Senior Staff AI Engineer

Sonatus$227K — $300K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Applied Sciences, or related field preferred; Bachelor's degree required.
  • 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 4+ years in production-scale AI/Agentic systems.
  • Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or C+ with experience in frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
  • Expert-level experience with stateful orchestration frameworks such as LangGraph or AutoGen.
  • Proven experience building multi-agent systems and frameworks with adaptive orchestration.
  • Deep understanding of Jailbreak Detection and PII masking techniques.
  • In-depth knowledge of current machine learning algorithms and AI platforms.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the architecture and design of an extensible AI platform, ensuring architectural consensus across teams.
  • Develop agentic orchestration by implementing critical components for AI agents.
  • Design a versioned prompt registry for model-agnostic prompt routing and A/B testing.
  • Engineer privacy features for PII redaction and build a hallucination verifier to audit AI actions.
  • Oversee the entire cycle of data modeling and algorithm development, from training to deployment.
  • Perform data analysis to provide actionable insights for business decisions.
  • Document technical designs and communicate processes effectively using visual aids.

Benefits

  • Competitive compensation and equity program
  • Health care plan including Medical, Dental, and Vision.
  • Flexible and Dependent Care Expense program
  • Retirement plan (401k)
  • Life Insurance options (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
  • Unlimited paid time off with 15 additional paid holidays
  • Hybrid office work arrangement for flexibility.
  • Complimentary lunches, snacks, and beverages during on-site workdays.
  • Wellness benefit allowances for gym memberships and fitness programs.
  • Internet reimbursement and Computer Accessory Allowance.
  • Departmental team building activities and Employee Referral Program.
  • Employee engagement through culture and satisfaction surveys.
Full Job Description
Role Summary:

We are seeking a Senior Staff AI Engineer with a combination of architectural expertise and production rigor to lead the development of an Agentic Framework to support our AI applications. In this role, you will be the technical anchor for our AI offerings, working to deliver a production-grade Agentic Operating Layer for software-defined vehicles.

This is a 50% Architecture / 50% Implementation position. You will be responsible for designing and implementing an extensible architecture that bridges high-velocity vehicle telemetry with sophisticated AI reasoning. We need a leader who is collaborative by nature but decisive in execution-someone who can drive architectural consensus and take full accountability for the performance, safety, and scalability of the resulting system.
Responsibilities:
  • Lead the architecture and design of an extensible AI platform. Drive architectural consensus across teams on AI-core decisions to ensure platform unification.
  • Lead the development of agentic orchestration by designing and implementing mission-critical components that allow AI agents to decompose complex goals into actionable sub-tasks.
  • Design and implement a versioned prompt registry allowing for model-agnostic routing and A/B testing of system prompts
  • Engineer the privacy shield for PII redaction and the hallucination verifier to audit AI-generated actions before execution
  • Conduct the full cycle of data modeling and algorithm development, including modeling, training, tuning, validating, deploying, and maintaining services (AI breadth).
  • Strong domain expertise in the AI area, including LLM, RAG, fine-tune large models, traditional ML models, etc. (AI depth)
  • Stay current with industry trends and advancements in data science and AI technologies. (State-of-the-Art)
  • Perform data analysis and offer insights to inform business decisions across multiple domains.
  • Adhere to data privacy and security protocols to uphold the confidentiality of sensitive information.
  • Document and communicate technical designs, processes, and best practices to stakeholders using visualizations and presentations.
  • Take charge of projects, ensuring timely completion in a dynamic work environment.
Qualifications:
  • Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Applied Sciences, or a related field preferred. Bachelor's degree required.
  • 10+ years of software engineering experience with 4+ years dedicated to shipping production-scale AI/Agentic systems. You have a track record of moving projects from whiteboards to global cloud deployments.
  • Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Java, or C++, with hands-on experience in relevant frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
  • Expert-level experience with stateful orchestration frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, AutoGen, or similar). You understand the nuances of managing state across complex, multi-step AI missions.
  • Strong experience grounding AI in structured/unstructured Big Data environments. Practical knowledge of traditional databases, streaming analytics, and Vector databases.
  • Proven experience building multi-agent systems and frameworks with adaptive orchestration
  • Deep understanding of Jailbreak Detection (e.g., LlamaGuard) and PII masking techniques to ensure safe LLM interactions in regulated environments
  • In-depth knowledge and understanding of current machine learning algorithms, AI technologies, and platforms.
  • Solid experience in data preprocessing, feature engineering, and model evaluation techniques.
  • Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) is a plus.
  • Strong knowledge of software development best practices, version control systems, and agile methodologies.
  • Results-driven with a positive can-do attitude and excellent problem-solving skills.
  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
  • Experience in the automotive industry is highly desirable.
  • Experience building multi-tenant "Platform-as-a-Service" (PaaS) models is desirable.

Benefits Offered:
  • Competitive compensation and equity program
  • Health care plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
  • Flexible and Dependent Care Expense program
  • Retirement plan (401k)
  • Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
  • Unlimited paid time off per year, 15 paid holidays
  • Hybrid office work arrangement/flexibility

Perk Offerings include:
  • Complimentary lunches, snacks, and beverages during on-site working days
  • Wellness benefit allowances (towards gym membership and fitness programs)
  • Internet reimbursement
  • Computer Accessory Allowance

Employee Engagement Offerings:
  • Departmental team building and outings
  • Employee Referral Program
  • Culture/Employee Satisfaction Surveys - Feedback matters!


The posted salary range is a general guideline and represents a good faith estimate of what Sonatus ("Company") could reasonably expect to pay for a base salary for this position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs. The Company reserves the right to modify this range in the future, as needed, as market conditions change.

Base Salary Pay Range

$227,500-$300,000 USD

About Sonatus

Sonatus is a software and technology company that provides a cloud-based platform for managing and securing enterprise applications. The company's platform enables organizations to manage and secure their applications across multiple clouds and data centers, providing visibility and control over their entire application infrastructure. Sonatus was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.
Learn more about Sonatus
Size
50 employees
Industry
Founded
2018

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