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Startup Ai Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

CoreStory

AI Engineer

We're looking for an AI Engineer who is passionate about building intelligent systems that blend ... Previous experience in SaaS or early-stage startup environments. What We Offer * Competitive ...

Standard Template Labs

AI Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$160K - $230K/yr

Standard Template Labs is an AI-native, seed stage startup reimagining the future of IT Service and ... About the Role Our team is currently seeking AI Engineers that will design, build, and deploy ...

Billables Incorporated

AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120 - $160/hr

AI Engineer Location: San Francisco (Hybrid - in-office 3+ days/week in downtown SF) About ... Our team brings together expert AI researchers and veteran startup builders who know how to move ...

LiveX AI Inc.

AI Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$150 - $210/hr

We are hiring a strong Machine Learning Engineer to help us train, fine‑tune, and serve the ... Fast learner with a startup mentality, eager to push the frontier of what interactive AI avatars ...

Capsule.Video Inc

AI Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

We're a Series A startup led by two serial founders who have built and scaled creative platforms ... We are seeking a skilled AI Engineer to join our team and help develop the next generation of our ...

Alpha Life Sciences

$120 - $150/hr

We're looking for a hands‑on, proactive technologist who is passionate about AI, curious about new technologies, and capable of mentoring junior engineers in a fast‑paced startup environment.

Scout AI

AI Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

The Role We're looking for an AI Engineer to join the Fury Orchestration Team with a deep passion ... We're a startup. You'll be moving fast, context-switching daily, and helping define the culture and ...

Scout AI

AI Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

The Role We're looking for an AI Engineer to join the Fury Orchestration Team with a deep passion ... We're a startup. You'll be moving fast, context-switching daily, and helping define the culture and ...

Signify Technology

AI Engineer

London, KY · On-site

Signify Technology is a fast-scaling healthtech startup focused on reinventing musculoskeletal care through AI and 3D-printing technology. They are seeking an AI Engineer to build and scale core ...

NinjaTech AI

Applied AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$80K - $120K/yr

This is a small, senior team moving at startup speed on one of the most consequential problems in technology, and the Applied AI Engineer sits at the sharpest edge of it: your work lands in front of ...

Eloquent AI

AI Engineer, Multimodal LLMs

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$93K - $124K/yr

Your Role As an AI Engineer at Eloquent AI, you will be at the forefront of building, deploying ... You've worked in a fast-paced startup environment and thrive in rapid iteration cycles.

NxT Level

Lead AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · Remote

Full-Stack AI Engineer Location: Remote / Flexible Employment Type: Full-time Focus: AI Agents ... This gives engineers the opportunity to work with the speed and ownership of a startup while ...

Argo AI

Agentic AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$100 - $130/hr

Startup experience and ability to work in a fast‑paced environment is preferred. * BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, AI, or a related field. Kargo is an equal opportunity/affirmative action ...

NxT Level

Lead AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Full-Stack AI Engineer Location: Remote / Flexible Employment Type: Full-time Focus: AI Agents ... This gives engineers the opportunity to work with the speed and ownership of a startup while ...

Amadeus Search

$150 - $225/hr

... AI startup in healthcare. You'll work on real production use cases of LLMs and ML techniques to ... Customer-Facing Engineering - Collaborate with clients and internal teams to understand ...

NxT Level

Lead AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · Remote

Full-Stack AI Engineer Location: Remote / Flexible Employment Type: Full-time Focus: AI Agents ... This gives engineers the opportunity to work with the speed and ownership of a startup while ...

Amadeus Search

Applied AI Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$150 - $225/hr

... AI startup in healthcare. You'll work on real production use cases of LLMs and ML techniques to ... Customer-Facing Engineering - Collaborate with clients and internal teams to understand ...

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Startup Ai Engineer information

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$25

$53

$76

How much do startup ai engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 4, 2026, the average hourly pay for startup ai engineer in the United States is $53.63, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $43.27 and $62.26 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a startup AI engineer?

Startup AI Engineers are technology professionals who design, develop, and implement artificial intelligence solutions within startup companies. They often work in fast-paced environments, building prototypes, training machine learning models, and deploying AI-powered features to help startups gain a competitive edge. Their role can be broad, covering data analysis, algorithm development, and collaboration with cross-functional teams. Unlike traditional AI engineers, those at startups may need to wear multiple hats and adapt quickly to changing priorities. A strong foundation in programming, machine learning, and problem-solving is essential for this role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a startup AI engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Startup AI Engineer, you need a solid background in computer science, mathematics, and machine learning, usually supported by a relevant degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with programming languages (such as Python), deep learning frameworks (like TensorFlow or PyTorch), and cloud platforms is crucial, as are certifications in AI or data science. Creative problem-solving, adaptability, and strong communication skills are important soft skills for collaborating in a fast-paced, evolving environment. These competencies enable rapid prototyping, innovative solution development, and effective teamwork, which are vital for success in a startup setting.

What unique challenges can I expect when working as a startup AI engineer compared to larger companies?

