AI Engineer

81 North; United States; Remote; USD 83,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote contract

USD hourly pay

Flex project-based engagement

EST overlap hours

Direct collaboration with leadership

Job summary

81 North is seeking an AI Engineer for a remote hourly contract. You will build AI-powered applications, agents, and workflow automations, using cutting-edge AI tools to accelerate delivery while maintaining engineering quality.

Expect to write automated tests, implement observability, and collaborate with senior technical leadership on client engagements. You should bring 3+ years of hands-on software development and strong familiarity with AI-assisted workflows, CI/CD, and production

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on software development experience.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development workflows.
• Experience with CI/CD, logging, monitoring, and production debugging.

Responsibilities

• Build AI-powered applications, agents, and workflow automations.
• Use modern AI coding tools to accelerate delivery.
• Write strong automated tests as part of the development process.
• Implement logging, monitoring, and observability for AI-driven systems.
• Support prompt evaluation, output consistency, and production reliability.
• Maintain clear documentation and proactively communicate progress.
• Work directly with senior technical leadership on client engagements.

Skills

AI-assisted development

Hands-on software development

CI/CD

Production debugging

Clear communication

Tools

Claude Code

Codex

MCP servers

Cursor

Windsurf

Job description

Job Description

AI Engineer (Contract)

Remote | Hourly Contract | AI Applications & Automation

An emerging AI consulting and application development firm is building a bench of highly capable developers who know how to use AI the way it’s actually meant to be used: as a force multiplier for speed, quality, and execution.

This is hands-on client work focused on solving real operational and business problems — not experimental demos or internal hack projects.

The team builds custom AI agents, workflow automations, internal tools, and AI-powered applications for small and mid-sized businesses across multiple industries.

We’re specifically looking for AI-fluent developers who no longer write every line of code manually — but also don’t blindly trust AI-generated output.

You know how to steer coding agents with precision, validate outputs, redirect when needed, and leverage AI to dramatically improve productivity while maintaining engineering quality.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Building AI-powered applications, agents, and workflow automations
• Using modern AI coding tools and agents to accelerate delivery
• Writing strong automated tests as part of the development process
• Implementing logging, monitoring, and observability for AI-driven systems
• Supporting prompt evaluation, output consistency, and production reliability
• Maintaining clear documentation and proactively communicating progress
• Working directly with senior technical leadership on client engagements

What They’re Looking For

• 3+ years of hands-on software development experience
• Strong familiarity with AI-assisted development workflows
• Experience using tools such as Claude Code, Codex, MCP servers, Cursor, Windsurf, or similar environments
• Ability to validate, redirect, and improve AI-generated code output
• Strong communication and documentation habits
• Experience with CI/CD, logging, monitoring, and production debugging
• Strong product instincts and attention to detail
• Comfortable operating in fast-moving project environments

Preferred Technical Exposure

Most projects involve technologies such as:

• Python (FastAPI, Django)
• JavaScript / TypeScript
• React / Next.js
• Postgres / SQLite
• AWS
• Vercel
• Linux environments

Candidates do not need to be experts in every technology listed, but should be highly adaptable and capable of ramping quickly using modern AI tooling.

Nice to Have

• Experience building or deploying AI agents into production
• Familiarity with prompt evaluation and observability tooling
• AI-assisted testing workflows
• Machine learning experience

Additional Details

• Remote contract opportunity
• Hourly compensation paid in USD
• Flexible project-based engagement
• Must maintain some overlap with EST business hours
• Direct collaboration with senior technical leadership

If you’re excited about where AI-assisted software development is heading — and you already use AI as a meaningful part of how you build — we’d love to connect.