Applied AI Engineer

ActAI; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

ActAI, a US-based startup, is seeking an Applied AI Engineer. You will turn model capabilities into real product behavior, owning problems end-to-end from shaping model behavior to building the systems and ensuring production reliability.

This role sits at the intersection of machine learning, systems, and product, focusing on making AI actually work for users in real-world usage, not just demos. You will ship end-to-end AI features and collaborate with product and engineering.

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in machine learning and modern neural network architectures.
• Hands-on experience with training, fine-tuning, or deploying ML models.
• Ability to write clean, production-quality code.
• Comfort working across abstraction layers (model -> infra -> product).

Responsibilities

• Build AI features end-to-end (model -> system -> user experience).
• Design and iterate prompts, tools, memory, and agent workflows.
• Turn raw model outputs into structured, reliable, and predictable behaviors.
• Debug issues across the full stack (model, orchestration, infra, UX).

Skills

ML foundations

Production-grade code

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Python

PyTorch

JAX

vLLM

Vector DB

Job description

About ActAI

There are over 5 billion users using basic applications today such email, notes, tasks, calendar and they're not AI-native. Our mission is to build proactive applications for anyone in the world, who are not used to complex prompting. We aim to bring intelligence to conversations, errands, organising and workflows, with minimal prompting.

Our product focuses on achieving high reliability for long-running workflows, persistent context, and real-world task completion. We believe products will greatly reduce hallucinations

Our objective is to organise anyone’s life, allowing us all to spend time on valuable and meaningful things

About the Role

ActAI is building a proactive AI system that understands context across conversations, plans actions, and carries work forward over time.

As an Applied AI Engineer, you will turn model capabilities into real product behavior. You will own problems end-to-end, from shaping model behavior, to building the systems around it, to ensuring it performs reliably in production.

This role sits at the intersection of machine learning, systems, and product, focusing on making AI actually work for users, not just in demos, but in real-world usage.

Focus

• Build and ship AI features end-to-end (model -> system -> user experience)
• Design and iterate on prompts, tools, memory, and agent workflows
• Turn raw model outputs into structured, reliable, and predictable behaviors
• Debug issues across the full stack (model, orchestration, infra, UX)
• Optimize for latency, cost, and production reliability
• Develop lightweight evaluation frameworks to measure real-world performance
• Work closely with product and engineering to translate ambiguous problems into working systems

Tech Stack

• Python
• PyTorch / JAX
• LLMs (OpenAI-style APIs, LLaMA, Qwen, etc.)
• Inference / serving (e.g. vLLM)
• Vector DB

Ideal Experience

• Strong foundation in machine learning and modern neural network architectures.
• Hands-on experience with training, fine-tuning, or deploying ML models
• Ability to write clean, production-quality code
• Comfort working across abstraction layers (model -> infra -> product)
• Strong problem-solving skills in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Bias toward shipping, iteration, and continuous improvement

Outcomes

• ML models in production meet expected accuracy, latency, and reliability targets.
• Production issues are identified quickly, debugged effectively, and root causes addressed.
• Data pipelines, training loops, and inference systems are robust, reproducible, and maintainable.
• Collaborates effectively with engineers, product, and research teams to deliver reliable ML-powered features.
• Iterations on models and systems are driven by real-world signals and measurable improvements.

How We Work

The best products today in the world were built by small, world class teams. We make decisions collectively, move at rapid speed, striking a balance between shipping high quality work and learning.

Joining our team requires the ability to bring structure, exercise judgment, and execute independently. Our goal is to put in hands of our users a truly magical AI product.

Interview process

If there appears to be a fit, we’ll reach to schedule 3, but no more than 4 interviews.

Applications are evaluated by our technical team members. Interviews will be conducted via virtual meetings and/or onsite.

We value transparency and efficiency, so expect a prompt decision. If you've demonstrated the exceptional skills and mindset we're looking for, we'll extend an offer to join us. This isn't just a job offer; it's an invitation to be part of a team that’s bringing AI to have practical benefits to billions globally.