As an AI Engineer in a startup environment, you’ll likely face the challenge of wearing multiple hats and adapting quickly to evolving project needs. Unlike larger organizations with specialized teams, you may be responsible for the entire AI pipeline—from data collection and cleaning, to model deployment and monitoring. Resource constraints can require creative problem-solving and a hands-on approach, but this also means you’ll have greater autonomy and the chance to make a significant impact. Startups often foster close-knit, collaborative teams where your ideas can directly shape the product and business strategy.

What is the difference between Startup Ai Engineer vs Data Scientist?

AspectStartup Ai EngineerData Scientist
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in CS, AI, or related fields; experience with ML frameworksBachelor's or Master's in CS, Statistics, or related fields; proficiency in data analysis
Work EnvironmentFast-paced startup setting, often cross-functionalVaried environments, including corporate, research, or startups
Employer & Industry UsageTech startups, AI-focused companiesWide range of industries including tech, finance, healthcare
Common Search & Comparison IntentYesYes

The Startup Ai Engineer and Data Scientist roles share similar educational backgrounds and work environments, especially in tech-focused companies. However, Startup Ai Engineers focus more on developing AI models and integrating AI solutions into products, while Data Scientists analyze data to generate insights. Both roles are crucial in AI-driven industries, but their core responsibilities differ slightly.

What is the salary of a startup AI engineer?

The salary of a startup AI engineer typically ranges from $80,000 to $150,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and the company's funding stage. Early-stage startups may offer lower base salaries but often include equity or stock options as part of the compensation package.
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What job categories do people searching Startup Ai Engineer jobs look for?

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Startup Ai Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Startup Ai Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 76% Full Time, 20% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 66% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 30% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $111,552 per year, or $53.6 per hour.

AI Engineer

CoreStory

Remote

Full-time

Re-posted 16 days ago

Job description

About CoreStory
CoreStory unlocks the hidden intelligence in your legacy code. By using AI to surface business logic and technical insights, we give enterprises the clarity to modernize faster, maintain apps smarter, and reduce the risk of costly failures.
We're looking for an AI Engineer who is passionate about building intelligent systems that blend large language models, retrieval architectures, and conversational agents into cohesive, scalable products. This role is critical to the core AI engine powering the CoreStory Platform.
Role Overview
As an AI Engineer, you'll play a central role in developing and optimizing the AI components that power CoreStory's narrative intelligence platform. You'll work across LLM integration, vector search systems, prompt orchestration, agentic systems, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines.
You'll collaborate closely with the product, data, and infrastructure teams to prototype, productionize, and continuously evolve our AI stack - ensuring that our systems are accurate, explainable, efficient, and on the cutting edge of modern AI capabilities.
Key Responsibilities
  • Design, implement, and optimize LLM-powered systems (e.g., RAG, chat agents, summarizers, knowledge graph integration).
  • Build and manage data indexing and retrieval pipelines using LlamaIndex, LangChain, or similar frameworks.
  • Implement and maintain vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Neo4j, Weaviate, Chroma, or Azure Cognitive Search).
  • Integrate open-source and proprietary LLMs (e.g., GPT, Claude, Llama) into the CoreStory Platform.
  • Develop and refine AI-driven features - including generative insights, automated summarization, and narrative analytics.
  • Collaborate with DevOps and backend teams to deploy scalable AI services within CoreStory's cloud infrastructure.
  • Continuously benchmark model performance, latency, and cost, identifying opportunities for optimization.
  • Stay current with advancements in AI - from model architectures to emerging frameworks - and propose innovative applications aligned with CoreStory's mission.
  • Contribute to internal documentation, experimentation frameworks, and evaluation methodologies.
Qualifications
Required Skills:
  • 7+ years of overall engineering experience with at least 3+ years of experience in AI engineering, machine learning, or applied NLP.
  • Strong hands-on experience with LlamaIndex, LangChain, or similar orchestration frameworks.
  • Experience designing and implementing vector database solutions (e.g., Pinecone, Neo4j, FAISS, Milvus, Weaviate).
  • Solid understanding of LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Hugging Face, etc.).
  • Proficiency in Python, with experience in libraries such as FastAPI, Pandas, or NumPy.
  • Understanding of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) patterns, embeddings, and tokenization.
  • Familiarity with prompt engineering, tool calling, and chat agent architectures.
  • Strong problem-solving and analytical mindset, with attention to performance and scalability.
  • Demonstrated interest in staying up-to-date with the fast-evolving AI landscape.

Preferred:
  • Experience deploying AI services in production (e.g., using Docker, Azure, or AWS).
  • Exposure to LangGraph, semantic search, or hybrid RAG systems.
  • Familiarity with knowledge graphs, document intelligence, or multimodal AI.
  • Previous experience in SaaS or early-stage startup environments.
What We Offer
  • Competitive compensation and equity.
  • Flexible, remote-first work environment.
  • Opportunities to define and build the AI roadmap of a fast-growing technology company.
  • Collaborative, learning-oriented culture.
  • Access to cutting-edge AI models, research, and infrastructure.

Apply