AI Research Engineer

Come Near; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Come Near, Inc. is building a personalized digital experience to help neighbors find content that meets them where they are.

We seek a builder who can transform early AI concepts into reliable systems and iterate rapidly as the product evolves. You will own AI-powered workflows, run experiments, and ensure measurable outcomes, with a focus on the personalization engine and Come Near Intelligence, collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Masters degree or equivalent research experience.
• Proven experience building ML systems that shipped and ran in production.
• Alignment with Come Near’s mission and values is essential.

Responsibilities

• Take AI-powered systems from early prototype to functional, iterating until they work well enough to ship or hand off to engineering
• Run experiments, read the results, and use what you learn to make the next version better
• Instrument systems so the right things are being measured, and so results are legible enough to act on
• Own the diagnosis when something breaks or underperforms, in your own work or the systems around it
• Current focus areas include the personalization engine and Come Near Intelligence (CNI), our internal AI knowledge system

Skills

Troubleshooting

Data pipelines

ML systems

AI integration

Education

Masters Degree in CS/Engineering or related field

2+ years ML production experience

Job description

Candidates for this role are required to sign the organization’s Statement of Faith, which closely aligns with Come Near’s mission-driven focus of inviting all people one step closer to the authentic Jesus from wherever they are.

ABOUT US

Come Near is a group of people moved to raise the public conversation about Jesus. They create, curate, and connect people to authentic Jesus stories and experiences. Most widely recognized is the group’s “He Gets Us” campaign, which invites people to reconsider Jesus and has reached millions of Americans since launching in 2021. To learn more, visit comenear.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

Come Near is building a personalized digital experience to help neighbors find content that meets them where they are. We need someone who can build the technical systems that make that possible, with a strong mindset of iterating toward a working solution. This role is for a builder who takes well-formed concepts and early prototypes and develops them into functional systems, rapidly iterating until they perform. You’ll recognize when a system is ready to hand off and when it needs another pass. The product is continually evolving, and the systems you build must keep pace with it.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Take AI-powered systems from early prototype to functional, iterating until they work well enough to ship or hand off to engineering
• Run experiments, read the results, and use what you learn to make the next version better
• Instrument systems so the right things are being measured, and so results are legible enough to act on
• Own the diagnosis when something breaks or underperforms, in your own work or the systems around it
• Current focus areas include the personalization engine and Come Near Intelligence (CNI), our internal AI knowledge system

COMPETENCIES

• Comfortable making reasonable technical decisions under ambiguity
• Strong troubleshooting instinct: digs in rather than escalates when something isn’t working
• Enough range to work across data pipelines, modeling, and serving infrastructure
• Builds with AI as a natural part of their workflow, using it to move faster, go deeper, and do more with less

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Masters Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or another technical field, or equivalent research experience (approximately 2 or more years)
• Demonstrated experience building ML systems that shipped and ran in production
• Alignment with Come Near’s mission and values is essential

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• A personal relationship with Jesus and a passion for Come Near’s mission.
• A heart for service, humility, and collaborative leadership.
• An initiative-taking, meticulous approach to planning and execution