Senior Applied AI Engineer
About this role
Developing practical LLM- and agent-powered software, designing retrieval systems, and right-sizing models for cost and latency form the core day-to-day work for this team. QuEra Computing is establishing a dedicated AI Engineering group to integrate artificial intelligence across all internal operations, ranging from machine build and bringup to everyday engineering tasks. As a founding senior engineer, the chosen candidate will translate high-value ideas from company-wide workshops into deployed products while establishing technical patterns for future development. This high-autonomy position suits a seasoned practitioner who thrives in ambiguity, possesses deep application-engineering expertise, and can operate independently to deliver robust tools without requiring a background in quantum computing.
What you will do
- Develop and ship internal AI tools and features end to end, taking products from initial concepts to deployed and maintained applications.
- Establish technical direction and reusable patterns for the AI Engineering team while setting a high standard for internal software development.
- Design and deploy LLM and agentic systems that incorporate retrieval, tool use, orchestration, and evaluation alongside proper guardrails.
- Collaborate with hardware, engineering, and operations departments to transform their specific workflows into functional tools.
- Build shared components, templates, and infrastructure to accelerate development across multiple internal groups.
- Optimize models for cost, latency, reliability, and proper usage instrumentation.
- Mentor colleagues and promote strong engineering practices such as rigorous testing, clear documentation, and accurate estimation.
What you need
- Extensive software engineering background focused primarily on Python, including solid experience operating production software at scale with robust testing, code review, CI/CD, and documentation habits.
- Substantial hands-on experience creating LLM-powered applications involving prompt design, agent workflows, tool calling, MCP-based integrations, retrieval-augmented generation, and evaluation.
- Demonstrated history working with agentic systems and agentic coding workflows to safely execute actions against real systems.
- Strong architectural judgment to design and deliver end-to-end systems spanning backend services, APIs, lightweight front ends, and deployment.
- High autonomy and ownership with a proven record of carrying projects independently from concept to production in ambiguous environments.
- Clear communication skills and a collaborative approach that translates non-expert needs into working software tools.
Nice to have
- LLMOps and MLOps experience covering model serving, monitoring, evaluations, and cost optimization
- Data and machine learning engineering skills including pipelines, embeddings, vector databases, and model fine-tuning
- Familiarity with deep-learning frameworks like PyTorch and generative models such as diffusion or image generation
- Front-end and user experience development for internal tools using React and TypeScript
- Exposure to Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD tooling, and scientific, hardware, or lab-automation environments
Benefits
- Equity grants for all new hires
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the compensation range for this role?
The approximate base salary range for this position is $175,000 to $210,000. Base compensation decisions depend on factors such as geographic placement, role-specific knowledge, skills, and experience, and all new hires also receive equity grants.
Do I need a background in quantum computing to apply?
No, a background in quantum computing is not required for this role. The team is looking for deep, modern AI application-engineering expertise to complement existing in-house physics, controls, and hardware strengths.
What will I actually be working on day-to-day?
You will turn high-value ideas from company-wide AI workshops into real, deployable tools. This includes building LLM- and agent-powered software that accelerates machine build and bringup steps alongside everyday engineering tasks.
The application is on the official QuEra Computing, Inc. careers page.
Apply on company site