Staff AI Engineer

About the Role:We are looking for an experienced Staff AI Engineer to lead the design, development, and deployment of next-generation AI products. You will play a key role in building production-grade AI systems using Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic AI frameworks.This is an opportunity to work in a fast-paced startup environment where you'll help shape the company's AI strategy, build innovative proof-of-concepts, and take ownership of end-to-end AI solutions.Responsibilities:Design, build, and deploy production-ready AI/ML applications.Develop scalable RAG pipelines using embeddings, vector databases, and retrieval systems.Build and optimize agentic AI frameworks capable of multi-step reasoning and tool use.Fine-tune open-source and commercial LLMs for production use cases.Evaluate, benchmark, and improve AI model performance.Optimize inference performance, latency, and infrastructure costs.Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Leadership teams to define AI strategy.Lead technical architecture discussions and mentor engineering teams.Build proof-of-concepts to validate new AI ideas and technologies.Drive innovation while maintaining high standards for scalability, reliability, and performance.Required Qualifications:8–15 years of professional AI/ML engineering experience.Experience at an AI-first or AI/ML-driven company.Staff Engineer or Senior Staff Engineer experience preferred.Strong production experience with:Large Language Models (LLMs)Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)Agentic AI systemsModel fine-tuningExpert-level Python programming skills.Experience with TensorFlow and/or PyTorch.Experience deploying production AI systems at scale.Strong understanding of distributed systems and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).Experience building APIs and backend AI services.Strong knowledge of the ML lifecycle from training through deployment.Experience with model evaluation and benchmarking.Preferred QualificationsStartup or high-growth company experience.Computer Vision experience.Time-Series modeling experience.Hardware optimization or inference optimization (ONNX, TensorRT, TFLite, etc.).Strong data engineering and feature engineering experience.Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or another STEM discipline from a top-ranked university.What We're Looking ForThe ideal candidate has:Hands-on experience building production-grade AI applications—not just MLOps or inference platforms.A track record of rapid execution and ownership in startup environments.Strong technical depth in LLMs, RAG architectures, and multi-agent systems.Ability to explain architectural decisions, context window management, latency optimization, and cost-performance tradeoffs.Passion for building innovative AI products from the ground up.Interest in learning and applying AI within the automotive industry.Why Join Us?Competitive base salary plus equity.Comprehensive benefits package.Work alongside experienced AI engineers solving challenging real-world problems.Opportunity to influence product direction and technical strategy.Fast-paced startup environment with significant ownership and career growth.Build cutting-edge AI products using the latest LLM technologies.Work Location: Hybrid (3 days onsite) – Sunnyvale, CaliforniaVisa Sponsorship: H-1B Transfers and TN candidates are welcome to apply.