Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer – R&D Data & AI

Location: Remote

Company Headquarters: Belgium

Employment Type: Full-time

Executas HR & Business Solutions is seeking an experienced Principal Engineer – R&D Data & AI on behalf of an international life sciences organisation headquartered in Belgium.

This is a high-impact technical leadership role at the intersection of scientific research, data platforms, artificial intelligence and software engineering. The successful candidate will provide hands-on technical guidance across R&D Data & AI initiatives, ensuring that solutions are scientifically meaningful, technically robust and scalable from prototype through production.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the technical design and implementation of R&D Data & AI solutions across data engineering, analytics, AI services and application development.
• Provide hands-on expertise throughout the complete engineering lifecycle, from early-stage prototypes to production-ready platforms.
• Act as the primary escalation point for complex technical and engineering challenges.
• Work closely with software architects to ensure consistency and interoperability across the broader technology ecosystem.
• Guide architectural and technology decisions within a complex data and AI environment.
• Mentor data engineers, data scientists and full-stack engineers across multiple teams and workstreams.
• Lead code reviews and promote engineering excellence, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
• Ensure solutions meet high standards for reliability, security, scalability, observability and maintainability.
• Embed data governance, security and compliance principles into technical designs and delivery processes.
• Collaborate with scientific stakeholders, architecture, platform and governance teams to translate R&D needs into effective technology solutions.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Bioinformatics, Life Sciences or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• At least 8 years of experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, software engineering, AI platforms or related fields.
• Proven experience as a Principal Engineer, Technical Lead or Senior Engineer, guiding technical design and delivery across multiple teams.
• Demonstrated experience working with scientific or R&D data within life sciences, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology or another research-intensive environment.
• Strong knowledge of data platforms, analytics technologies and modern engineering practices.
• Experience designing and operating solutions within large and complex data ecosystems.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD, automated testing, observability, security and cloud-based engineering practices.
• Ability to evaluate, select and integrate technologies across data, AI and application landscapes.
• Strong communication, mentoring and stakeholder-management capabilities.
• Professional fluency in English.

Why Join?

This role offers the opportunity to shape how scientific data, analytics and AI capabilities are engineered across a global R&D environment. Your technical leadership will directly contribute to accelerating scientific discovery and supporting the development of innovative therapies with meaningful patient impact.

If you are passionate about combining deep engineering expertise with scientific innovation, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Apply now or contact Executas HR & Business Solutions for further information.