Senior AI Engineer

We’re building the first B2B, in-classroom Voice + Video AI Tutor designed for real-world learning environments. This system operates in live classrooms—processing noisy audio, interpreting visual signals, and delivering low-latency, safe, pedagogically aligned AI support to educators and students.
We are seeking a Senior AI Engineer to architect and operationalize multimodal AI systems at production scale. You will own end-to-end AI initiatives—from research and experimentation through deployment and continuous optimization—powering AI features used by millions of learners.
This is a high-impact role with significant technical ownership in defining how AI is embedded into our platform.

Paper is reimagining how schools support students so that every learner can reach their full potential. Our vision is a world where every student receives timely, personalized, and relevant academic support. We offer a suite of scalable solutions including 24/7 tutoring, writing feedback, math practice, college and career support, and AI-powered instructional tools that provide personalized support to all students, including multilingual learners. Our GROW high-impact tutoring program accelerates learning through targeted small-group instruction, delivers measurable gains in student achievement, and eases teacher workloads. Trusted by 500+ school districts across 40+ states and backed by leading investors including IVP, Sapphire Ventures, Framework Capital, and Reach Capital, we’re pursuing a bold goal: to drive the best academic outcomes for as many students as possible.

Recent articles:

• GROW by Paper Drives 201% Increase in Grade-Level Proficiency in Just 12 Weeks

• GROW by Paper Earns Stanford’s NSSA Tutoring Program Design Badge, Signaling Excellence in Research-Aligned Design

• Paper Appoints Marisa Burkhart as CRO

Job Description

What You’ll Own

Multimodal AI Architecture

• Design and deploy real-time voice and vision AI systems for classroom environments.

• Evaluate tradeoffs between fine-tuning, RAG pipelines, prompt-based approaches, and tool-using agents.

• Build scalable inference systems with strict latency and cost constraints.

Model Development & Experimentation

• Fine-tune and evaluate LLMs, ASR models, and vision/multimodal architectures.

• Design robust evaluation frameworks (offline + online).

• Implement safety guardrails and bias mitigation strategies.
   

Productionization

• Own the full ML lifecycle: data ingestion, training, validation, deployment, monitoring, and iteration.

• Optimize infrastructure for GPU utilization, latency, and cost efficiency.

• Partner with MLOps to build reliable, versioned AI pipelines.
   

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Product and Engineering to translate classroom needs into production-ready AI systems.

• Clearly communicate tradeoffs between model complexity, performance, and cost.

• Contribute to long-term AI roadmap and architecture decisions.

Required Experience

• 5+ years building and deploying production AI/ML systems.

• Hands-on experience operationalizing LLM-based systems (RAG, agents, prompt workflows, fine-tuning).

• Experience with multimodal or vision systems.

• Demonstrated ownership of AI systems in production (monitoring, evaluation, iteration).

• Strong Python proficiency and experience with PyTorch or TensorFlow.

• Experience working with distributed/cloud infrastructure for ML workloads.
   

Strongly Preferred

• Experience building real-time or low-latency ML systems.

• Experience working with educational data or regulated environments (FERPA/COPPA).

• Experience designing evaluation frameworks for generative systems.

• Background in optimizing ML systems for cost at scale.

The annual salary range for this position is $160000 - $190,000 USD or $145,000 - $173,000 CAD, plus equity. Please note that the final offer amount is determined by multiple factors, including geographic location as well as candidate experience, and may vary from the amounts listed above​

What is it like to work at Paper? You will:

• Be joining a remote-first company with a collaborative, mission-driven culture working together to write the next chapter of Paper!

• Have opportunities to connect in person throughout the year, even while working remotely day-to-day.

• Be part of an exciting new era of growth, with fresh leadership, a bold product vision, and a redefined charter.

• Thrive in a fast-moving, build-from-scratch environment where agility and critical thinking guide decisions, collaboration is built on trust and healthy challenge, and every team member takes ownership to deliver real customer impact and grow every day.

Additional Benefits:

• Comprehensive & competitive compensation, health benefits, retirement plan, stock options, and more.

• In addition to vacation days, we provide Paperites with sick days and 4 extra weeks off - including statutory holidays, Paper Days throughout the year, and a full Paper Week from Dec 25 to Jan 1.

• A $500 stipend to set-up your workspace and $100 monthly stipends to support with on-going workspace needs.

• We support growing families with generous paid parental leave.

• Unlimited access to tutoring and educational support for children of Paper employees.

You’ll be joining a team of mission-driven builders who care deeply about equity in education, and who thrive in a culture of ownership, velocity, and continuous learning. If you’re energized by challenges, inspired by impact, and ready to help lead a high-growth business through its next phase, we’d love to meet you.

We believe diverse teams build better products and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Paper does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender orientation, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, marital status, or military status.

Requisition ID

R-100319