Staff Engineer - Agentic AI

POSITION SUMMARY: The Staff Engineer - GenAI is a hands-on technical leader responsible for designing, building, and maintaining a large-scale agentic AI platform that enables autonomous, AI-driven solutions for the enterprise. The incumbent will provide non-managerial technical leadership to a team of engineers, guiding them in developing an enterprise-grade platform for generative AI and autonomous agents. The Staff Engineer - GenAI will collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate business needs into robust LLM-driven architectures, advance context engineering practices, and mentor team members in advanced GenAI engineering techniques. The incumbent will ensure that solutions adhere to Enterprise Architecture standards, safety and ethics guidelines for AI usage, and industry best practices. PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES: Own the end-to-end development of the enterprise's Agentic AI platform. Design, develop, test, and deploy high-performance generative AI capabilities that allow AI agents to autonomously understand, plan, and execute multi-step tasks with minimal human oversight. Ensure the platform is scalable, highly available, and can support mission-critical applications. Provide technical direction across the organization on GenAI-related projects. Work closely with Solution and Enterprise Architects to develop solution architectures that integrate LLMs, agent frameworks, and AI services into the broader enterprise system, ensuring alignment with Enterprise Architecture principles and non-functional requirements (security, scalability, resilience, token economics, and latency budgets). Lead by example in coding standards, prompt engineering, and context engineering best practices. Conduct code, prompt, and context-pipeline reviews to ensure high code quality, readability, and robust test coverage—including evals, regression suites, and golden datasets for LLM pipelines and API integrations. Establish guidelines for reproducible experiments and version control of prompts, contexts, agents, and datasets (e.g., using Git and LLMOps tools). Build internal frameworks and orchestration pipelines to integrate LLMs and agents with enterprise data sources and services. Leverage GenAI tools and protocols (e.g., MCP, A2A, function/tool calling) to enable high-value GenAI business cases across the organization. Design retrieval, memory, and tool-use patterns that make enterprise context reliably available to models at inference time. Drive continuous improvements in software development and LLM lifecycle processes. Implement LLMOps/GenAI Ops best practices such as automated evaluation, prompt and agent versioning, online/offline evals, observability (traces, token usage, hallucination and grounding metrics), guardrails, and CI/CD pipelines for prompt, agent, and model deployment. Evaluate new tools and methods (e.g., LangSmith, LangFuse, Bedrock, or cloud-based AI services) to enhance team efficiency and system reliability. Mentor and coach team members in advanced GenAI and software engineering techniques, fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing and innovation. Provide input to management on team performance, hiring, and promotions, helping develop talent in generative AI expertise (non-managerial feedback role). Performs other job-related duties as assigned or apparent. QUALIFICATIONS: 10+ years of experience in designing, developing, and deploying enterprise-scale technology solutions, ideally with two years focused on GenAI/LLM or software architecture initiatives. Demonstrated ability to design and manage complex platforms or products at scale. Deep understanding of Generative AI techniques and transformer-based models (e.g., Claude, GPT, or other foundation and open-source LLMs). Hands-on experience integrating, and adapting LLMs into enterprise applications, including expertise in prompt engineering, context engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), GraphRAG, and agentic patterns (ReAct, planner/executor, multi-agent orchestration) for grounding outputs in enterprise data. Familiarity with multi-agent AI systems and agent-based architectures is highly desirable. Proficiency in modern GenAI frameworks/libraries such as LangChain, LangGraph, Semantic Kernel, or similar tools. Experience with model-serving runtimes and agent orchestration frameworks for building and managing complex GenAI pipelines. Strong grasp of NLP fundamentals, tokenization, embeddings, and knowledge representation; experience with multimodal models, function calling, structured output, and reinforcement learning from feedback (RLHF/RLAIF) is a plus. Solid experience in cloud architectures (AWS Bedrock, , GCP AI) for scalable GenAI solution deployment. Familiarity with both containerization and serverless architectures for deploying agents, retrieval services, and model gateways at scale. Understanding of LLMOps/AI DevOps practices (CI/CD for prompts and agents, eval-driven development, prompt and model versioning, observability/tracing, cost and token monitoring, automated red-teaming and guardrail enforcement) to ensure reliable and maintainable GenAI systems. Strong background in data engineering and architecture for AI-ready data—skilled in curating, chunking, enriching, and governing unstructured and semi-structured corpora for LLM consumption. Hands-on experience with vector databases (e.g., pgvector, Elastic Search), hybrid search, reranking, knowledge graphs, and embedding strategies for high-quality retrieval. Experience designing semantic layers, metadata, and access controls so enterprise context can be safely surfaced to agents. Experience integrating GenAI solutions via APIs, microservices, and event-driven patterns into existing enterprise platforms. Excellent technical leadership and mentorship abilities. Proven track record of guiding engineering teams or projects, conducting technical design reviews, and enforcing best practices. Strong communicator who can translate business requirements into technical solutions and articulate complex GenAI concepts clearly to stakeholders and team members. Demonstrated problem-solving skills and a proactive mindset for tackling novel GenAI challenges (hallucination, grounding, long-context reasoning, tool reliability, agent failure modes). Track record of delivering proof-of-concept (POC) projects to evaluate new models, frameworks, and approaches. Stays current with the rapid pace of GenAI research and tooling, and brings innovative ideas (new model architectures, agent patterns, eval methodologies, context engineering techniques) to continuously enhance the platform. Deep appreciation for AI ethics, safety, and security considerations in a large enterprise context, including prompt injection, data exfiltration, jailbreaks, PII handling, and responsible AI principles. Experience implementing governance, compliance, and risk mitigation measures for GenAI solutions (e.g., guardrails, content filters, evals for accuracy/bias/toxicity, human-in-the-loop, audit logging). Familiarity with enterprise monitoring, tracing, and logging tools (e.g., Splunk, LangFuse, CloudWatch) to maintain high reliability and site resilience for GenAI services. Excellent technical leadership and mentorship abilities. Proven track record of guiding engineering teams or projects, conducting technical design reviews, and enforcing best practices. Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Data Science - preferred. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: 7 - 10 years of progressively complex experience building and scaling enterprise software systems—combined with recent, hands-on application of GenAI or Agentic AI technologies in production environments. This role is primarily remote; however, candidates should be located within commuting distance of our Phoenix, AZ. Occasional in-person attendance may be required for team meetings, training, or business needs. Please note, this position is not sponsorship eligible. Rewarding Compensation and Benefits Eligible employees can elect to participate in: • Comprehensive medical benefits coverage, dental plans and vision coverage. • Health care and dependent care spending accounts. • Short- and long-term disability. • Life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment insurance. • Employee and Family Assistance Program (EAP). • Employee discount programs. • Retirement plan with a generous company match. • Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). • Paid Time Off (PTO) • Benefits: The statements used herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by an employee in this position, and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required by an incumbent so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the Company. EEO STATEMENT:Republic Services is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, relationship or association with a protected veteran (spouses or other family members), genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. For any concerns relating to Republic Services’ commitment to equal opportunity employment, you may contact the AWARE Line at 1-866-3-AWARE-4. ABOUT THE COMPANY Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) is a leader in the environmental services industry. We provide customers with the most complete set of products and services, including recycling, waste, special waste, hazardous waste and field services. Our industry-leading commitments to advance circularity and support decarbonization are helping deliver on our vision to partner with customers to create a more sustainable world. In 2025, Republic’s total company revenue was $16.6 billion, and adjusted EBITDA was $5.3 billion. We serve 13 million customers and operate more than 1,000 locations, including collection and transfer stations, recycling and polymer centers, treatment facilities, and landfills. Although we operate across North America, the collection, recycling, treatment, or disposal of materials is a local business, and the dynamics and opportunities differ in each market we serve. By combining local operational management with standardized business practices, we drive greater operating efficiencies across the company while maintaining day-to-day operational decisions at the local level, closest to the customer. Our customers, including small businesses, major corporations and municipalities, want a partner with the expertise and capabilities to effectively manage their multiple recycling and waste streams. They choose Republic Services because we are committed to exceeding their expectations and helping them achieve their sustainability goals. Our 42,000 team members understand that it's not just what we do that matters, but how we do it. Our company values guide our daily actions: Safe : We protect the livelihoods of our colleagues and communities. Committed to Serve : We go above and beyond to exceed our customers’ expectations. Environmentally Responsible: We take action to improve our environment. Driven : We deliver results in the right way. Human-Centered: We respect the dignity and unique potential of every person. We are proud of our high employee engagement score of 86. We have an inclusive and diverse culture where every voice counts. In addition, our team positively impacted 5.1 million people in 2024 through the Republic Services Charitable Foundation and local community grants. These projects are designed to meet the specific needs of the communities we serve, with a focus on building sustainable neighborhoods. STRATEGY Republic Services’ strategy is designed to generate profitable growth. Through acquisitions and industry advancements, we safely and sustainably manage our customers’ multiple waste streams through a North American footprint of vertically integrated assets. We focus on three areas of growth to meet the increasing needs of our customers: recycling and waste, environmental solutions and sustainability innovation. With our integrated approach, strengthening our position in one area advances other areas of our business. For example, as we grow volume in recycling and waste, we collect additional material to bolster our circularity capabilities. And as we expand environmental solutions, we drive additional opportunities to provide these services to our existing recycling and waste customers. Recycling and Waste We continue to expand our recycling and waste business footprint throughout North America through organic growth and targeted acquisitions. The 13 million customers we serve and our more than 5 million pick-ups per day provide us with a distinct advantage. We aggregate materials at scale, unlocking new opportunities for advanced recycling. In addition, we are cross-selling new products and services to better meet our customers’ specific needs. Environmental Solutions Our comprehensive environmental solutions capabilities help customers safely manage their most technical waste streams. We are expanding both our capabilities and our geographic footprint. We see strong growth opportunities for our offerings, including PFAS remediation, an increasing customer need. Sustainability Innovation Republic’s recent innovations to advance circularity and decarbonization demonstrate our unique ability to leverage sustainability as a platform for growth. The Republic Services Polymer Center is the nation’s first integrated plastics recycling facility. These innovative sites process rigid plastics from our recycling centers, producing recycled materials that promote true bottle-to-bottle circularity. We also formed Blue Polymers, a joint venture with Ravago, to develop facilities that will further process plastic material from our Polymer Centers to help meet the growing demand for sustainable packaging. We are building a network of Polymer Centers and Blue Polymer facilities across North America. Our customers are increasingly looking for decarbonization solutions, and we are leveraging our network of landfills to meet that need. Republic is committed to harnessing landfill gas, a natural byproduct of decomposing waste, and converting it to energy. Republic has partnered with renewable gas developers to construct Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) plants at our landfills, expanding beyond the 77 projects we currently have to make progress towards our goal to beneficially reuse 50% more biogas by 2030 (2017 baseline year). RECENT RECOGNITION Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies CDP Discloser Dow Jones Best-In-Class Indices Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies Great Place to Work Sustainability Yearbook S&P Global