AI Software Engineer - Basel

ekona.ai; Basel; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ekona.ai is seeking engineers who thrive on solving real problems with production-grade AI systems for clients in life sciences, supply chain and finance. The role is Basel-based, on-site, with occasional client-site travel, and involves building end-to-end AI applications in collaborative project teams.

You will work directly with clients to understand pain points, prototype quickly, and evolve solutions into robust, scalable products using a modern stack and AI tooling.

Qualifications

• Several years of professional software engineering experience.
• Comfort with cloud-native development: containers, CI/CD, at least one major cloud platform.
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs and agent frameworks, or a track record of quickly picking up new technical domains.
• The ability to talk to non-technical stakeholders and translate problems into working software.
• A strong bias toward shipping.
• Very good English, spoken and written; German is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Understand problems deeply by engaging with clients and domain experts.
• Build fast, robust, production-ready systems; design and deploy multi-agent workflows and AI-powered applications.
• Ship end-to-end: own architecture through testing, deployment and observability in cloud environments; work in small project teams.
• Shape how we work by contributing to our AI engineering playbook, frameworks and internal tooling.

Skills

Software engineering

Cloud-native development

Effective communication

Problem solving

English proficiency

Tools

Python

FastAPI

TypeScript

Next.js

React

PostgreSQL

LLM APIs

LangGraph

Neo4j

GCP

Azure

AWS

Job description

Basel, Switzerland · Full time · Permanent · On-site, with time at client sites

Basel, Switzerland · Full time · Permanent · On-site, with time at client sites

For people who figure things out, stay curious, and build things that actually work.

At ekona, we build production-grade AI systems for clients in life sciences, supply chain and finance, where quality is not optional. That means complete applications, AI agents embedded in real business processes, and governed AI platforms, all running in our clients' own cloud. Our clients trust us because we think independently, move fast, and deliver with Swiss reliability.

We're looking for engineers who do not wait for perfect instructions. Who explore, experiment, break problems down, and build solutions that matter. Who enjoy ambiguity because it gives them room to think. Who can sit with a client, understand their pain, and fix it with the right mix of engineering and AI.

If that sounds like you, keep reading.

What You’ll Do

Real engineering. Real users. Real impact.

Understand problems deeply. Engage directly with clients and their domain experts. Ask the right questions, map the problem, challenge assumptions.

Build fast, build well. Prototype quickly, then turn prototypes into robust, production-ready systems. Design and deploy multi-agent workflows, document and vision AI, and LLM-powered applications. Working software reaches users within weeks, and we demo it every week.

Ship end-to-end. Own your work from architecture through testing, deployment, observability and iteration in cloud environments. You'll work in small project teams, with AI coding tools as part of your daily workflow.

Shape how we work. Influence our technical roadmap. Help develop our AI engineering playbook, frameworks and internal tooling. Your ideas will be heard.

What We’re Looking For

The exact stack matters less than how you think, learn, and build.

• Several years of professional software engineering experience, shipping systems to real users
• Comfort with cloud-native development: containers, CI/CD, at least one major cloud platform
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs and agent frameworks, or a clear track record of picking up new technical domains fast
• The ability to talk to non-technical stakeholders and translate their problems into working software
• A strong bias toward shipping
• Very good English, spoken and written. German is a plus

What you’ll work with

(you don't need all of it): Python and FastAPI; TypeScript, Next.js and React; Postgres; LLM APIs from OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini and Anthropic; LangGraph and our own agent tooling; Neo4j knowledge graphs; GCP, Azure and AWS.

Nice to have: domain experience in life sciences, pharma, supply chain or finance; knowledge graphs, RAG systems or LLM observability; experience in regulated environments.

Why ekona

• Momentum. We've grown steadily through 2026, and there's a lot more to build.
• Engineering quality actually matters. Our clients feel the difference, and so will you.
• Real projects, regulated industries. The work has weight.
• Early-team environment. Autonomy, trust, and direct influence on where we go next.
• No AI theater. No bureaucracy, no endless meetings, no demos dressed up as deliverables.
• Entrepreneurial culture. Fast-moving, pragmatic, grown-up.

Is This You?

If you're happiest planning, specifying, and polishing without ever putting something in front of a user, this probably isn't the right place.

If you want to ship impactful AI products alongside a small team that holds itself to a high bar, it probably is.