5+ years of engineering experience in AI, including tech lead or engineering lead roles on production projects
Ownership mentality for AI systems and accountability for their performance
Experience leading engineers through technical decision-making and mentorship
Strong solutions architecture fundamentals with expertise in cloud systems, API design, and data integration
AI-Native working style involving daily use of AI tools for development and exploration
Willingness to travel 10-30%, based on project and customer needs
Responsibilities
Lead and mentor a team of Forward Deployed AI Engineers, setting technical direction and execution standards
Design and implement production-ready AI systems aligned with real business outcomes
Communicate effectively with customer stakeholders about system capabilities and improvements
Operate and refine live AI systems, addressing failures and iterating on quality and reliability
Integrate AI solutions into customer platforms, balancing speed and maintainability
Take accountability for production outcomes and adapt systems to evolving requirements
Benefits
100% covered medical, dental, and vision for employees and dependents
401(k) with additional perks like commuter benefits and in-office lunch
Access to advanced AI models and generous usage of modern tools
Opportunity to own high-impact projects at top enterprises
Mission-driven culture that values curiosity, pragmatism, and excellence
Full Job Description
What We Are Looking For
AI Engineers are hands-on technical leaders who own the architecture, execution, and delivery of critical production AI systems for large enterprise customers. They make technical decisions, lead project delivery, coach engineers, and partner closely with customer stakeholders and Distyl's AI strategy team to ensure systems deliver real business value.
This role is for engineers who want ownership over production outcomes: shaping system architecture, leading technical execution, working directly with customers, and improving AI systems under real-world constraints. Key Responsibilities
Lead and mentor a team of AI Engineers-owning technical direction, code quality, execution standards, and individual growth
Design and implement AI systems that combine models, agents, retrieval, evaluation, and execution into coherent, production-ready systems aligned with real business outcomes
Work directly with customer stakeholders, often in high-visibility settings, and communicate clearly about system behavior, tradeoffs, limitations, and paths to improvement
Operate and improve live AI systems by measuring behavior, identifying failure modes, debugging issues, and rapidly iterating on quality, reliability, and usefulness
Integrate AI systems into customer data platforms, APIs, and existing applications. Make pragmatic system design decisions that balance speed, robustness, maintainability, and long-term operability
Take accountability for outcomes in production and adapt systems as requirements evolve
Who You Are
8+ years of engineering experience, including experience as a tech lead or engineering lead on customer-facing or production AI projects
Ownership mentality for AI systems. You take responsibility for whether an AI system delivers its intended value in production. You are comfortable making independent technical decisions across system design, evaluation, integration, and iteration
Technical leadership in teams. Management experience is not required, but you should have led engineers through technical decision-making, execution, mentorship, and delivery. Growth in this role includes taking on broader technical and leadership scope over time
Strong solutions architecture fundamentals: You have experience with cloud systems, system integrations, API design, and data engineering. You can understand how an AI system fits into a broader enterprise ecosystem and operate as a peer to customer architecture and engineering teams
AI-Native Working Style: You use AI tools daily to write and debug code, explore designs, analyze data, and automate repetitive work. You are curious about new model capabilities and techniques, and actively incorporate them into how you build and iterate on systems
Willingness to travel: Travel is typically 10-30%, depending on the project, customer needs, and your role on the engagement
What We Offer
The base salary range for this role is $200-$250K, depending on experience, location, and level. In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for meaningful equity, along with a comprehensive benefits package
100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents
Flexible time off
Retirement and financial planning benefits, including access to pre-tax HSA, FSA, and commuter accounts, 401(k), and financial coaching resources
Comprehensive wellness benefits, including physical fitness, mental well-being, and fertility and family-building benefits through Carrot
Complimentary in-office lunches and snacks provided
Access to state-of-the-art AI models, generous usage of modern AI tools, and real-world business problems
Ownership of high-impact projects across top enterprises
A mission-driven, fast-moving culture that values curiosity, pragmatism, and excellence
Distyl has offices in San Francisco and New York. This role follows a hybrid collaboration model with 3+ days per week (Tuesday-Thursday) in-office.
