Senior Level Principal Automation Engineer Jobs

INTRODUCTION

Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) is boldly redefining commerce by simplifying complex payments ecosystems across the world. As the leader in commerce-enabling technology, Shift4 powers billions of transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses in virtually every industry.

Principal, Contact Center Automation & Solutions

SUMMARY

Shift4 is expanding globally and hiring a key Principal, Contact Center Automation and Solutions expert. This is a hands-on engineering role focused on designing, building, deploying, and improving automation, integrations, software, and AI-enabled solutions that reduce avoidable support demand and employee effort.

The Principal, Contact Center Automation & Solutions is expected to think beyond implementation by challenging problem framing, shaping solutions, evaluating technical tradeoffs, and identifying when automation is not the appropriate intervention. This role partners with the VP to establish priorities and understand business objectives, then translates validated opportunities into secure, scalable, and measurable technical solutions.

This opportunity is preferably based onsite at either of the following Shift4 locations:
Center Valley, PA (Headquarters) / Las Vegas, NV / Toronto, Canada

Relocation assistance may be available.

Responsibilities

Strategic Technical Problem Solving

• Partner with the VP and Support subject-matter experts to translate prioritized contact reduction opportunities into clear technical requirements and solution options.
• Validate feasibility using contact data, workflow observations, system behavior, and operational metrics; challenge assumptions when opportunities differ in practice from initial expectations.
• Determine the simplest and most reliable intervention across software, integrations, workflow automation, self-service, and AI, including recommending alternatives when automation is not the appropriate solution.
• Provide architecture, effort, dependency, risk, and build-versus-buy recommendations to inform portfolio prioritization and investment decisions.

Build and Deploy Solutions

• Personally design, code, test, deploy, and support production-grade automations, services, integrations, workflows, internal tools, and AI-enabled applications.
• Integrate enterprise systems using APIs, webhooks, authentication and authorization, event-driven patterns, SQL, and secure data exchange.
• Develop practical AI capabilities using large language model (LLM) APIs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), structured outputs, tool use, evaluation, and human-in-the-loop controls, as appropriate.
• Apply sound production engineering practices, including source control, automated testing, continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), monitoring, logging, security controls, documentation, and reliable exception handling.

Partner, Measure, and Scale

• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Contact Center Technology, Data, Security, Compliance, and other teams when solutions depend on systems outside direct ownership.
• Incorporate measurement into solutions to evaluate changes in targeted contact demand, repeat contacts, employee effort, and resolution friction.
• Own appropriate solutions through operation and stabilization, recommending when capabilities should be scaled, modified, discontinued, or transitioned to a long-term platform owner.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Seven (7) or more years of experience in software engineering, automation engineering, integration engineering, applied AI engineering, business systems engineering, solutions engineering, or a comparable hands-on technical role.
• Demonstrated experience independently taking technical solutions from discovery and design through implementation, deployment, and production support.
• Strong programming skills in Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, C#, or another general-purpose programming language, including the ability to write and maintain production-quality code.
• Strong experience with enterprise integrations and data, including REST APIs, JSON, webhooks, authentication and authorization, secure system-to-system data exchange, and SQL.
• Practical experience building production automation and AI applications using modern engineering practices, including testing, source control, CI/CD, logging, monitoring, and access controls.
• Strong technical judgment and the ability to select the appropriate approach among conventional software, workflow automation, configuration, AI, or non-technical interventions.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate operational challenges into business outcomes, technical architecture, and actionable implementation plans.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience building software, automation, or AI capabilities for customer support, contact centers, service operations, or customer experience.
• Familiarity with contact center platforms or enterprise systems such as NICE CXone, Cognigy, Genesys, Five9, Salesforce, Palantir Foundry/AIP, or comparable technologies.
• Experience in payments, financial technology (FinTech), point-of-sale technology, or another high-volume, regulated, or operationally complex environment.
• Background in process engineering, Lean/Six Sigma, problem management, operational excellence, or business analysis.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.