Senior Software Engineer, AI Applications

Fuel Talent; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Fuel Talent partners with a Series A AI-native startup to hire a Senior Software Engineer focused on AI applications. The role is hybrid in Downtown Seattle, requiring hands-on work shipping AI-powered features from prototype to production.

You will own end-to-end development across APIs, services, data, and AI surfaces, collaborate with product/design, and contribute to building reliable, scalable AI capabilities in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Experience building or integrating AI systems, tooling, or applications.
• Primary expertise in Backend/Full Stack, Infrastructure, MlOps, Applied AI, or Platform engineering.
• Visa transfer/sponsorship not provided; US Citizens or Green Card holders only.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and ship user-facing AI features end to end.
• Work across the stack: APIs, services, data, and the surfaces that LLMs and agents run in.
• Prototype with emerging AI patterns (agents, RAG, tool use) and turn the promising ones into reliable production systems.
• Own quality through testing, code review, observability, and production readiness.
• Collaborate closely with product and design in a fast-moving environment.

Skills

Python

TypeScript

Distributed systems

Debugging

Education

BS or higher

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, AI Applications | Startup

Hybrid, Downtown Seattle

• Visa Support: No transfers, sponsors, student visas at this time; US Citizens or Green Card Holders only
• Degree: Required, BS or higher
• Experience building or integrating AI systems, tooling, or applications a hard requirement (not just AI-assisted development)
• Hiring candidates with primary expertise in Backend or Full Stack development, Infrastructure, MlOps, Applied AI, or Platform engineering

We are partnered with a Series A, AI-native startup building production AI products from the ground up. Our client is looking for experienced software engineers who want to work at the application layer of modern AI: turning LLMs, agents, and retrieval systems into real features that customers rely on.

About the role

You will build and ship AI-powered product features end to end, from prototyping against the latest models to hardening the systems that run them in production. This is a hands-on role for an engineer who moves fast, has strong product instincts, and enjoys the ambiguity of early-stage work where the right patterns are still being figured out.

What you'll do

• Design, build, and ship user-facing AI features end to end
• Work across the stack: APIs, services, data, and the surfaces that LLMs and agents run in
• Prototype with emerging AI patterns (agents, RAG, tool use) and turn the promising ones into reliable production systems
• Own quality through testing, code review, observability, and production readiness
• Collaborate closely with product and design in a fast-moving environment

What we’re looking for

• 5+ years of software engineering experience building production software
• Strong Python, TypeScript, or similar programming language
• Demonstrated experience shipping features 0-1, ideally in a startup or fast-paced environment
• Experience building or integrating AI / LLM-powered products in production
• Strong distributed systems and debugging experience
• Proven end-to-end ownership of complex project
• Bonus: hands-on experience with LLMs, agents, RAG, or other applied AI patterns