Director of AI Engineering, Internal Products

Via; New York (NY); On-site; USD 250,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

401(k) match

Parental leave

Wellness perks

PTO 20 days

Job summary

Via is seeking a Director of AI Engineering, Internal Products in New York to lead an engineering team building AI-native internal tools and an empowered employee development platform. You will shape architecture, set standards, recruit top engineers, and partner with leaders to identify high-impact AI opportunities.

You will guide product-driven engineering, ensure security and observability, and rethink software delivery with AI coding agents.

Qualifications

• Exceptional engineering leadership with track record shipping production software.
• AI-native approach leveraging modern AI coding tools and agents.
• Strong systems thinking including security, integrations, observability, testing and maintainability.
• Product-minded leadership turning ambiguous needs into usable software.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of AI-powered internal platforms and tools.
• Build and scale internal products across Finance, HR, Ops, Sales and Marketing.
• Define architecture, standards, and operating model for the team.
• Recruit, mentor, and grow engineers; foster a high-velocity, reliable studio.
• Partner with executives to identify high-impact software & AI opportunities.
• Rethink software development with AI agents, automated testing, and new workflows.

Skills

Engineering leader

AI-native builder

Systems thinking

Product thinking

Ambiguity tolerance

Organizational multiplier

Tools

AI coding tools

Job description

Director of AI Engineering, Internal Products

New York

Via is on a mission to create public transportation systems that provide far greater access to jobs, healthcare, and education. Our platform serves as the technology backbone for modern transit networks, transforming antiquated and siloed public transportation systems into smart, data-driven, and efficient digital networks. With hundreds of agency partners around the world, Via is recognized as the leading transportation technology and service provider globally.

As the Director of AI Engineering, Internal Products at Via, you'll lead an engineering team that builds high-impact internal products using AI-native development practices, while pioneering a platform that enables people across the company to create their own software with AI agents. We call these empowered employees “nano engineers.”This is an opportunity to shape a new engineering discipline, solve problems across the business, and multiply our capacity to innovate.

About the Role

• Build products that make our business run better, from internal systems supporting Finance, HR, Ops, Sales and Marketing to tools that help field teams coordinate work, surface operational insights, resolve exceptions, manage resources, and make better decisions in real time
• Work closely with the people doing the work, understand their needs firsthand, and turn those insights into products that deliver measurable business impact
• Rethink software development in the age of AI, using coding agents, AI-assisted development, automated testing, and new engineering workflows to accelerate the journey from identifying a problem to delivering a solution
• Lead the development of our AI-powered internal development platform, building the integrations, permissions, infrastructure, testing, deployment, and governance needed to make employee-created software reliable and useful
• Recruit, develop, and lead exceptional engineers, and define the architecture, engineering standards, operating model, and culture that will allow the team to scale its impact
• Partner with leadership across the company to identify the highest-impact opportunities for software and AI, and challenge conventional assumptions about what to build versus buy

About You

• An exceptional engineering leader with a strong technical foundation and experience building and shipping production software; you’ve led engineers, made sound architectural decisions, and delivered systems that people depend on
• An AI-native builder who actively explores and uses modern AI coding tools and agents, and is excited to rethink how an engineering team should operate
• A pragmatic systems thinker who understands security, permissions, integrations, observability, testing, and maintainability, and knows how to apply the right level of rigor to each use case
• A product thinker who cares about the problem being solved, not just the technology, and can turn ambiguous needs into useful products
• Comfortable with ambiguity; you’re happy to move between strategy, architecture, hands‑on building, and working directly with business teams
• An organizational multiplier, excited about enabling other people to solve problems independently

Compensation and Benefits

• Base Salary Range: $250,000 - $290,000 per year plus variable pay and equity as part of a total compensation package. Final compensation will be determined by the candidate’s experience, knowledge, and skills.
• Comprehensive health coverage, with low-cost dental and vision plans.
• A 401(k) with company match and vesting.
• Fully paid parental leave for new parents, with extended leave options.
• Additional benefits (mental health, pet insurance, and other wellness perks).
• 20 days of paid time off (PTO) annually.

There has never been a more exciting time to be on the cutting edge of public mobility.

Via is an equal opportunity employer.