Principal Machine Learning Engineer, AI Agents

Principal Machine Learning Engineer, AI Agents

Compensation: $300K–$350K base + significant equity

Location: US-remote

Join a fast-growing AI-native data platform used by some of the world’s most recognizable enterprises. This is a rare opportunity to shape the architecture and scale of intelligent agents powering real-world data workflows-alongside a founding team and seasoned engineering leaders.

About the Company

This fast-growing startup is transforming how teams build and scale data workflows-combining modern development experiences with intelligent automation. Their platform enables both technical and non-technical users to collaborate more effectively, accelerating the delivery of trusted, production-grade pipelines. With strong enterprise traction and a growing focus on AI, they’re entering an exciting new chapter of product innovation.

About the Role

This is the most senior IC role on the AI team, reporting directly to the founding CTO. You’ll drive the design, prototyping, and deployment of multi-agent systems-powering features like intelligent ETL automation, SQL generation, and orchestration. You’ll lead by doing: coding, mentoring, unblocking peers, and setting the bar for technical excellence across the org.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and build production-grade AI agents and supporting infra
• Lead rapid prototyping and weekly code delivery cycles
• Drive prompt orchestration, retrieval pipelines, and evaluation frameworks
• Partner closely with product and infra teams to shape the roadmap
• Scale systems for high-throughput, low-latency usage (10K+ RPS)
• Define engineering standards across observability, CI/CD, and governance
• Influence org-wide decisions while remaining hands-on

What You’ll Bring

• Ample engineering experience, including leadership on 0→1 AI projects
• Expertise in frameworks like LangChain, LlamaIndex, or CrewAI
• Strong backend fundamentals-Python required; Go, Java, or Scala a plus
• Experience with scalable cloud architecture (K8s, serverless, GCP/AWS)
• Familiarity with RAG, vector databases, and agent reliability tooling
• Ability to own ambiguity, set direction, and mentor other engineers
• Comfort collaborating with cross-functional teams and execs

Tech Stack

• Python, Go, Java, Scala
• Hugging Face, PyTorch
• LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI
• Kubernetes, GCP, AWS
• Pinecone, Weaviate, Neo4j, Spark

Why Join?

• Senior-most IC role with massive impact and ownership
• Collaborate directly with a visionary founding team
• Build systems used in real enterprise environments
• Combine AI, backend, and infra in a deeply technical product
• Competitive comp, top-tier benefits, and a high-caliber team

About People In AI

People In AI is a specialized talent partner to the world’s leading AI companies. We help top engineers find meaningful roles where they can build frontier technology and shape the future.