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Principal Agentic Architect - 11386
Chicago, US on-site full time principal Apr 3, 2026
About this role
Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry-leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins.
Why join Coupa?
🔹 Pioneering Technology: At Coupa, we're at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technology to empower our customers with greater efficiency and visibility in their spend.
🔹 Collaborative Culture: We value collaboration and teamwork, and our culture is driven by transparency, openness, and a shared commitment to excellence.
🔹 Global Impact: Join a company where your work has a global, measurable impact on our clients, the business, and each other.
Learn more on Life at Coupa blog and hear from our employees about their experiences working at Coupa.
The Impact of a Principal Agentic Architect at Coupa:
As the Principal Agentic Architect, internally known as the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is the technical engine of Coupa’s AI Transformation. Sitting at the intersection of Generative AI Engineering and Enterprise Systems Integration, you are responsible for the end-to-end technical orchestration of AI agents. You translate high-level “intents” defined by the Business Consultant into functional, interconnected AI solutions that drive measurable business outcomes. As a “forward deployed” resource, you act as the critical technical link between customer requirements and Coupa Product Management.
Coupa complies with relevant laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity and offers a welcoming and inclusive work environment. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, or evaluating performance are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees.
Please be advised that inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted.
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you have read Coupa’s Privacy Policy and understand that Coupa receives/collects your application, including your personal data, for the purposes of managing Coupa's ongoing recruitment and placement activities, including for employment purposes in the event of a successful application and for notification of future job opportunities if you did not succeed the first time. You will find more details about how your application is processed, the purposes of processing, and how long we retain your application in our Privacy Policy.
country: US
all locations: [Chicago, Illinois, United States]
commitment: Mid-Senior Level
department: Services
location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
team: Professional Services
What You'll Do: :
AI Engineering & Agentic Orchestration
Own the build, configuration, and rapid prototyping of AI agents within Coupa Agent Studio, extending platform capabilities beyond standard out-of-the-box functionality
Specialize in prompt engineering, model tuning, and AI guardrails to ensure accuracy, reliability, and reduction of hallucinations within production AI workflows
Leverage multiple AI platforms, frameworks, and orchestration tools including Claude, OpenAI, MCP, and LangChain to design best-of-breed agentic workflows
Design and deploy extensibility frameworks including Embedded UI Assistant integrations and Model Context Protocol (MCP) capabilities for secure enterprise orchestration
Develop agent-to-agent communication logic and workflow orchestration across complex multi-step business processes
Integration & Technical Leadership
Leverage deep API and integration expertise to support secure, low-latency connectivity between AI agents and enterprise systems including ERP, CLM, and CRM platforms
Partner directly with customer IT and security teams to address technical feasibility, risk assessments, governance, and enterprise security requirements
Understand and manage AI consumption strategies, platform resource utilization, and Coupa credit usage across agentic workflows
The Field-to-Product Bridge
Act as the primary technical liaison between customer engagements and Product Management, identifying roadmap gaps and influencing future platform capabilities
Ensure technical delivery remains aligned to original architectural vision and “as-designed” specifications throughout implementation lifecycle
Support technical pre-sales initiatives by developing reusable Agent Blueprints and rapid deployment PoCs while serving as a technical feasibility expert
Performance Tuning & Quality Assurance
Design authorization boundaries, simulation runs, and human-in-the-loop controls that govern autonomous AI decision-making and escalation paths
Develop evaluation frameworks and automated testing approaches focused on functional correctness and production-grade AI performance
Own ongoing monitoring, testing, health checks, and remediation of AI agents and workflow orchestration environments
Apply continuous improvement methodologies and human-in-the-loop best practices across AI-enabled technical solutions
What You Will Bring to Coupa: :
Must-Have Technical Expertise
Proven experience in technical integration roles including Middleware, API Engineering, or Systems Architecture with strong knowledge of REST, GraphQL, and JSON
Strong programming proficiency in Python and/or JavaScript (Node.js)
Experience building integrations and orchestration layers between non-deterministic AI systems and deterministic enterprise platforms
Understanding of Source-to-Pay (S2P) business requirements with the ability to map agentic workflows across procurement, invoicing, and payables processes
Hands-on experience with agentic frameworks and open-standard orchestration architectures including MCP, LangChain, AutoGen, or similar technologies
Desired “Super Powers”
Strong builder mindset with the ability to rapidly move from concept to functional, deployable AI components
Advanced troubleshooting and debugging skills across complex AI systems, APIs, prompts, integrations, latency, and data quality issues
Ability to establish technical credibility and trust with executive stakeholders while acting as a strategic advisor on AI transformation initiatives
Experience supporting enterprise digital transformation and strategic consulting engagements within large-scale environments
Strong technical agility with the ability to quickly redesign and optimize agent logic within fast-paced implementation environments
Ability to clearly explain technical behaviors, limitations, and AI outcomes to non-technical stakeholders while building customer confidence
Deep understanding of Coupa APIs, Compose, configurations, and platform architecture with the ability to diagnose whether issues stem from AI logic, product limitations, data quality, or configuration setup
Proactive approach to customer education and expectation-setting throughout implementation and deployment processes