Principal AI Solution Architect

OVERVIEW

Live the experience. From professional empowerment to continual learning opportunities. From ongoing investment in new and emerging technologies to a career of self-determination. At Ulta Beauty, our tech team is critical to our scalability—and is recognized that way. We’ve been defined as a “mature start-up.” A place where interdepartmental exposure, open doors, and genuine collaboration is ubiquitous. Where challenges come fast and furious, requiring agility, mental dexterity, and creativity. Where our passion for better solutions drives us and is core to who we are.

 

We’re engineering for the future of retail, and it’s no-holds-barred. But for those motivated by continual change and ambiguity, by superior leadership, by whip smart colleagues who will press you daily for your very best, you’ll find that virtually nothing’s impossible at Ulta Beauty.

THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE: 

The Principal AI Solution Architect is a high-impact technical leader responsible for the strategic oversight and architectural integrity of the Enterprise AI portfolio. Operating at the intersection of "wow" guest experiences and industrial-grade engineering, this role leads the design and scaling of innovative solutions that understand and engage our guests through differentiated, relevant, and personalized interactions. Directly supporting the Enterprise AI team, you will provide vision and thought leadership in the areas of AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, and NLP to solve complex "blank page" problems in a fast-paced, startup-like environment.  As a key leader, you will oversee a specialized team of architects (Solution, Platform, and MLOps) and enable the technical delivery for 4–5 delivery pods. This role is inherently collaborative, coordinating closely with other IT teams to align cutting-edge innovation with corporate standards. The ideal candidate is a visionary technical leader who can navigate the complexities of generative AI orchestration, autonomous agent architectures, and industrial-grade ML operations.

 

 

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY: 

• Portfolio Governance: Oversee the architectural design and delivery of AIML and Agentic solutions across multiple delivery pods, ensuring technical consistency and alignment with business objectives.  Participate and provide thought leadership in Architecture Review Board and review AI initiatives.
• Team Leadership: Manage and mentor a high-performing team of Solution Architects, Platform Architects, and MLOps Architects, defining their performance standards and professional growth paths.  Define and drive Architecture team and tech SME blueprint and resource strategy.
• Enterprise Coordination: As part of the Enterprise Architecture (EA) team, ensure AI initiatives comply with corporate infrastructure, security, and data governance standards while influencing the evolution of those standards.  Collaborate with fellow Enterprise Architects to create and proliferate AI principles, platform standards, and integration patterns
• Agentic Framework Design: Lead the design and implementation of agentic workflows and autonomous systems, focusing on multi-agent orchestration, tool-use integration, and robust feedback loops.
• Architectural Patterns: Establish and enforce standards for model selection (LLMs vs. SLMs), RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) patterns, and agentic reasoning paths to optimize for cost, latency, and accuracy.
• Strategic Roadmap Definition: Define the 12–24 month technical roadmap for the AI delivery organization, identifying emerging technologies and determining when to "build, buy, or partner."
• Resource & Capacity Planning: Coordinate with product owners and pod leads to balance architectural resources across priority areas, ensuring high-velocity delivery without accumulating technical debt.
• Risk Mitigation: Address complex challenges related to AI ethics, bias, hallucination management, and data privacy across all portfolio projects.
• Stakeholder Influence: Communicate complex architectural trade-offs to executive senior leadership, translating technical milestones into business value and ROI.
• Mentor: Mentor internal team members and cross functional collaborators team members in the use of AI / ML / NLP methodologies and techniques.

ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS: 

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• Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI/ML, or equivalent professional experience is required.  PhD is preferred.
• 12 years of experience in software engineering and systems architecture, with at least 5 years specifically focused on leading large-scale AI production environments.
• Experience managing other architects or technical leads (Data Scientists) and overseeing multiple simultaneous workstreams/pods.
• Deep expertise in the modern AI stack, including LLM orchestration (LangChain, LlamaIndex), vector databases (Pinecone, Milvus), and traditional ML frameworks (TensorFlow, Scikit-Learn).
• Hands-on experience designing agentic systems, autonomous workflows, or cognitive architectures
• Strong understanding of Platform Architecture and MLOps, including Kubernetes, model serving (BentoML, TGI, vLLM), and automated retraining pipelines.
• Experience, working with and influencing, Enterprise Architecture frameworks and navigating complex governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) environments.

• Hands-on experience with one or more cloud computing platforms (e.g. Google Cloud, Azure, AWS)

• Experience in retail or e-commerce preferred
• Stay current with emerging AI technologies and methodologies, evaluating their potential application
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to create clear architectural diagrams and whitepapers for both technical and non-technical audiences.  Comfort and experience presenting and compiling materials for Executive audiences.

#LI - HYBRID

#LI - ML1

 

The pay range for this position is $143,000.00 - $220,000.00 / Year with the opportunity for eligible associates to earn additional compensation pursuant to the Company’s bonus plan. Exact pay will be based on factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, level, shift, geographic location, and business and organizational needs. Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits. Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits. For additional information concerning our benefits, visit our Benefits and Career Development page: https://learn.bswift.com/ulta

ABOUT

At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store featuring—hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.

 

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.

Salary : $143,000 - $220,000