Lead AI Engineer

AI-Native Student Information System for K–12 • Remote (US)

Location

Remote (US only)

Compensation

$180k–$250k + competitive equity

About the company

Our client is an early-stage, venture-backed AI company building an AI-native student information system for K–12 school districts and charter networks. The student information system is the spine every school runs on — enrolment, attendance, grades, compliance reporting — and the incumbent products are decades old. They're rebuilding it with AI at the centre rather than bolted on, for customers who feel the pain of the current tools every single day.

The role

You'll own the end-to-end development of the LLM-powered features that make the product AI-native — from the initial prompt design all the way through to the production infrastructure that serves them. This is a lead seat at an early-stage company: you're not handed a spec, you decide what good looks like and then build it. It's mission-forward work — the users are school districts, and the outcome is administrators getting hours back that currently go into paperwork.

What you'll do

Own LLM-powered features end-to-end — prompt design, evaluation, serving and the infrastructure underneath
Take features from first prototype to production, and keep them reliable once real districts depend on them
Build retrieval and vector-search foundations that the product's AI surfaces are built on
Set the technical direction for AI at an early-stage company, as the most senior AI voice in the room
Work directly with the people who use the product — school and district administrators

What we're looking for

These are hard requirements. Check each one that applies to you.

5+ years of software engineering experience
I've shipped LLM-powered features to production — prompt design through to serving infrastructure, not prototypes or side projects
Strong hands-on Python
I've owned features end-to-end, from initial design through to the production infrastructure that runs them
Worked with vector databases and LLM APIs in a system real users depend on
Based in the United States — this role is remote, but US only
Already authorised to work in the US — this client does not offer visa sponsorship

Please note: every item above is a hard requirement for this role. Applications that don't meet all of them will be rejected. We recommend applying only if you check every box.

Don't check every box? No worries — submit your info here and we'll keep you in mind for roles that could be a better fit.

Submit Your Info

Nice to have

Experience in education technology, or selling into schools and public-sector buyers
Built evaluation harnesses for LLM features rather than shipping on vibes
Early-stage experience where you set the technical direction rather than inheriting it

Tech stack

Python, OpenAI APIs and vector databases.

Compensation & logistics

$180k–$250k base + competitive equity
Fully remote — but US only, the client does not hire outside the United States
No visa sponsorship is offered for this role
Early-stage team, Seed-funded

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