AI Transformation Engineer

Sauce, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health Insurance

Paid Parental Leave

Flexible Work Environment

Job summary

Sauce, Inc. is building an AI-first transformation of its operations. We’re hiring a builder-architect who treats problems as product opportunities, owning scoping, design, delivery, and adoption in a fast-paced, R&D environment.

This is a 10X role with no PM layer or sprint ceremonies; you will lead across teams, architect systems, deploy AI agents and orchestration, and translate vague feedback into well-formed solutions that ship.

Qualifications

• Own operations problems end-to-end and act as PM.
• Architect and build AI-first solutions.
• Work across teams in an R&D org.
• Translate vague feedback into well-architected solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own operations problems end-to-end — define the solution, be its PM, architect it, build it, ship it, and iterate until production.
• Drive AI transformation across the company — introduce AI-first practices and prove them with shipped results.
• Design and deploy agentic systems — AI agents, human-in-the-loop workflows, operational UIs, CRM integrations.
• Cross boundaries freely — get into other teams' code, other domains, other stacks.
• Work directly with business stakeholders — translate feedback into precise, well-architected solutions.
• Reports to VP, R&D; set priorities with leadership.

Skills

Technical founder

Product Manager

System Architect

Software Engineer

AI development

Full-stack

Tools

Cursor / Claude Code

Node.js

React

PostgreSQL

Azure

Job description

Sauce is a premier restaurant technology platform that helps businesses grow with our Commission-Free Delivery & Pickup structure and proprietary delivery optimization technology. We are serving a 105 billion dollar US local restaurant business. Headquartered in NYC and Tel-Aviv, Sauce wants restaurants to fulfill their highest potential, this means giving local establishments everything they need to connect directly with their customers. The Sauce team pools together decades of restaurant tech experience, along with seasoned tech, sales, marketing, product and operations executives who produce an industry-changing delivery system for successful local restaurants and chains.

About The Role:

We're hiring a builder-architect to lead AI-first transformation at Sauce, starting with our operations department. Not a fullstack dev who "uses AI" — someone closer to a technical founder: you take an operational business problem end-to-end, act as your own PM, design the architecture, and build until it's solved. You'll operate across teams and codebases in an R&D org built on legacy practices — and drag it into the AI-first era.This is a 10X-accelerator role. You get a problem, not a ticket. No PM layer, no sprint ceremonies — you own scoping, solution design, delivery, and adoption.

What You'll Do:

• Own operations problems end-to-end — Understand the operational pain, define the solution, be its PM, architect it, build it, ship it, and iterate until it actually works in production
• Drive AI transformation across the company — introduce AI-first practices into an R&D org with legacy habits; champion new tooling and prove it with shipped results
• Design and deploy agentic systems — AI agents, human-in-the-loop workflows, operational UIs, CRM integrations, n8n/orchestration pipelines that automate ops end-to-end
• Cross boundaries freely — get into other teams' code, other domains, other stacks; no "not my area"
• Work directly with business stakeholders — translate vague operational feedback into precise, well-architected solutions
• Reports to VP, R&D; works directly with business and ops leadership — you set priorities with them, not receive them

What You Bring:

• Almost a technical founder — you've built products or companies (or operated like you did), and you still love to build
• PM + Architect + Engineer in one — you don't need requirements written for you; you write them, then execute
• A strong software architect — you build proper, extensible systems, not duct-tape automations; you extend cleanly and never break what exists
• AI-native — deep, current, hands-on experience with LLMs, agents, and AI-assisted development; you know what's possible this month, not last year
• Relentless — energy to push until the problem is solved; "no matter what" is your operating mode
• Multi-domain — comfortable in unfamiliar codebases, stacks, and business areas
• A transformation driver — you've changed how a team or company works, not just shipped features into it

Technical Experience

• AI agents in production — tool use, structured outputs, multi-step orchestration, evals, human-in-the-loop design
• Ops automation — n8n or similar workflow platforms, operational UIs, CRM integrations (HubSpot a plus)
• AI-first development — expert with Cursor / Claude Code / equivalent as primary build tools
• Full-stack — Node.js + React or equivalent; PostgreSQL or similar
• Architecture — API design, third-party integrations, cloud deployment (Azure / AWS / GCP)
• Security awareness — move fast with emerging tech while keeping systems secure

Nice to Have

• Founder / Founding-engineer experience
• HubSpot API
• MongoDBPlaywright / Browser automation
• Chrome extensions
• Restaurant or logistics domain knowledge

What We Offer:

• Strong & Competitive Compensation Package, Including Equity
• Company-Sponsored Insurance Package (Health, Dental, Vision, Mental Health)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Flexible Work Environment
• Responsible Paid Time Off Policy

Sauce is an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We welcome all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions), national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability (physical or mental), gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, immigration status, or any other classification, category or characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. We understand the importance of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace and celebrate our employees for their differences.