Core Engineer - Software / Applied AI

Core Engineer – Software / Applied AI Senior & Staff

Location: Hybrid – Denver, CO

Employment Type: Full-time

_The Opportunity_

Our client is seeking a Core Engineer focused on Software / Applied AI to build production-grade AI capabilities that make a next-generation edge platform scalable, reliable, and repeatable.

In this role, you will own critical components of a private AI platform, including agentic and multi-agent systems, repeatable AI architectures, evaluation and reliability frameworks, and platform capabilities such as automated fine-tuning and runtime optimization.

This work operates within clearly defined industrial production boundaries — AI behavior must be measurable, controlled, and fully reversible before reaching production. You will partner closely with data and infrastructure teams to translate real-world requirements into scalable platform capabilities.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership role ideal for engineers who want to build the infrastructure that makes real-world AI deployments safe and dependable.

_What You’ll Do_

• Build and operate production AI capabilities including:
• Agentic and multi-agent workflows
• Tool calling and orchestration
• Repeatable AI patterns that scale
• Design and implement evaluation, monitoring, and quality systems to ensure AI reliability and continuous improvement
• Develop platform capabilities for private AI, including:
• Automated fine-tuning workflows
• Model and runtime optimization
• Inference performance improvements under real-world constraints
• Implement safety and operational controls such as:
• Policy constraints
• Approval workflows
• Auditability
• Rollback mechanisms
• Build pragmatic APIs and interfaces to integrate AI capabilities across platform services
• Improve developer velocity through automation and AI-assisted tooling
• Partner with data and infrastructure teams to ensure high-quality context reaches inference and agent workflows
• For senior levels: mentor engineers, review designs, and raise the technical bar

_What Success Looks Like_

First 3 months

• Deliver at least one production AI capability that improves reliability, performance, or usability
• Establish evaluation and rollback models for an AI workflow operating within industrial constraints
• Become a trusted owner for key AI platform components

First year

• Own major components of the private AI platform end-to-end
• Ship repeatable AI structures that accelerate adoption across deployments
• Drive platform evolution through measurable, production-grounded improvements

_Who You Are_

• 6+ years building and operating production software systems
• Experience shipping AI-enabled platforms or agentic systems strongly preferred
• Strong distributed systems, performance, and reliability fundamentals
• Experience owning production services end-to-end (e.g., Docker/Kubernetes, REST/gRPC APIs, controlled rollouts)
• Experience building evaluation frameworks, monitoring, and AI safety/guardrail systems
• Strong engineering craft with clean, well-documented implementations
• Proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript/Go and modern service frameworks (e.g., FastAPI-style)
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and real-world constraints (latency, cost, GPU utilization, reliability)
• Clear communicator and strong cross-functional collaborator
• Ownership mindset focused on outcomes

_Unique Experience Valued_

• Production experience with agentic or multi-agent systems and orchestration layers
• Experience designing reusable AI patterns (tool calling, memory/state, policy constraints, guardrails)
• Experience building fine-tuning pipelines and runtime optimization for private AI deployments
• Background in AI monitoring and quality systems enabling safe rollback and continuous improvement
• Strong systems intuition across data, infrastructure, and security constraints
• Familiarity with event/data systems (e.g., Kafka), operational stores (e.g., Postgres or time-series DBs), and secure deployment patterns

_Benefits & Compensation_

• Base salary range:
• Senior: $130,000–$155,000
• Staff: $160,000–$185,000
• Meaningful early-stage equity participation
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Flexible PTO
• Paid parental leave
• Commuter benefits
• Relocation and visa support for eligible candidates

_Why This Opportunity Stands Out_

• High-ownership startup environment with immediate impact
• Work at the frontier of applied AI, edge computing, and distributed systems
• Exposure to real-world AI deployment challenges in demanding environments
• Strong AI-native engineering culture
• Opportunity to shape foundational platform capabilities

Our client is an equal opportunity employer committed to building an inclusive, merit-based organization and does not discriminate on any legally protected status.