Principal Software engineer Tech lead (AI/ML - Cloud)

Principal Software Engineer / Technical Lead – Full-Stack Cloud & AI Systems

Location: Remote – U.S. Based (1st week in Maryland)

Company: International Responder Systems (IRS)

Employment Type: Full-Time

🌍 About Us

International Responder Systems builds advanced cloud platforms that empower emergency response, grant management, and situational coordination for public-sector agencies and humanitarian organizations.

Our software helps responders act faster, collaborate smarter, and make data-driven decisions during moments that matter most.

We blend modern full-stack engineering, AI/ML, and secure, scalable cloud architecture to deliver real-time intelligence and mission-critical resilience.

🚀 The Role

We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer / Technical Lead who’s equally passionate about writing clean, production-grade code and designing the scalable architectures behind it.

You’ll lead core engineering initiatives across multiple SaaS platforms — from API design and data architecture to performance optimization and DevOps automation.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role: you’ll architect systems, build them yourself, and shape the technical roadmap that supports the company’s growth and mission.

🔧 What You’ll Do

1. End-to-End Software Engineering

• Design, code, and ship production-ready features across the full stack (React, Node.js, Python, PostgreSQL).
• Develop modular, scalable APIs and backend services that power multi-tenant SaaS applications.
• Implement elegant, performant front-end interfaces for complex operational workflows.
• Write efficient, maintainable code with strong focus on testing, observability, and performance.

2. System Architecture & Scalability

• Lead architectural design for distributed, event-driven, and data-intensive systems.
• Drive scalability and reliability across all layers of the stack — from database design to cloud infrastructure.
• Implement advanced RBAC and access-control models for secure, multi-organization environments.
• Plan and evolve system topology and data partitioning strategies for long-term growth.
• Optimize performance under heavy concurrency and real-time data loads.

3. Cloud Infrastructure & DevOps

• Architect, automate, and maintain AWS-based environments (ECS/EKS, S3, Lambda, CloudFront).
• Implement CI/CD pipelines for automated testing, deployment, and rollback.
• Ensure high availability, fault tolerance, and proactive monitoring using modern observability stacks.
• Manage containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes) and Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform).

4. Data & AI Enablement

• Design data pipelines and real-time processing flows to support predictive analytics and AI models.
• Build clean, consistent APIs to expose structured operational and analytical data.
• Collaborate with data scientists to integrate AI/ML models into production environments (Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Ensure data reliability, versioning, and lineage across all systems.

5. Leadership & Collaboration

• Mentor engineers through code reviews, pair programming, and architectural discussions.
• Lead by example — writing elegant, production-ready code while defining standards for the entire team.
• Partner with product and design teams to transform ideas into technically sound, user-centric features.
• Contribute to the company’s long-term technical strategy, infrastructure roadmap, and innovation pipeline.

🧠 What You Bring

• 10+ years of hands-on software development experience across front-end, back-end, and cloud environments.
• Deep expertise in Python, Node.js, TypeScript/JavaScript, and SQL/PostgreSQL.
• Strong background in scalable software architecture, microservices, and API design.
• Proven success building and scaling multi-tenant SaaS platforms.
• Experience with AWS Cloud (ECS/EKS, Lambda, S3, RDS, CloudFront) and DevOps pipelines.
• Solid understanding of security best practices, RBAC, and data protection principles.
• Familiarity with geospatial/mapping systems (ArcGIS, QGIS, or Leaflet) is a plus.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance speed, quality, and maintainability.

➕ Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with AI/ML model deployment and real-time data streaming (Kafka, Spark).
• Familiarity with Terraform, CloudFormation, and Kubernetes orchestration.
• Knowledge of compliance frameworks (HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP).
• Interest in public safety, crisis management, or GovTech platforms.
• Contributions to open-source or developer community projects.

💡 Why Join Us

• Build mission-critical software that supports first responders and humanitarian missions.
• Lead with autonomy — your architectural decisions directly shape the platform’s evolution.
• Collaborate with an elite, purpose-driven team that values quality over bureaucracy.
• Competitive compensation, long-term growth, and the satisfaction of building technology that saves lives.