AI Engineer (Data & Infrastructure)

We're looking for an AI Engineer who thrives at the intersection of data, APIs, and intelligent systems. You'll own the backend infrastructure that powers our AI-first platform, from data acquisition and normalization to API design and system architecture. This is a founding engineer role where your decisions will shape our technical foundation.

You'll focus on:

• Designing and building data pipelines that transform diverse sources into clean, queryable datasets
• Creating robust APIs that serve both internal AI systems and external partners
• Architecting backend services that handle high-volume, real-time data processing
• Partner with other engineers to build a seamless full-stack product
• Shipping features quickly, learning from real usage, and iterating

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Technical foundation:

• 5-8 years building production systems with modern Python (FastAPI, Django, or similar)
• Strong experience with data extraction, normalization, and database design (SQL + NoSQL)
• Proven ability to design and scale RESTful or GraphQL APIs
• Comfort with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Real experience integrating LLMs into production systems (not just experiments)

AI-first mindset:

• You default to using AI tools (Claude, Cursor, Copilot) to accelerate development
• You think about how to build systems that get smarter with data
• You're excited about prompt engineering, embeddings, and working with unstructured data

Startup DNA:

• Early-stage company experience required
• Ship fast, learn from production, iterate based on data
• Thrive in ambiguity and make smart trade-offs without perfect specs

WHAT WE VALUE:

• Velocity over perfection: We'd rather ship and learn than build the "right" architecture in a vacuum
• Ownership: You'll own significant parts of the product: autonomy and accountability
• AI-native thinking: We're building for an AI-first world, not bolting AI onto old patterns
• Pragmatism: Use the right tool for the job, even if it's not the coolest technology

NOTE:

• Candidates outside of NYC are not being considered
• We are unable to provide sponsorship for this role