka or Pub/Sub
- Demonstrated success mentoring engineers and guiding collaborative technical decisions
- Ability to communicate complex engineering topics clearly to business and non-technical audiences
- Experience partnering with cross-functional roles including product, analytics, and business teams
- Strong analytical mindset and an orientation toward measurable business impact
Preferred Expertise
- Advanced degree in AI/ML, Computer Science, or a related field
- A decade or more of engineering experience
- Direct experience delivering RAG systems using frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, or Haystack
- Background in regulated sectors, especially financial services or fintech
- Knowledge of retirement-related products and industry standards
- ML Ops and model stewardship experience across the full lifecycle
- Work across multiple major cloud platforms
- Deep familiarity with GKE, service meshes, and modern container orchestration
- Experience with Cloud Build or sophisticated CI/CD automation
- Strong understanding of identity, access, and secret-management practices
- Knowledge of JavaScript/TypeScript and full-stack development patterns
- Exposure to legacy languages or platforms such as Delphi or established .NET stacks
- Experience with CQRS, Event Sourcing, sagas, and distributed-transaction design
- Strength in designing and tuning both relational and NoSQL databases
- Familiarity with API gateways, microservice patterns, and service-mesh architectures
- Experience with experimentation platforms and A/B testing approaches
- History working in Agile or scaled Agile environments
- Ability to drive alignment and consensus among diverse stakeholder groups
- Background in publishing, conference speaking, open-source contributions, or other forms of technical advocacy
- Understanding of compliance, auditability, explainability, and regulatory demands in financial ecosystems
- Awareness of tax rules and fiduciary considerations related to retirement planning
- Relevant cloud/ML certifications from Google Cloud, AWS, or Azure