Principal Engineer, Engineering AI Productivity
AI summary of the role
Confluent seeks a Principal Engineer to define and drive internal agentic AI capabilities for R&D productivity.
No longer in the current catalog. Last included 2026-09-09. Check the employer’s posting for availability.
What you’ll do
- Define and evangelize the AI and agentic flows strategy, aligning business metrics, engineering needs, and platform opportunities.
- Build a roadmap for introducing agentic automation features, smart assistants, and AI-driven workflows across all aspects of engineering.
- Partner with Engineering, Trust and Security to integrate AI capabilities responsibly and at scale.
- Lead delivery of core agentic workflows that improve productivity across engineering, with a 60% execution and 40% strategy split.
What you’ll bring
- 8+ years driving strategic productivity initiatives, ideally in SaaS/Cloud platforms or developer tools with proven AI experience.
- Expert in building distributed systems and/or the infrastructure and tools to support it.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence senior stakeholders without direct authority.
- Hands-on experience with AI/ML platform experience including LLM integration and workflow automation, with appetite to build toward agentic patterns.
Technologies
agentic AI · LLM integration · workflow automation · distributed systems · cloud-native platforms · event-driven architecture · platform engineering · AI/ML platform
About Confluent
Data-streaming platform built by the creators of Apache Kafka, letting enterprises move and process data in real time via fully-managed cloud, self-managed, and BYOC offerings.
Acquired · 2000–5000 people
Source and classification
Internal deployment & tooling · Evidence for this classification:
We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them. It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together. One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform. About the Role: We’re seeking a strategic and hands-on technical leader to define and drive Confluent’s internal agentic AI capabilities, and adoption of smart, automated decisioning systems for R&D productivity. In this role, you will partner across Engineering, Security, and IT to scale AI
More from the job description
We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them. It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together. One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform. About the Role: We’re seeking a strategic and hands-on technical leader to define and drive Confluent’s internal agentic AI capabilities, and adoption of smart, automated decisioning systems for R&D productivity. In this role, you will partner across Engineering, Security, and IT to scale AI usage across our platform to accelerate value for customers and the business. You will operationalize a vision where AI augments developers, automates routine tasks, and orchestrates intelligent workflows that unlock new usage patterns. What You Will Do: Strategy & Vision Define and evangelize the AI and agentic flows strategy — aligning business metrics, engineering needs, and platform opportunities. Build a roadmap for introducing agentic automation features, smart assistants, and AI-driven w [... source excerpt omitted ...] success metrics and KPIs (e.g., AI-driven usage lift, automation ROI, reduction in manual workflows). Thought Leadership Participate in external forums — conferences, podcasts, customer briefings on occasion Evolve as the technology landscape shifts Write internal playbooks for building and scaling agentic outcomes. What You Will Bring: Technical and Product Acumen 8+ years driving strategic productivity initiatives, ideally in SaaS/Cloud platforms or developer tools with some proven experience in AI initiatives. Considered an expert in building distributed systems and/or the infrastructure and tools to support it. Leadership & Collaboration Proven ability to lead cros [... source excerpt omitted ...] perience with LLM integration and workflow automation, with demonstrated appetite to build toward agentic patterns Deep understanding of responsible AI practices and governance. Customer & Business Mindset Passion for solving real customer problems with elegant, scalable solutions. Ability to tie technical efforts directly to business KPIs (adoption, retention, revenue impact). What Gives You an Edge: Experience working in cloud-native platforms or developer ecosystems. Prior leadership in scaling internal AI platforms or driving AI adoption across large organizations. Background in real-time data, event-driven architecture, or platform engineering. If you’re someone loo
Employer postings · Data from · Sources