AI Alchemist

Aegis AI Security; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Aegis AI Security seeks an AI Alchemist in San Francisco to translate ideas into executable AI-powered products. You will lead high-visibility projects, build agent-based systems, and drive strategic initiatives alongside the CEO and founders.

This role demands hands-on coding, rapid iteration, and the ability to demonstrate tangible prototypes to investors while shaping the company’s AI roadmap and architecture.

Qualifications

• 3–6+ years in a high-growth startup or AI lab.
• Strong Python proficiency and experience with LLMs.
• Proven ability to prototype and ship AI-powered features quickly.

Responsibilities

• Rapid Prototyping & Incubation: own zero-to-one phase until ready to hand off to core team.
• Executive Force Multiplication & Demos: build working code demos for execs and investors.
• AI-First Operations: automate workflows with internal AI agents.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: align Product, Engineering and GTM teams.
• Vanguard of AI Trends: test new models and architectures for the platform.

Skills

Python

LLM APIs

LangChain

Agent frameworks

GitHub projects

Tools

OpenAI API

Anthropic API

Next.js

Vercel

GitHub

Job description

About Aegis AI

Aegis AI is building the next generation of email security—powered by AI agents that think and act like human analysts. Our mission is to keep users safe. Our agents stop Phishing and Spam attacks before they reach employees, using hundreds of specialized models that collaborate autonomously across inboxes.

About Aegis AI

Aegis AI is building the next generation of email security—powered by AI agents that think and act like human analysts. Our mission is to keep users safe. Our agents stop Phishing and Spam attacks before they reach employees, using hundreds of specialized models that collaborate autonomously across inboxes. Our team was founded by the Google security leaders who built Gmail and Chrome Security. Backed by Accel and Foundation Capital, we're transforming how enterprises protect their people from modern social engineering threats.

The Role

As our AI Alchemist, you will be the primary force multiplier for our CEO and the founding team. But this isn't your traditional spreadsheet-jockey role. We are looking for an operator who is fundamentally a builder. Your mandate is to take the company's most critical priorities from "idea" to "execution" at lightning speed—by getting your hands dirty and building with AI.

This is a high-visibility, high-impact role designed for a hacker-operator who wants to see exactly how a venture-backed AI startup is run from the inside. You will act as a surrogate for the CEO in key technical and strategic initiatives, lead skunkworks engineering projects, build the v0 of new AI agents, and ensure the leadership team is pushing the boundaries of what LLMs can do.

Responsibilities

• Rapid Prototyping & Incubation ("Building Cool Shit"): Take "vague" but critical problems and build the v0. Whether it’s hacking together a new agentic workflow, chaining prompts to test a new detection model, or spinning up an internal tool, you own the zero-to-one phase until it's ready to hand off to the core engineering team.
• Executive Force Multiplication & Demos: Drive the agenda for executive meetings, board preparations, and investor pitches not just with slide decks, but with working code. You will build the mind-blowing prototypes and interactive demos that secure our next stage of growth.
• AI-First Operations (Automate the Company): Identify silos, friction points, or operational drag and solve them with AI. You will build and deploy internal agents and scripts to make our GTM, Product, and Engineering teams move twice as fast.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Ensure the Product, Engineering, and GTM teams are aligned. Act as the glue between our core AI research and what the market actually needs, translating complex technical breakthroughs into shipped features.
• Vanguard of AI Trends: Stay obsessively up-to-date with the bleeding edge of AI (new open-source models, reasoning frameworks, agentic architectures) and rapidly test how they can be integrated into the Aegis platform.

Who You Are

• AI Hacker & Builder: You don't just talk about AI; you build with it. You are highly comfortable working with Python, LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, open-source), frameworks like LangChain/LlamaIndex, and modern deployment stacks (Vercel, Next.js). You have a GitHub full of side projects.
• High Agency & Low Ego: You are a "fixer." You don't need a playbook—you write it, and usually, you automate it. You are equally comfortable pitching a Tier-1 investor, running a high-stakes strategy meeting, or staying up until 2 AM debugging an autonomous agent.
• 3-6+ Years of Experience: Likely from a high-growth startup, AI research lab, or as a former technical founder. Experience in fast-paced, "founder-led" environments is a huge plus.
• The "General Manager" Mindset: Like our Product Managers, you are expected to behave like a true owner. You know when to write scalable code and when to duct-tape a solution together to prove a point.
• Master Communicator: You possess the rare ability to talk architecture with Google-tier engineers and business strategy with Accel partners, synthesizing both with equal clarity.

Why This Role?

This is the ultimate "finishing school" for a future technical AI founder. You will be learning directly from serial entrepreneurs who built Gmail and Chrome Security, getting an inside look at top-tier venture capital, and getting paid to experiment, prototype, and build the "immune system" for the modern enterprise.