Pearson is building the next generation of AIenabled platforms, from enterprise copilots and assistants to AIpowered content creation, discovery, and analytics. We're looking for engineers who love shipping production systems and want to work at the intersection of backend engineering + applied AI.

This advert covers multiple approved roles across Pearson. The exact team you join may vary, but the work is aligned to one theme: building reliable, scalable AI systems that real teams and products depend on.

The kind of problems you'll solve

Depending on the role, you may work on one (or more) of these areas:

1) Enterprise Agentic Solutions (Microsoft stack)

Build copilots, assistants, and intelligent workflows using Azure OpenAI/Azure AI, including RAG with Azure AI Search and integrations into Microsoft tools (Teams/Power Platform).

2) PAICE – Content Gen AI Platform (GenAI engine)

Build and operate the services behind Pearson's generative AI ecosystem, orchestration across foundation models, guardrails, analytics, and multitenant APIs that serve many internal consumers.

3) PAICE – PRIZM (Discovery, distribution & analytics)

Build distributed services that power AIenhanced content discovery, delivery, and analytics at scale, with strong engineering fundamentals, production ownership, and mentoring. PRIZM is positioned internally as a content discovery/distribution/analytics ecosystem within PAICE.

4) Cloud AI Backend Engineering (AWS + Java/Python)

Build highperformance backend services in Java/Spring Boot + Python on AWS, integrating LLMs, RAG concepts, and modern AIassisted development tools while delivering scalable APIs and microservices.

What you'll do (core themes across all roles)

Build and maintain backend services and REST APIs that support AI functionality

Implement RAG pipelines and integrate with enterprise data sources where required

Design for reliability, performance, cost, and observability (these are production roles)

Implement strong engineering practices: testing, CI/CD, security-by-design, documentation

Use AI in your daily workflow (agentic coding assistants, AIassisted debugging/testing) these roles expect it as standard practice

What we're looking for

We don't expect everyone to match everything, but we do need strong engineering fundamentals plus real AI exposure.

Musthave (all roles)

Strong experience building distributed backend services and APIs

Handson experience with AI/LLM integration in production or building systems that consume/produce AI outputs

Understanding of prompting/output validation and practical AI tradeoffs (latency, cost, quality)

Comfort working in cloud environments (Azure and/or AWS)

Likely stack alignment (varies by lane)

Azure lane: Azure OpenAI / Azure AI services, RAG with Azure AI Search, Teams/Power Platform integrations

PAICE/PRIZM lanes: Java 11+ and Spring Boot; strong API discipline; platform services at scale. PAICE is described internally as a suite of enterprise services hosted in AWS for content creation and delivery.

AWS lane: Java/Spring Boot + Python; AWS services; microservices; NoSQL exposure (where required)

This advert covers multiple approved roles across our AIFirst Engineering teams. If there's a strong match with our vacancies, a member of our Talent Acquisition team will reach out to start a conversation and confirm your preferences.

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 [HIDDEN TEXT].

Job: Engineering

Job Family: TECHNOLOGY

Organization: Corporate Human Resources

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Hybrid

Req ID: 23176

Senior Software Engineer - Backend/Platform Engineering – AI?First (Agentic + GenAI + RAG)