Principal AI Engineer – ML Ops

As a Principal AI Engineer at Rapid7, you will lead the design and implementation of scalable ML Ops systems that take models from research to production with repeatable, secure, and observable deployment patterns. This role is ideal for someone with deep experience in software engineering, AI/ML systems, and DevOps/MLOps who wants to shape the future of applied AI in cybersecurity.

About the Team

The AI Center of Excellence team brings together Data Scientists and AI Engineers to research, prototype, and build production-ready AI components. We partner closely with Rapid7’s Detection and Response teams to leverage AI/ML for enhanced customer security and threat detection, fostering a collaborative environment where innovation, knowledge-sharing, and research publication are encouraged.

About the Role

As a Principal AI Engineer – ML Ops, your primary responsibility will be to architect, deploy, and maintain the systems that enable AI models to run reliably in production. Specifically, your focus will be to:

• Architect and manage end-to-end ML production systems, including project scoping, data requirements, modeling strategies, and deployment

• Develop and maintain data pipelines while ensuring quality, consistency, and lifecycle management

• Implement ML guardrails and monitoring to ensure robustness, reliability, and observability of deployed systems

• Develop and deploy accessible endpoints, such as REST APIs and web applications, aligned with data privacy and security best practices

• Mentor junior engineers and share expertise across engineering, product, and data science teams

• Embrace agile development practices, iterating quickly and effectively in complex and ambiguous environments

The skills and qualities you’ll bring include:

Core Skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences

• Collaborative mindset, with proven ability to partner across teams and drive alignment

• Analytical, problem-solving approach with a bias for action in complex scenarios

• Growth mindset with enthusiasm for learning and mentoring others

Role-Specific Functional Skills

• 15+ years of software engineering experience with 3–5 years focused on ML Ops and deployment in cloud environments (AWS preferred)

• Strong proficiency in Python and API development frameworks such as Flask or FastAPI

• Expertise with DevOps/MLOps systems including CI/CD tooling, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-based AI resource management

• Experience in designing scalable pipelines, monitoring ML models, and implementing observability frameworks

• Familiarity with data preprocessing, feature engineering, and anomaly detection methods

• Track record of mentoring engineers and fostering engineering excellence

• Advantageous: experience deploying and tuning large language models (LLMs), implementing model risk management strategies, or managing model drift and hyperparameter optimization

Core Value Embodiment: Embody our core values to foster a culture of excellence that drives meaningful impact and collective success.

We know that the best ideas and solutions come from multi-dimensional teams. That’s because these teams reflect a variety of backgrounds and professional experiences. If you are excited about this role and feel your experience can make an impact, please don’t be shy - apply today.

About Rapid7

At Rapid7, our vision is to create a secure digital world for our customers, our industry, and our communities. We do this by harnessing our collective expertise and passion to challenge what’s possible and drive extraordinary impact. We’re building a dynamic and collaborative workplace where new ideas are welcome.

Protecting 11,000+ customers against bad actors and threats means we’re continuing to push the envelope—just like we’ve been doing for the past 20 years. If you’re ready to solve some of the toughest challenges in cybersecurity, we’re ready to help you take command of your career. Join us.

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All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state or local law.