Location: Hybrid – Denver, CO
Employment Type: Full-time
Our client is seeking a Core Engineer focused on Software / Applied AI to build production-grade AI capabilities that make a next-generation edge platform scalable, reliable, and repeatable.
In this role, you will own critical components of a private AI platform, including agentic and multi-agent systems, repeatable AI architectures, evaluation and reliability frameworks, and platform capabilities such as automated fine-tuning and runtime optimization.
This work operates within clearly defined industrial production boundaries — AI behavior must be measurable, controlled, and fully reversible before reaching production. You will partner closely with data and infrastructure teams to translate real-world requirements into scalable platform capabilities.
This is a hands-on, high-ownership role ideal for engineers who want to build the infrastructure that makes real-world AI deployments safe and dependable.
What You’ll DoBuild and operate production AI capabilities including:
Agentic and multi-agent workflows
Tool calling and orchestration
Repeatable AI patterns that scale
Design and implement evaluation, monitoring, and quality systems to ensure AI reliability and continuous improvement
Develop platform capabilities for private AI, including:
Automated fine-tuning workflows
Model and runtime optimization
Inference performance improvements under real-world constraints
Implement safety and operational controls such as:
Policy constraints
Approval workflows
Auditability
Rollback mechanisms
Build pragmatic APIs and interfaces to integrate AI capabilities across platform services
Improve developer velocity through automation and AI-assisted tooling
Partner with data and infrastructure teams to ensure high-quality context reaches inference and agent workflows
For senior levels: mentor engineers, review designs, and raise the technical bar
First 3 months
Deliver at least one production AI capability that improves reliability, performance, or usability
Establish evaluation and rollback models for an AI workflow operating within industrial constraints
Become a trusted owner for key AI platform components
First year
Own major components of the private AI platform end-to-end
Ship repeatable AI structures that accelerate adoption across deployments
Drive platform evolution through measurable, production-grounded improvements
6+ years building and operating production software systems
Experience shipping AI-enabled platforms or agentic systems strongly preferred
Strong distributed systems, performance, and reliability fundamentals
Experience owning production services end-to-end (e.g., Docker/Kubernetes, REST/gRPC APIs, controlled rollouts)
Experience building evaluation frameworks, monitoring, and AI safety/guardrail systems
Strong engineering craft with clean, well-documented implementations
Proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript/Go and modern service frameworks (e.g., FastAPI-style)
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and real-world constraints (latency, cost, GPU utilization, reliability)
Clear communicator and strong cross-functional collaborator
Ownership mindset focused on outcomes
Production experience with agentic or multi-agent systems and orchestration layers
Experience designing reusable AI patterns (tool calling, memory/state, policy constraints, guardrails)
Experience building fine-tuning pipelines and runtime optimization for private AI deployments
Background in AI monitoring and quality systems enabling safe rollback and continuous improvement
Strong systems intuition across data, infrastructure, and security constraints
Familiarity with event/data systems (e.g., Kafka), operational stores (e.g., Postgres or time-series DBs), and secure deployment patterns
Base salary range:
Senior: $130,000–$155,000
Staff: $160,000–$185,000
Meaningful early-stage equity participation
Health, dental, and vision coverage
401(k) with company match
Flexible PTO
Paid parental leave
Commuter benefits
Relocation and visa support for eligible candidates
High-ownership startup environment with immediate impact
Work at the frontier of applied AI, edge computing, and distributed systems
Exposure to real-world AI deployment challenges in demanding environments
Strong AI-native engineering culture
Opportunity to shape foundational platform capabilities
Our client is an equal opportunity employer committed to building an inclusive, merit-based organization and does not discriminate on any legally protected status.
Skills Required
- 6+ years building and operating production software systems
- Experience shipping AI-enabled platforms or agentic systems
- Strong distributed systems, performance, and reliability fundamentals
- Experience owning production services end-to-end, including Docker/Kubernetes, REST/gRPC APIs, and controlled rollouts
- Experience building evaluation frameworks, monitoring, and AI safety or guardrail systems
- Strong engineering craft with clean, well-documented implementations
- Proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript/Go and modern service frameworks
- Comfort navigating latency, cost, GPU utilization, and reliability constraints
- Clear communication and strong cross-functional collaboration
- Ownership mindset focused on outcomes
- Production experience with agentic or multi-agent systems and orchestration layers
- Experience designing reusable AI patterns, including tool calling, memory/state, policy constraints, and guardrails
- Experience building fine-tuning pipelines and runtime optimization for private AI deployments
- Background in AI monitoring and quality systems supporting safe rollback and continuous improvement
- Strong systems intuition across data, infrastructure, and security constraints
- Familiarity with event/data systems, operational stores, and secure deployment patterns
What We Do
SourceDirect Talent is a talent advisory and recruiting firm serving seed and early-stage startups. It provides AI-powered recruiting solutions to help customers build go-to-market and engineering teams, alongside global people consulting. Its services cover end-to-end recruitment, immigration, HR, and advisory support, using AI talent agents, sourcing frameworks, and data-driven processes to help growing companies scale hiring and improve recruitment capacity.









