Junior Automation Engineer Jobs in Riverside, CA

Description

Emergence AI is building next-generation agentic AI systems that move beyond code generation to provable task completion, verification, and long-horizon autonomy. Our Platform focuses on automating complex, mission-critical data workflows, from ingestion and transformation through analysis, decisioning, and action.

We work with customers in semiconductors, life sciences, and other data-intensive industries to turn fragmented, high-stakes data into trustworthy, continuously-operating AI Agents.

We're seeking a "Software Engineer - Full Stack" to build robust, tested, and scalable systems across our platform. You'll work across backend services, frontend interfaces, and AI agent tooling , contributing to test automation, API development, and production infrastructure that powers autonomous agents for enterprise customers. This is an excellent opportunity for an early-career engineer to gain deep experience in production AI systems while working alongside senior engineers and researchers.

Requirements

• Build and maintain comprehensive test automation suites across backend APIs, frontend components, and agent workflows
• Design integration tests that validate multi-service interactions and agent orchestration patterns
• Implement end-to-end test scenarios covering data ingestion, transformation, and agent decision pipelines
• Develop automated regression testing frameworks to ensure platform reliability and reduce manual QA overhead
• Create testing infrastructure for agent evaluation, including output validation and performance benchmarking

• Build backend services and APIs using Python to support agent runtimes and data pipelines
• Develop frontend interfaces for agent monitoring, workflow visualization, and human-in-the-loop approval systems
• Implement RESTful and event-driven APIs that connect agent systems to enterprise data sources
• Write clean, maintainable code following team conventions and code review feedback

• Build tooling and utilities that accelerate agent development and debugging workflows
• Contribute to agent evaluation frameworks and observability dashboards
• Participate in agent workflow design and implementation under senior engineer mentorship
• Help instrument agent systems with logging, tracing, and performance monitoring

• Work closely with senior engineers on architectural design and production deployment
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and team planning sessions
• Document systems, APIs, and testing strategies to support team knowledge sharing
• Take ownership of features end-to-end with guidance from experienced team members

Technical Foundations

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 0-3 years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong programming fundamentals in Python or similar languages (Java, TypeScript, Go)
• Experience building and consuming RESTful APIs
• Understanding of relational databases, SQL, and data modeling basics
• Familiarity with version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks

Software Engineering Skills

• Ability to write clean, well-tested code with attention to edge cases and error handling
• Experience with test automation frameworks (pytest, Jest, Selenium, Playwright, or similar)
• Understanding of async programming concepts and concurrent systems
• Basic knowledge of frontend development (React, TypeScript, HTML/CSS) or willingness to learn

Mindset & Attributes

• High curiosity and growth mindset, excited to learn new technologies and domains
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to debug complex issues independently
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Willingness to take ownership and iterate based on feedback
• Interest in AI/ML systems and agentic AI (prior experience not required)

• Academic projects or internships involving machine learning, NLP, or AI systems
• Experience with FastAPI, asyncio, or event-driven architectures
• Exposure to Docker, Kubernetes, or cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Base Salary: $120,000 to $140,000 USD

Learn from senior engineers in a high-growth space. You'll receive hands-on mentorship from experienced engineers and researchers who are deeply invested in your growth. Our small team means you'll have direct access to technical leaders and accelerated learning opportunities.

Own problems end-to-end early in your career. You'll have the autonomy to take features from design through testing, deployment, and iteration in production with guidance and support from the team. This isn't a junior role where you only fix bugs; you'll ship real features.

Make an immediate impact on platform quality. By building robust test automation and quality infrastructure, you'll enable the team to move faster with confidence , reducing manual QA overhead and ensuring our agents operate reliably on high-stakes customer data.

If you're excited about building AI systems and want to accelerate your growth as an engineer in a small, senior team, we'd love to talk.

• Comprehensive health & wellness benefits, including medical, dental, vision, HSA, and FSA options
• Voluntary insurance offerings for additional coverage
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Flexible time off and company holidays to support rest and recharge
• Flexible remote work environment (Irvine-based preferred, hybrid options available)
• One-time home office setup stipend
• Ongoing monthly stipend to support your work-from-home needs
• Professional development budget for courses, conferences, and learning resources