Principal AI Engineer

About the Role

The Principal AI Engineer is an integral part of Rapid7's AI Centre of Excellence, a team at the forefront of designing and delivering customer-focused AI systems. In this role, you will be responsible for designing and implementing AI models and systems, leveraging the most appropriate techniques, including conventional machine learning, deep learning neural networks, or generative and agentic AI. You will work on a high-impact, cross-functional team to ensure AI solutions are scalable, secure, and deliver real customer value. Operating in an agile, iterative manner, you will make fast, informed decisions about what to build, what to pause, and where to innovate further. This position offers the opportunity to enhance your skills among talented engineers and data scientists, while also mentoring others and driving AI innovation at Rapid7.

About the Team

The AI Centre of Excellence designs, prototypes, and ships production AI models and systems with a mission to leverage the best available technology to protect customers' attack surfaces. The team partners closely with Rapid7's Detection and Response teams, including their MDR service, to utilize AI/ML for enhanced customer security and threat detection. The environment is collaborative, focused on knowledge sharing and continuous learning, building on over 20 years of threat analysis and a growing patent portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Develop and ship AI systems with a strong focus on delivering customer value.
• Tackle a diverse range of complex problems, often reframing existing solutions with new perspectives.
• Take ownership of multiple projects as the principal go-to expert.
• Act as a first-class stakeholder throughout the AI R&D process.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships with engineering, UX, product management, and customer research teams.
• Mentor colleagues with less experience, acting as a trusted technical resource.

Requirements

Technical Expertise

• Significant hands-on experience in applied AI, with the ability to independently design and build AI models and systems.
• Strong Python skills and practical expertise with:
  • scikit-learn for conventional ML and data science.
  • PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Keras for deep learning.
  • AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, HuggingFace, or Transformers for LLM-based solutions.
  • CrewAI (or similar frameworks) for agentic AI projects.
  • Pandas/NumPy for data processing and transformation.
• Intuition for selecting the right models and approaches for different use cases.
• Cybersecurity expertise is a plus, but experience from other domains (e.g., finance, healthcare, marketplaces, insurance, legal, social media) is also highly valuable.

Personal Attributes

• Positive, can-do, solution-oriented mindset with persistence in tackling complex challenges.
• Bias for action and delivery, balancing speed with care.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, juggling multiple projects effectively.
• Natural leader and collaborator, helping peers grow as problem solvers and communicators.
• Curiosity and passion for continuous learning and self-development.
• Open-minded approach, valuing feedback and new ideas from colleagues.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex AI concepts to diverse audiences and document work clearly.