Principal AI/ML Systems Lead

Ando is building AI-native workforce infrastructure for the 80M hourly workers in the U.S. and hundreds of millions globally.

Labor is the last broken supply chain. Forecasting, allocation, and professional identity remain fragmented across static tools and manual decision-making. Ando is rebuilding this system from first principles.

We start with highly accurate AI-generated demand forecasts, move to allocation-first labor optimization, and compound value through a persistent labor graph that captures skills, reliability, availability, and performance across time and employers. Over time, this becomes a professional identity layer and intelligent system serving both enterprises and frontline workers.

Ando is a Seed-stage company backed by Slow Ventures and experienced operators. We are live with real customers and entering a phase where architectural clarity, learning loops, and AI systems quality are foundational to long-term success.

We are hiring a Principal AI / ML Systems Lead to serve as Ando’s senior AI leader and technical authority.

This is a founding-level role. You will sit at the senior table with the CEO, help define Ando’s long-term AI architecture, represent the company’s AI strategy externally, and build the systems that become Ando’s moat.

This role combines:

• Deep hands-on technical leadership

• Systems-level thinking

• Executive presence with customers, candidates, and investors

If you want to own a category-defining intelligence system rather than tune isolated models, this role is for you.

• Own Ando’s core intelligence layer end-to-end:

  • Predictive demand forecasting

  • Market-level labor allocation and optimization

  • Continuous learning loops across shifts, workers, and enterprises

• Design and evolve production ML systems that operate under real-world uncertainty

• Set standards for model evaluation, accuracy, and learning velocity

• Make architectural decisions that compound over time
  

• Sit at the senior leadership table alongside the CEO

• Represent Ando’s AI strategy in:

  • Enterprise customer conversations

  • Senior hiring and recruiting

  • Investor and advisor discussions

  • The SF AI and systems ecosystem

• Help translate complex systems into clear, credible narratives
  

• Recruit, mentor, and lead a small, high-bar AI/ML and systems team

• Build a culture grounded in accuracy, accountability, and systems thinking

• Act as a talent magnet for senior technical builders

• 8–12+ years experience building production ML, forecasting, or decision systems

• Strong background in:

  • Time-series forecasting, optimization, or applied ML

  • Production data systems and software engineering

• Experience leading or mentoring senior engineers while remaining hands-on

• Ability to reason at the system level, not just the model level

• Comfort explaining AI tradeoffs to non-technical executives

• Clear, structured communication and strong judgment
  

• Experience with workforce, logistics, marketplaces, or supply-chain systems

• Startup or founding-team experience

• Prior exposure to multi-objective optimization or allocation problems

• Public speaking, writing, or ecosystem involvement
  

This is a senior leadership role designed for someone who wants meaningful ownership and influence from day one. Compensation combines a strong base salary with significant founding-level equity, aligned with long-term value creation and shared upside.

Our approach to compensation reflects how we think about building: we favor ownership and impact over maximizing near-term cash. This role is ideal for a leader who is excited by responsibility, creative and strategic authorship, and the chance to shape the company’s future over time.

• You will co-own Ando’s Founder AI Thesis and Labor Graph strategy

• You will help define how AI is applied to one of the largest labor markets in the world

• You will have real authority from day one, not “future potential”

• You will build systems that compound, not features that churn
  

If you are optimizing primarily for cash or title polish, this is not the right role.

If you want to:

• Define a new category

• Build systems that matter

• Sit at the senior table

• And leave a lasting technical imprint

We should talk.

Ando is a high-trust, high-care organization built on ownership, respect, and thoughtful collaboration.

We value diverse perspectives, clear communication, and personal accountability. We move fast through alignment rather than force, operate comfortably in ambiguity, and build with empathy for the enterprises and workers our systems serve.

These values are core to how we work. Candidates who share them tend to thrive at Ando.

Ando Technologies, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

And yes, we are proudly DEI. We believe diverse perspectives make teams stronger, systems smarter, and outcomes more equitable. Building infrastructure for the frontline workforce demands empathy, representation, and respect, and we take that responsibility seriously. These values are core to how we work. Candidates who share them tend to thrive at Ando.

By applying for this role, you acknowledge that any information you provide will be processed in accordance with Ando’s privacy practices and applicable data protection laws. Applicant information is used solely for recruiting and employment-related purposes. Submission of an application does not create an employment contract or guarantee of employment.