Lead R&D Engineer (Hybrid)

About Nitro Software

Nitro Software is a global SaaS leader specializing in seamless digital document workflows, offering solutions in PDF management, eSigning, identity verification, and analytics. Serving over 3 million licensed users and more than 13,000 business clients in 157 countries, including 67% of the Fortune 500, Nitro prides itself on outstanding customer success and change management.

Our Culture and Values

• One team, One mission: We are united in advancing Nitro's purpose, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels part of something greater.
• Own it: Taking full ownership and empowering each other to lead with creativity and a solutions-oriented approach.
• Accountable to our customers: Commitment to delivering on promises and customer satisfaction.
• Excellence in execution: Delivering innovative, high-quality results with passion and precision.
• Be bold, fail fast, learn faster: Embracing experimentation, learning continually, and iterating rapidly instead of seeking perfection.

Role Overview

The Lead R&D Engineer will head a focused team dedicated to rapid experimentation at the crossroads of AI and document workflows. This role demands a builder who prioritizes delivering working prototypes quickly over extended planning and is comfortable navigating ambiguity to discover impactful solutions. Responsibilities include creating experimental applications such as AI assistants, intelligent document processing, workflow automation, and integration with Nitro’s API platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a compact R&D team to develop experimental document workflow solutions, taking concepts through to functional prototypes.
• Innovate how users interact with documents by swiftly delivering proof-of-concept products, collecting user feedback, and iterating accordingly.
• Design and implement cloud-based AI services leveraging advanced frameworks and generative AI technologies.
• Build AI-driven assistants, smart document processing pipelines, automated workflows, and MCP servers.
• Utilize AI-assisted development tools intensively to accelerate the team's output.
• Provide technical leadership while maintaining active, hands-on involvement in projects.
• Collaborate across engineering, product, design, and customer teams to identify high-impact problems.
• Assess emerging technologies to incorporate valuable innovations into Nitro's platform.
• Advocate for new ideas within the organization and facilitate transition of successful prototypes to production.

Candidate Profile

• Demonstrates a "builder-first" mindset focused on rapid creation and experimentation.
• Proficient with modern software development, including solid full-stack expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks and Python.
• Hands-on experience building and shipping AI or LLM-based applications in real-world environments.
• In-depth knowledge of contemporary AI development practices such as embeddings, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), prompt engineering, tool integration, and agent architectures.
• Experience with cloud-native application development and deployment using AWS or Azure platforms.
• Proven ability to prototype swiftly and deliver working software within compressed timelines.
• Balanced architectural judgment combined with pragmatic problem-solving.
• Comfortable working with ambiguous initial requirements, able to initiate progress independently.
• Leadership experience mentoring engineers and setting technical directions for teams.
• Strong communication skills to motivate teams and articulate technical value to diverse stakeholders.
• Regular use of AI coding tools to enhance development speed and code quality, with a keen interest in evolving these capabilities further.

Desirable Qualifications

• Previous involvement in innovation-focused teams, R&D environments, or startups.
• Experience launching original products that have real user adoption.
• Familiarity with machine learning model development including TensorFlow or PyTorch, from data preparation to production deployment.
• Expertise integrating large language models (LLMs) with external APIs, automation frameworks, or developer platforms.
• Background in building agent-based systems or AI assistants.
• Knowledge of vector databases, embeddings, and RAG pipelines.

Benefits and Work Environment

• Comprehensive health, dental, vision insurance, and retirement pension/401k matching.
• Flexible time off policy supporting family time, holidays, and personal appointments.
• Hybrid working model combining three days onsite collaboration at global offices with two remote workdays weekly.
• Inclusive workplace encouraging candidates of all backgrounds to apply and offering accommodations during recruitment.

Work Location

This position is based in Dublin, Ireland with a hybrid working arrangement blending remote and on-site engagement.