AI Engineer - GenAI & Agentic Systems

Horizontal Talent; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 30,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

medical

dental

vision

retirement

Job summary

Horizontal Talent is seeking an AI Engineer to design, build, and deploy autonomous AI agents in production. You will craft cloud-native runtimes, integrate LLMs, and contribute to scalable AI infrastructure.

The role requires strong Python, backend skills, and experience with AWS/Azure/GCP, Kubernetes, and CI/CD. You will work with researchers, platform engineers, and product leaders to turn ideas into reliable systems.

Qualifications

• Design and deploy autonomous AI agents or agent-based architectures.
• Strong Python and backend engineering skills.
• Experience with LLM integration, prompts, and agent runtimes.
• Cloud platform experience (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Knowledge of containers, CI/CD, and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop autonomous AI agent systems for production environments.
• Build scalable runtime infrastructure to support enterprise AI.
• Collaborate with researchers, platform engineers, architects, and product leaders to deploy ideas.
• Create secure cloud-native frameworks for intelligent automation.
• Contribute to governance, safety, observability, and compliance for AI apps.
• Help shape agent capabilities like memory, context, and tooling integration.
• Support APIs, backend services, and production-grade AI workflows.

Skills

Agent design

Python

LLM integration

Cloud platforms

Kubernetes

Docker

Distributed systems

Communication

CS/Data science degree

2+ years experience

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering/Data Science

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Join a team building enterprise-scale autonomous AI systems that bring next-generation GenAI and agentic capabilities into production. This contract-to-hire AI Engineer role offers the chance to design cloud-native frameworks, runtime components, and intelligent automation solutions that help power advanced AI experiences in a complex enterprise environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop autonomous AI agent systems that can reason, plan, act, and collaborate in production environments.
• Build scalable runtime infrastructure and foundational components that support enterprise AI and GenAI solutions.
• Partner with researchers, platform engineers, architects, and product leaders to move agentic AI ideas from concept to deployment.
• Create secure, cloud-native frameworks that support intelligent automation across distributed systems.
• Contribute to governance, safety, observability, and compliance for AI-powered applications.
• Help shape core agent capabilities such as memory handling, context management, identity, and tooling integration.
• Support the development of APIs, backend services, and production-ready infrastructure for AI workflows.

Skills

• Experience designing, building, and deploying autonomous AI agents or agent-based architectures.
• Strong Python skills, along with familiarity with backend engineering and AI infrastructure.
• Hands-on knowledge of LLM integration, prompt engineering, and agent runtime systems.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Background in Kubernetes, Docker, containerization, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Understanding of distributed systems, API design, and scalable production environments.
• Ability to communicate clearly, document work effectively, and collaborate across technical teams.
• Bachelor's or master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience in software architecture, backend development, or AI infrastructure.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with MCP servers, vector databases, RAG systems, graph-based memory, or NLP frameworks.
• Familiarity with Java, Go, or C++.
• Knowledge of AI governance, safety, and compliance practices.
• Experience extending open-source tools for enterprise use cases.
• Ability to mentor others and contribute to cross-functional technical planning.
• Interest in building safe, human-centered autonomous systems.

Diversity & Inclusion

Horizontal is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where every person is respected and valued. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and encourage applicants who are excited to contribute their unique perspective and experience.

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• retirement

Compensation

The pay range for this role is $22 - $46 per hour based on qualifications and experience.