AI Engineer
Job type: Full Time · Department: Engineering · Work type: Hybrid
San Mateo, California, United States
Parasail is redefining AI infrastructure by enabling seamless deployment across a distributed network of GPUs, optimizing for cost, performance, and flexibility. Our mission is to empower AI developers with a fast, cost-efficient, and scalable cloud experience—free from vendor lock-in and designed for the next generation of AI workloads.
We move fast, stay close to our customers, and ship products that make a real difference for AI developers. This role is part of that mission.
We’re looking for a hungry, creative engineer who thrives in a high-trust, high-velocity environment. You’ll be the one taking bold ideas—from voice and real-time AI to new LLM-driven features—and turning them into working prototypes in days. You’ll operate inside our product and engineering organization, collaborating directly with the team to ensure what you build is not just exciting, but also aligns with our long-term architecture and customer needs.
This is an engineering role through and through, but with the freedom to explore, test, and build at startup speed.
Rapidly prototype AI-powered workflows and tools, incorporating LLMs, embeddings, real-time audio/voice, API integrations, and prompt engineering
Lead experimental build cycles from hypothesis to working proof-of-concept to actionable insights
Collaborate closely with product and engineering to translate prototypes into viable product features
Ensure alignment with platform architecture; seek guidance before integrating prototypes into production systems
Navigate open-ended engineering problems with creative, experimental solutions
Share learnings and code artifacts to accelerate team-wide innovation
Proficiency in Python and/or JavaScript/TypeScript and ability to quickly learn new tools and frameworks
Hands-on experience with AI systems including LLMs, API-based embeddings, vector DBs, and real-time pipelines (e.g., audio/STT-TTS)
A bias toward action—you build, ship, iterate, and learn
Demonstrated creativity: thinking in prototypes, not decks
Strong communication and collaboration skills, particularly in technical cross-functional settings
Past experience in startups, innovation labs, or “zero-to-one” product environments
Familiarity working on AI infrastructure or backend systems, such as LLM pipelines, APIs, cloud-native services, and container orchestration
Comfort navigating ambiguity and working across teams with minimal direction
Experience contributing to open-source projects or public-facing engineering work
Direct mentorship and visibility with our CEO, who is heavily involved in product and technical strategy
Real ownership over high-leverage projects that shape product direction and customer experience
A culture that marries engineering rigor with experimental agility
The opportunity to influence the AI compute infrastructure shaping next-generation workloads
Competitive compensation with meaningful equity, benefits, and a high-trust work environment
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