What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principle Software Developer position at Pearson?
Principal Software Developer – AI & Web Applications
About the Role
We are looking for a highly skilled and strategic Principal Software Developer to help shape our next-generation AI-powered content authoring and delivery platform. This platform empowers authors, teachers, and professors to create dynamic learning experiences for students through cutting-edge AI, interactive assessments, asset management, APIs, and scalable content delivery solutions.
Reporting directly to the Director of Engineering, you will serve as a hands-on technical leader with deep expertise in front-end development, full-stack web applications, and AI integration. You’ll influence architectural decisions, work across teams, and lead by example to ensure our platform is innovative, scalable, and aligned with our mission.
What You’ll Do
✅ Lead & Direct – Provide technical leadership across the platform, ensuring engineering efforts align with AI integration, scalability, and broader company initiatives.
✅ Architect & Build – Design and implement AI-driven web applications, focusing on scalable architecture and modern development frameworks (React, TypeScript, APIs, backend services).
✅ Drive AI Integration – Develop and integrate AI solutions into real-world applications, including content generation, automation, intelligent workflows, and ML model orchestration.
✅ Work with Modern AI Tools – Leverage technologies such as Crew.AI, Cursor.AI, OpenAI, Claude, LangChain, vector databases, RAG pipelines, embeddings, and prompt engineering techniques to power innovative authoring and delivery features.
✅ Cross-Team Collaboration – Partner with 20 engineering teams to ensure alignment, surface risks early, and guide system-level thinking across the platform.
✅ Problem-Solve & Align – Advocate for technical and product decisions that balance business priorities, scalability, and developer experience.
✅ Guide & Influence – Lead technical discussions and design reviews, influencing decisions around architecture, AI strategy, and engineering standards.
✅ Communicate Clearly – Translate complex AI and engineering concepts into clear strategies that resonate with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike.
✅ Document & Diagram – Deliver high-quality technical documentation and architectural diagrams to support engineering execution and long-term maintainability.
What Makes a Great Candidate
- Proven experience building and scaling modern web applications, with deep knowledge of front-end development (React, TypeScript, CSS) and full-stack engineering.
- Demonstrated experience developing and integrating AI/ML features into production applications.
- Hands-on experience with AI tools and frameworks
- Strong architectural instincts, with the ability to guide platform evolution, make pragmatic trade-offs, and design for performance and extensibility.
- Ability to collaborate across functions and influence without authority in a complex, cross-functional environment.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving ecosystem where innovation and clarity are equally valued.
- Excellent communication, mentoring, and documentation skills.
Who we are:
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.
Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.
Job: TECHNOLOGY
Organization: Corporate Strategy & Technology
Schedule: FULL\_TIME
Workplace Type:
Req ID: 18565
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