Senior Principal Software Engineer, AI Agents (Dublin, Ireland)

ABOUT US STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionising the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop, and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective — providing operators with a decisive edge in contested environments. We are focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems — not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe, today. YOUR MISSION Reporting directly to the CTO, you will define and own STARK's AI strategy, across the product, across internal tooling, and across the entire technical organisation. You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Engineers and Engineering Leads, setting a direction they can execute against. On the product side, you'll push the boundaries of what's possible in sensing, autonomy, and robotics for defence. On the internal side, you'll systematically drive AI-powered productivity across every function at STARK. And beyond the company, you'll be our most visible and credible AI voice; the signal that serious AI talent picks up when deciding where to build next.  RESPONSIBILITIES * Define and own STARK's AI strategy across product and internal domains, setting a direction that Technical Leads can execute against * Lead AI stack decisions, model selection, frameworks, MLOps infrastructure, evaluation, and tooling, in partnership with the CTO and Technical Leads, with final technical accountability sitting with you * Act as connective tissue across teams: identify and resolve cross-team AI dependencies, shared infrastructure gaps, and redundant workstreams that individual leads cannot see from inside their own domain * Drive internal AI adoption across STARK, developer productivity tooling, agent and automation infrastructure, and responsible-use frameworks across engineering and operations * Provide technical oversight and challenge across all AI workstreams, asking hard questions on methodology, adversarial robustness, distribution shift, and performance under real operational conditions, without taking over delivery * Monitor the academic and commercial AI landscape and translate relevant advances into concrete strategic inputs for the CTO and programme leadership * Keep AI strategy grounded in operational reality by partnering with programme and product leadership so that what we build maps to real mission requirements, not research for its own sake * Raise the AI bar at STARK: contribute to senior technical hiring, define the AI engineering standard, and build STARK's standing in the European defence-AI community * Represent STARK externally, speak at defence, robotics, and AI venues, publish or present where it serves the mission, and act as a credible signal of the company's technical ambition What success looks like in the first 12 months: * A single, written, widely-understood AI strategy that Chief Engineers and Technical Leads actively use to make decisions * Internal AI tooling in production use, measurably changing how engineering and operations work day-to-day, not as a pilot * At least one product-side AI capability moved meaningfully forward on your direction * STARK visibly more attractive to senior AI talent than when you joined, with at least one strong hire personally pulled into the pipeline QUALIFICATIONS * Degree in machine learning, computer vision, robotics, or a closely related field, or demonstrably equivalent depth through industry research and an open publication or open-source record * Proven experience setting AI technical strategy at a senior level, across multiple domains simultaneously, not within a single team or project * Deep technical fluency in at least one of: perception and sensor fusion, autonomy and motion planning, SLAM/localisation, or multi-agent coordination (C2), with enough breadth to engage credibly across all of them * Strong track record of influencing technical decisions without direct line authority, working through and alongside Technical Leads, not over them * Experience in defence, aerospace, or another safety-critical domain where AI system failure carries real-world consequence; direct UAS or ground-robotics experience strongly preferred * Fluent English; working German is a practical advantage in Berlin or Munich * Eligibility for the required security clearance NICE TO HAVE * An existing network within the European defence AI community * Prior experience in a staff- or principal-level AI role inside a scaling deep-tech or defence company * A public profile, talks, papers, or open-source work, that already signals technical credibility * Comfort operating in a high-autonomy, low-overhead role: setting direction and shaping outcomes without a large dedicated team

ABOUT PARLOA Parloa’s mission is to make every customer conversation feel effortless for both customers and the companies serving them. As agentic AI accelerates, Parloans are shaping the foundation of a new era in customer experience, one where customer support is no longer transactions, but meaningful exchanges. It is not just a vision; Parloa has powered over ONE BILLION interactions between global enterprise brands and their customers, with companies like Booking.com, HealthEquity, Allianz, SAP, BarmeniaGothaer, and TUI already deploying Parloa at scale. ABOUT THE ROLE: Security at Parloa isn't an afterthought — it's foundational to how we build and operate an AI platform that enterprises trust with sensitive voice and chat data at scale. As Principal Security Engineer, you'll set the technical direction for security across our engineering organisation: from secure architecture and threat modelling, to embedding security thinking into how a fast-growing AI company designs, builds, and ships. