Principal Engineer (Part-Time / Project-Based) Lisboa

Location: Remote (Europe)

Type: Project-based • Part-time • Flexible schedule • Stock options possible

About the Company

Our client is a
- generation Government Tech & AI startup on a mission to bring transparency and accountability to global public procurement systems.

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Lisbon (soon to be incorporated in Dubai), the company is building AI-powered procurement transparency solutions for governments worldwide — think Palantir, but built for multiple governments and open ecosystems rather than for a single national structure.

Their vision: to replace opaque,
- prone procurement with data-driven, AI-enabled transparency that any government can adopt.

The Role

We’re looking for a Software Architect to lead the rebuild and modernization of the company’s AI-driven government procurement platform.

This is a project-based,
- impact engagement — ideal for a senior external specialist who can step in, design a scalable architecture, define technical foundations, and guide the transition from MVP to
- grade product.

You’ll focus on system design, data architecture, and AI integration, ensuring the platform can handle massive procurement datasets and
- agent AI workflows.

Once the architecture is established, the implementation will be handed over to the internal engineering team (which you may help structure or advise on).

Key Responsibilities

• Redesign the MVP into a scalable, secure
  - grade platform architecture
• Define AI orchestration layers integrating multiple LLMs (GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, Grok, etc. )
• Establish
  - level security, compliance, and data governance frameworks
• Optimize database architecture for
  - scale procurement datasets (currently Neo4j-based)
• Advise leadership on scalability, data infrastructure, and
  - term technology roadmap
• Optionally assist in forming and onboarding the future engineering team

Requirements

• Senior-level experience designing architecture for complex,
  - heavy systems
• Strong background in AI/ML infrastructure or
  - LLM integration
• Proven expertise in database design and optimization (preferably graph or hybrid systems)
• Solid understanding of security and compliance in regulated or government environments
• Demonstrated success in rebuilding or scaling systems from MVP to production
• Previous consulting or project-based architecture experience is a strong plus

What’s Offered

• Part-time, fully remote engagement with a flexible schedule
• Strategic,
  - ownership role with freedom to define the tech vision
• Collaboration with a
  - thinking Gov
  Tech & AI leadership team
• Option to stay connected for future advisory or scaling phases
• Competitive compensation (project-based) + potential equity