Applied AI Engineer
About this role
Developing applied artificial intelligence systems across multi-product defense portfolios forms the core of daily operations for this team. Engineering robust machine learning models, inference services, evaluation pipelines, and production-facing capabilities occupies the central focus of the role. Collaboration with data scientists, software engineers, product teams, and mission stakeholders bridges the gap between advanced research and reliable software deployment.
Defense applications require systems to perform with extreme accuracy under constrained, adversarial, and complex operational conditions. Independence, rapid learning across unfamiliar technical domains, and the ability to move prototypes toward production with limited oversight define successful execution. Qualified candidates bring strong data science and software engineering fundamentals alongside a record of technical excellence in applied machine learning.
What you will do
- Build applied AI systems across product lines, encompassing model integration, inference services, evaluation pipelines, and production-facing capabilities.
- Collaborate with product and mission teams to research, collect data, verify hypotheses, and create robust, testable, maintainable, and deployable models.
- Evaluate and improve model performance under real-world conditions, including adversarial GPS-denied environments, edge deployments, and noisy inputs.
- Develop production-quality software for data pipelines handling acquisition, model serving, monitoring, lifecycle management, and system integration.
- Create rapid prototypes alongside relevant stakeholders and iterate toward production-ready implementations.
- Contribute to AI system reliability through testing, benchmarking, observability, interpretability, failure analysis, and performance optimization.
What you need
- Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident.
- Hold a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical or Electronics Engineering, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical field, or possess equivalent experience.
- Demonstrate 2 to 5 years of professional software development experience, with exceptional recent graduates also considered.
- Possess very strong Python programming skills.
- Bring experience in building, testing, deploying, and supporting production software and models.
- Demonstrate familiarity with APIs, distributed systems, containers, CI/CD, observability, and edge deployment environments or GPU optimization.
Nice to have
- Experience with explainable AI such as IG, counterfactuals, and occlusion
- Experience with realtime digital video processing
- Productizing machine learning models, LLM applications, computer vision systems, signal-processing systems, or autonomous and robotic systems
- Experience building AI agents or agentic workflows
- Familiarity with aerospace, defense, critical infrastructure, robotics, or other mission-critical environments
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
- 401k with a 50% company match up to 6% of pay
- FSA, HSA, and life insurance
- Free daily lunch and 'No meeting Fridays'
- Unlimited PTO and casual dress code
- Relocation assistance and pre-IPO stock option grants
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work and office policy?
Candidates must work on-site at least 2 days per week from the San Francisco office, with 2 to 4 days per week preferred. Travel is required approximately 10 to 20 percent of the time.
What is the compensation and salary range?
The targeted base compensation range is $150k to $170k per year. Additional earnings include pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and upcoming annual bonuses.
What qualifications are required for the role?
Applicants must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident with 2 to 5 years of professional software development experience and very strong Python skills. A relevant degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or equivalent experience is required.
What types of applications will I be working on?
The work focuses especially on defense applications where systems must perform with extreme accuracy under constrained, adversarial, and operationally complex conditions. Responsibilities include building model integration, inference services, evaluation pipelines, and production-facing AI capabilities.
The application is on the official CHAOS Industries careers page.
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