Special Projects - OCTO

About the Role

We're seeking an exceptional Senior AI Engineer to join our Office of the CTO's Special Projects team. This is a unique opportunity to work at the leading edge of AI research and development, building and iterating on cutting-edge AI agents and models that will shape our company's product vision and strategic direction. You'll have the freedom to explore emerging AI capabilities, prototype innovative solutions, and identify transformative opportunities for AI integration across our enterprise software platform.

What You'll Do:

Research & Innovation

• Design, build, and rapidly iterate on experimental AI agents and models to explore state-of-the-art capabilities
• Evaluate emerging AI research, architectures, and techniques for potential integration into our product ecosystem
• Prototype novel AI applications that push the boundaries of what's possible with current technology
• Translate cutting-edge research papers into practical implementations and proof-of-concepts

Technical Development

• Architect and implement production-quality AI systems including RAG pipelines, agentic workflows, and multi-modal applications
• Build robust evaluation frameworks to measure AI system performance, safety, and alignment with business objectives
• Develop reusable AI infrastructure, tools, and patterns that can be scaled across the organization
• Integrate AI capabilities with existing enterprise systems, APIs, and data architectures

Strategic Impact

• Collaborate directly with the CTO and senior leadership to inform AI strategy and product roadmap
• Identify high-impact opportunities where AI can create significant value for our customers
• Communicate technical findings and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Mentor and influence engineering teams across the organization on AI best practices

What You Bring:

Required Experience

• 5+ years of software engineering experience with strong fundamentals in system design, algorithms, and data structures
• 3+ years hands-on experience building AI-powered applications using LLMs and modern AI frameworks
• Proven track record of shipping production AI systems that deliver measurable business value
• Expertise with AI development tools and platforms (LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI/Anthropic APIs, vector databases)

Technical Skills

• Expert-level proficiency in Python; experience with TypeScript/JavaScript is a plus
• Strong understanding of prompt engineering, RAG architectures, and agentic AI patterns
• Experience with AI evaluation methodologies, safety considerations, and failure mode analysis
• Comfortable with cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure), containerization, and modern DevOps practices
• Familiarity with fine-tuning, model evaluation, and AI observability tools

Mindset & Approach

• Exceptional ability to navigate ambiguity and rapidly prototype solutions with incomplete information
• Strong research orientation with ability to consume academic papers and translate to practical applications
• Product thinking with focus on user needs, business value, and real-world impact
• Collaborative communication style with ability to explain complex AI concepts clearly
• Intellectual curiosity and excitement about pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in enterprise software environments and understanding of B2B customer needs
• Background in one or more AI specializations: NLP, reinforcement learning, or multi-agent systems
• Contributions to open-source AI projects or published technical writing
• Experience with responsible AI practices, model governance, and compliance considerations
• Previous experience in innovation labs, R&D teams, or strategic technical roles

What Makes This Role Unique:

This isn't a traditional engineering role. You'll have:

• Direct access to leadership and influence over company-wide AI strategy
• Freedom to experiment without the constraints of typical product development cycles
• Visibility and impact as your work shapes the future direction of our products
• Small team autonomy with resources to move fast and test bold ideas
• Research time to stay at the forefront of AI developments and explore emerging capabilities

Our Environment

We're building a team culture that values intellectual curiosity, rapid experimentation, and thoughtful risk-taking. You'll work alongside other senior engineers who are equally passionate about AI's potential to transform enterprise software. We believe in giving smart people hard problems and the autonomy to solve them.

Not sure if this is the right level?Don’t worry—while this role is scoped at L5+, we’re open to candidates at the Senior, Staff, or Principal level based on experience and impact. Our interviews are designed to calibrate level based on experience. Compensation is commensurate to leveling decisions.

Compensation: $200,000 - $330,000