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role. You won't just maintain a security programme — you'll define it, working across infrastructure, product, and AI/ML teams to ensure security is built in from the start, not bolted on afterwards. You'll be a technical authority and a multiplier, raising the security bar across the whole organisation. AREAS OF OWNERSHIP: * Own the technical security engineering strategy across Parloa's platform, infrastructure, and AI/ML systems * Lead deep threat modelling and architecture reviews for new and existing systems, including LLM-based and voice/chat AI pipelines * Drive secure-by-design practices into the software development lifecycle, partnering closely with engineering teams rather than gatekeeping after the fact * Design and improve detection, monitoring, and incident response capabilities across cloud and AI infrastructure * Guide security architecture for multi-tenant, sensitive data flows across Parloa's enterprise customer base * Support compliance and governance efforts (e.g. SOC 2, ISO 27001) by ensuring technical controls are sound and well-documented * Mentor senior+ engineers and security practitioners, building security capability across the wider organisation * Act as a trusted technical voice in conversations with enterprise customers and partners on security matters * Stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape for AI and voice/chat systems, bringing new risks and mitigations to the team proactively WHO YOU ARE: * Extensive experience (15+ years) in security engineering, with demonstrated impact at Staff or Principal level * Deep expertise in application security and/or cloud security, threat modelling, and secure architecture for distributed, cloud-native systems * Hands-on experience with cloud security across AWS, GCP, or Azure, and container orchestration (Kubernetes) * Strong understanding of identity and access management, encryption, and secure data handling at enterprise scale * Experience securing systems handling sensitive or regulated data, ideally with exposure to GDPR or similar frameworks * A track record of driving security strategy and influencing engineering culture across an organisation, not just executing individual fixes * Excellent communication skills, able to explain security risk and trade-offs clearly to engineers, leadership, and customers * Genuine curiosity about AI systems and a willingness to dig into the emerging security challenges they introduce OUR ENGINEERING VALUES: At Parloa, we hire, promote, and evaluate based on cultural and technical excellence. You’ll thrive here if you: * Earn Trust – act with transparency and reliability. * Obsess Over Customers – always start with the customer problem. * Think Big – set bold goals and pursue them fearlessly. * Have Integrity – do the right thing, especially when it’s hard. * Disagree & Commit – debate with candor, align fast, and deliver. * Own It – take full responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks. * Dive Deep – master the details without losing sight of the big picture. * Bias for Action – move fast, decide quickly, iterate fearlessly. * Deliver Value – measure success by customer and business impact. * Insist on the Highest Standards – raise the bar continuously. * Go the Extra Mile – make the impossible possible. * Hire & Elevate the Best – raise the bar with every hire   OUR RECRUITING PROCESS: Recruiter Interview → Technical Peer Interview → Expert interview(s) → Bar Raiser   WHY PARLOA? We’re at the beginning of a new era in customer experience, one where AI doesn’t just respond, but understands, reasons, and takes action. We’re building agentic AI that enterprises trust with their most important customer moments: complex questions, high volumes, real stakes. When millions of people reach out to a brand, those interactions aren’t just support tickets; they’re defining experiences. We’re here to raise the standard: making every conversation seamless, intelligent, and genuinely helpful. If you care about shaping how businesses and customers connect at scale—and want your work to matter in real, everyday moments—this is where you do it. At Parloa, ownership isn’t a buzzword; it means being accountable for outcomes, not just tasks. We operate in a category that’s evolving fast, where the bar is high, and the problems are complex. We hire people who think in solutions, communicate with clarity, and follow through. People who are comfortable making decisions, taking responsibility, and raising the standard for themselves and those around them. We’ve grown beyond the earliest startup phase, but we’ve kept the intensity: fast execution, direct feedback, and a strong expectation to contribute meaningfully from day one. Backed by leading global investors like General Catalyst, EQT Ventures, and Altimeter Capital, we’re scaling with a clear ambition: to become the global category leader in enterprise-grade conversational AI.     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parloa is committed to upholding the highest data protection standards for our clients' and employees' data. All our employees are instrumental in ensuring the utmost care, GDPR, and ISO compliance, including ISO 27001, in handling sensitive information. Parloa is an e-verify employer in the USA. Please click here to learn more. * We provide equal opportunities to all qualified applicants regardless race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, disability status, socioeconomic background and other characteristics.