AI Engineer

About Fractional AI

Fractional AI is the dev shop for applied AI. We work with customers like Zapier, Airbyte, and Change.org to build their high-impact genAI applications.

Every C-suite in the country is trying to bridge the gap between AI in theory and AI in practice. We close this gap with exceptional engineering talent and custom end-to-end AI builds (see some of our case studies to learn more).

By joining Fractional AI, you’re stepping onto a San Francisco-based team working on genAI projects for top companies from the comfort of an engineering-first startup.

Why we're hiring for this role

Since launching in March 2024, we’re even more convinced of the need for an elite dev shop for transformational genAI projects. The unpredictability of genAI makes the gap between demo and production extremely challenging. Enterprises are struggling on their own, with only 10% of enterprises getting AI into production in 2023.

We exist to solve this problem and are growing our team of AI Engineers to take on this challenge.

Joining Fractional AI as an AI Engineer, you’ll play a leading role in building and shipping AI applications for our customers - from understanding customer needs to deploying solutions in their environments - all while shaping our engineering and broader Fractional culture for the next 100+ engineers. By the time you’ve completed your second project, you’ll have shipped LLM applications across more companies and use cases than the vast majority of AI engineers in the world.

• You write exceptional code + deeply care about the craft of coding (4+ years of experience): you build elegant, production-ready code; you have strong proficiency across multiple programming languages.
• You have a track record building with Large Language Models: you have experience building scalable applications with LLMs, using frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, etc.
• You love solving hard, new problems: you are comfortable self-teaching, asking “why?,” and experimenting to solve problems you haven’t seen before.
• You are ‘start-up ready’: you jump in without instruction, embrace a ‘no job too big, no job too small’ mindset, and want to shape strategy and culture.
• You are comfortable talking with customers: you deeply care about the customer and skillfully navigate customer conversations to ensure what we’re building meets their needs.
• You are a great teammate: you are comfortable helping others (and asking for help), you champion integrity in everything, and want to build a one-in-a-career culture of personal growth.

• Design and develop custom AI solutions tailored to the unique needs of our customers, ensuring seamless integration and scalability.
• Partner with a high-caliber team across the full project lifestyle, from requirements gathering to prototyping, system design, coding, testing, deployment, and support.
• Actively shape our engineering and broader company culture - from how we learn, to how we hire, to how we celebrate - you’ll shape how we make Fractional a place we all love working.

• We’re generally tech stack agnostic - we work in our customers’ environments and code bases. A lot, but definitely not all, of our work is in Python.
• After working at Fractional AI for a few years, you’ll be an expert at using the various foundational models, building with tools like Langchain/Langsmith, and various other tools and frameworks (e.g., OpenPipe, Pinecone, ChromaDB).

• You’re the tech lead for one of our customer projects - it may be automating a call center with AI phone agents or building an AI content moderation system – each project is different.
• You’ll join the team in our SF office between 8am-10am pacific time.
• You’ll dive into one of the higher priority items for the morning (say building out an evals suite) - testing different permutations.
• You have a weekly standup with the customer (the CTO at the client) to chat through tradeoffs, progress, and timeline.
• You join team lunch (which doubles as the Fractional AI cross-project standup) to hear about different projects we’re working on … the lunch will turn into a lively debate about Weights and Biases v. Braintrust capabilities.
• You’ll have some solo heads down time to continue jamming on the high priority pieces for that 2-week sprint.
• Maybe you join a prospective customer call to share your perspective on what’s technically feasible on that potential project.
• You’ll head home between 5pm-6:30pm.

• This role will report directly to Eddie , our Co-Founder and CTO.
• You’ll work very closely with other engineers on the team -- the vast majority of our projects have multiple Fractional AI engineers working on them at once.
• You’ll also spend a lot of time collaborating with our CEO, Chris , and Chairman, Travis .

Why you should (and shouldn’t) join us

We’re big believers in transparency and know joining a company is a big decision. We’re not the best fit for everyone and try to be clear on what we are and what we’re not so you make the choice that’s right for you.

Why join Fractional?

Build on the forefront of applied AI: You’ll have a front row seat to how the world’s leading companies are actually deploying AI solutions. By the time you’ve completed your second project, you’ll have shipped LLM applications across more companies and use cases than the vast majority of AI engineers in the world.

Solve big, real problems: Companies come to us when they can’t solve some of their biggest problems themselves. For you, that means learning every day, never getting bored, and working across a range of industries, customers, and products.

Learn with and from the best in person: We're a team of senior engineers (some former founders, some former engineering leaders) who only want to work on high-impact projects. Working elbow to elbow in our San Francisco office means things like team lunches, quick brainstorming, and the right amount of banter.

Why shouldn't you join Fractional?

Preference for just speed or quality: We love hacking things together for a proof of concept but ultimately our code will be put into production in our customers’ environments - you need to enjoy balancing elegance and expediency.

Predictability is important to you: You’ll be working across customers, programming languages, industries and projects, which means you won’t be becoming an expert in the same product suite or serving the same user day after day.

Customers aren’t your thing: You’ll spend most of your time coding but will be closer to the customer than in most engineering roles. You’ll frequently interact with engineers from the customer’s team to ask questions and problem solve. A deep understanding and appreciation of the customer is crucial.

Our Values

Overdeliver.

Overuse AI.

Over "engineer" the culture.

Location

San Francisco, CA (4 days in-person, Fridays remote)

Benefits

Competitive Compensation Package : Attractive salary aligned with your experience and skills.

401k with Matching : Invest in your future with our company-matched retirement plan.

Unlimited PTO : Take the time you need to relax and rejuvenate.

Exceptional Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage : Comprehensive health benefits to keep you and your family healthy.

Health FSA : Manage out-of-pocket health expenses effectively.

Commuter Benefits : Make your travel to work easier and more affordable.

Life Insurance : Providing peace of mind for you and your loved ones.

Team Events and Activities : Regular events to build camaraderie and a strong team spirit.

Ready to join us?