Staff AI Engineer

People In AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

People In AI in San Francisco is seeking a Staff AI Engineer to lead building infrastructure and user-facing systems powering AI-first features. You will ship production-ready AI components, scale internal platforms, and set technical direction across backend and frontend.

You'll work with TypeScript, React, Node.js, and AWS, integrate LLMs, design RAG pipelines, and mentor engineers while collaborating with product, design, and ML teams to transform legacy workflows into intelligent systems.

Qualifications

• Experience with TypeScript, React, Node.js, and AWS.
• Experience integrating LLMs or building AI-powered features.
• Familiarity with RAG, vector databases, and prompt engineering.
• Track record of taking complex systems to production.
• CI/CD, observability, and cloud-native infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Build full-stack systems that integrate applied LLM features into core product experiences.
• Design and scale backend services for RAG pipelines, vector search, and AI orchestration.
• Develop intuitive frontend interfaces for AI copilots using modern React patterns.
• Lead architecture and implementation of AI-powered workflows across teams.
• Strengthen internal tooling for prompt iteration, evaluation, and observability.
• Collaborate closely with product, design, and ML teams to bring features to life.
• Mentor engineers and influence engineering best practices across the org.

Skills

TypeScript

React

Node.js

AWS

LLMs

AI-powered features

Tools

Open-source LLM frameworks

Orchestration tooling

Job description

$250,000 – $310,000 base + strong equity

We're partnering with a mission-led SaaS startup that is redefining how the audit and advisory world works, using applied AI to modernize one of the most manual, overlooked industries.

This Series B company, with a Series C on the horizon, is backed by world-class investors and undergoing a full-stack rebuild. AI copilots and intelligent automation are already in flight, with strong executive alignment and a mandate to transform legacy workflows into intuitive, intelligent systems.

About the Role

As a Staff AI Engineer, you will play a lead role in building the infrastructure and user-facing systems that power intelligent professional tools. From backend orchestration to frontend delivery, you’ll help ship AI-first features to production, scale internal platforms, and set technical direction. This is a hands-on, high-impact role at the intersection of AI product development and robust software engineering.

What You’ll Do

• Build full-stack systems that integrate applied LLM features into core product experiences
• Design and scale backend services for RAG pipelines, vector search, and AI orchestration
• Develop intuitive frontend interfaces for AI copilots using modern React patterns
• Lead architecture and implementation of AI-powered workflows across teams
• Strengthen internal tooling for prompt iteration, evaluation, and observability
• Collaborate closely with product, design, and ML teams to bring features to life
• Mentor engineers and influence engineering best practices across the org

What You’ll Bring

• Deep experience with TypeScript, React, Node.js, and AWS
• Strong software engineering fundamentals and backend design skills
• Experience integrating LLMs or building AI-powered features
• Familiarity with RAG, vector databases, and prompt engineering
• Track record of taking complex systems from concept to production
• Bonus: experience with evaluation frameworks, observability, or ML infra
• TypeScript (React, Node.js)
• Open-source LLM frameworks and orchestration tooling
• CI/CD, observability, and cloud-native infrastructure

Why Join?

• High ownership, lead end-to-end systems from infra to UI
• AI-first mission, reshape a legacy industry with modern tools
• Engineering rebuild, build greenfield systems on a clean, modern stack
• Strong culture, smart and humble teammates who move fast

About People In AI

We help top engineers find high-impact roles at the most exciting AI-native startups. Every opportunity we share is vetted for technical quality, team strength, and real-world impact. No fluff, just great jobs with great people solving meaningful problems.