Principal AI Solutions Architect

ABOUT THE ROLE

Five9 is a leading provider of cloud contact center software, bringing the power of Five9 AI and automation to organizations worldwide. The Enterprise-AI Team drives Five9's internal adoption of AI — turning emerging capability into real business outcomes across the company.

The Principal AI Solutions Architect is the most senior technical voice on the team and the design authority for Five9's internal AI work — the person who turns an approved solution concept into a buildable technical architecture. You partner with the business-facing solutions lead, who owns what a solution must achieve and why; you own how it is built — the reference architecture, data and integration design, model / agent / platform selection, security and governance fit, and the technical standards the engineering team builds to. The role demands someone who stays current at all times on the fast-moving AI platform, model, agent, and tooling landscape and on emerging architecture patterns, so every design reflects the best available approach and is sound, secure, and feasible before the build begins.

HOW YOU CONTRIBUTE

• Technical solution design — Translate an approved solution concept into an end-to-end technical architecture — components, data flows, integration and API surface, model / agent selection, and non-functional requirements — captured as a clear, buildable design.
• Reference architecture & standards — Define and maintain the reusable patterns, guardrails, and technical standards the engineering team builds to; keep them current as capabilities and tooling evolve.
• Platform & build-vs-buy strategy — Evaluate models, vendors, frameworks, and cloud-platform options; recommend fit, cost, and trade-offs with a clear rationale.
• Data & integration design — Design how each solution accesses, moves, and secures company and business data; define the integrations and interfaces the build requires.
• Security, governance & responsible-AI fit — Design to information-security, data-classification, and responsible-AI requirements from the start; carry designs through architecture and security review.
• Design handoff & build support — Package the technical design to a buildable standard and support the engineering team through implementation as their technical counterpart.
• Continuous currency — Maintain always-current command of the AI platform, model, agent, and tooling landscape and emerging architecture patterns, so every design reflects the best available approach.
• Technical advisory — Advise business partners, engineers, and leadership on feasibility, risk, effort, and sequencing; pressure-test solution designs for technical soundness before they advance.
• Cross-functional partnership — Partner with enterprise architecture, information security, and platform / DevOps teams so designs move cleanly from concept into governed delivery.

SKILLS, COMPETENCIES & QUALIFICATIONS — REQUIRED

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 12+ years in solution / software / enterprise architecture, ML / AI engineering, or technical solutions / pre-sales engineering — including hands-on design of production systems and setting technical direction others build to.
• Demonstrated ability to design end-to-end technical architectures for AI / ML or data-intensive systems (components, data flows, integrations, non-functionals, and security).
• Strong command of the modern AI stack — LLMs, agent frameworks, retrieval / RAG, orchestration, tool integration, AI-augmented development — with a demonstrated habit of staying continuously current.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (Google Cloud preferred) and modern delivery tooling (Git-based version control, CI / CD, infrastructure-as-code).
• Ability to produce clear, buildable architecture artifacts (reference diagrams, data / integration designs, architecture decision records) and communicate them to both engineers and executives.
• Working knowledge of security, data-classification, and responsible-AI requirements in an enterprise setting.

SKILLS, COMPETENCIES & QUALIFICATIONS — PREFERRED

• Experience in or with contact center / CX technology (Five9 or comparable), or applying AI to CX.
• Familiarity with responsible-AI, model-risk, and enterprise / solution architecture review practices.
• Experience defining reusable architecture patterns or platform standards for a delivery team.
• Prior work at the business / technology boundary in a central enterprise-AI, platform, or transformation function.
• Cloud (Google Cloud) or enterprise-architecture certifications.

WHERE THIS ROLE SITS

• Primary focus: technical solution design & architecture — Owns how every AI solution is built — from approved concept to a buildable technical architecture.
• Works alongside the business solutions lead — The business solutions lead owns what a solution must achieve and why; this role owns how it is built.
• Partners with the engineering team — Hands the buildable technical design to the engineers and supports implementation as their technical counterpart.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

No direct reports (provides technical leadership to the engineering team). Key partners: the business-facing solutions lead · the engineering team · enterprise architecture · information security · platform / DevOps. You partner most closely with the business solutions lead on solution design — you own the technical design, they own the business design — and with the engineers on delivery.