AI Engineering Lead for Public Systems

Promise; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity for All

100% Paid Health Coverage

Hybrid Work

Flexible Time Off

Job summary

Promise is seeking an Engineering Lead to steer AI initiatives and lead the engineering organization across nationwide government and utility deployments. You will build, scale, and secure complex systems while maintaining a dignity-first approach for residents in need.

This role combines leadership with hands-on technical work, partnering with Product, Design, and Operations to deliver impactful, reliable software that enhances public services and resilience for communities across the country.

Qualifications

• 6+ years building production software.
• Track record of setting technical direction and delivering outcomes.
• Strong background in backend systems and secure architecture.
• Familiarity with AI/ML advances and applying them to real-world problems.
• Experience integrating with legacy or third-party systems (government/regulated).
• Excellent collaboration with product, design, and non-technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead by doing: build alongside the team and understand the product deeply.
• Own the roadmap by partnering with Product and Design to prioritize features.
• Ensure the platform is secure, scalable, and capable of nationwide deployment for governments and utilities.
• Deliver resident-friendly features like flexible installments, smart reminders, and personalized plans.
• Stay hands-on, debugging production issues and optimizing performance.
• Automate what matters: apply AI and automation to reduce overhead while maintaining quality.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure reliable deployments and field performance.
• Raise the bar by defining standards for engineering quality and reliability.

Skills

Technical leadership

Roadmap ownership

Backend systems design

Security & reliability

AI/ML awareness

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Promise is seeking an Engineering Lead to steer AI initiatives and lead the engineering organization across nationwide government and utility deployments. You will build, scale, and secure complex systems while maintaining a dignity-first approach for residents in need.

This role combines leadership with hands-on technical work, partnering with Product, Design, and Operations to deliver impactful, reliable software that enhances public services and resilience for communities across the country.