Role Overview
Design and ship production-grade AI-native systems across live client briefs, from architecture through deployment.
Compensation: $135,000-$165,000
Bonus: Target bonus: 10%-20%
Back To CareersAbout RFLIN
RFLIN has always been drawn to the most ambitious and technically complex briefs. Today, that means building AI-native products, experiences, and systems for some of the world's most demanding clients. We are not looking for engineers who bolt AI onto existing workflows; we are looking for builders for whom AI is the default starting point.
We offer the flexibility of project-based engagement with real continuity: consistent collaboration, genuine ownership of the technical layer, and credit for the work you help bring to life.
The Role
As an AI Engineer at RFLIN, you will design, build, and ship AI-native systems, not proofs of concept, but production-grade products that clients rely on. You will work directly with designers, strategists, and creative technologists, shaping what AI does within a brief from the ground up.
AI is not a feature you will be asked to add. It is the foundation you will be asked to build from. That means making real architectural decisions, choosing the right models and approaches for the problem, and owning the outcome. We collaborate most often across Los Angeles and New York City, so proximity to either city is a plus, though exceptional remote candidates are still considered.
What You'll Do
Architect and build AI-native applications where LLMs, agents, and ML models are core to the product, not add-ons.
Design and implement agentic systems, multi-step reasoning pipelines, and tool-use frameworks.
Build and optimize retrieval-augmented generation systems, vector search, and embedding pipelines.
Evaluate, fine-tune, and prompt-engineer foundation models for specific use cases.
Develop APIs, backend services, and integrations that connect AI capabilities to client-facing products.
Collaborate with designers and creative teams to define what AI should do, and what it should not.
Monitor model performance in production and iterate based on real-world outcomes.
Stay current with the AI landscape and bring informed recommendations on models, tools, and approaches.
What We're Looking For
0-5+ years of software engineering experience, with substantial hands-on AI/ML work.
An AI-first mindset where product thinking starts with what models and systems can do.
Deep experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, and building production applications on top of foundation models.
Hands-on experience with agentic frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, AutoGen, or custom implementations.
Strong Python skills; TypeScript/JavaScript is a plus for full-stack AI product work.
Experience with vector databases and semantic search.
Solid understanding of ML fundamentals including training, evaluation, fine-tuning, and inference optimization.
Comfort with cloud infrastructure and containerized deployments.
Ability to own a technical workstream end-to-end and communicate clearly with non-technical collaborators.
Nice to Have
Experience with multimodal models spanning vision, audio, or video generation.
Background building AI-powered marketing, creative, or personalization systems.
Familiarity with MLOps including model versioning, evaluation pipelines, monitoring, and A/B testing.
Prior work in a creative agency, product studio, or innovation consultancy.
Contributions to open-source AI projects or published research.
What RFLIN Offers
Technically ambitious briefs where AI is the core, not a feature request.
A creative environment where engineers shape the product, not just implement it.
Consistent credit and recognition on client work.
Flexibility to take on other clients and commitments outside of RFLIN projects.
Competitive project-based rates.
Early access to new briefs and first right of refusal on ongoing work.
How to Apply
Send your resume, a link to relevant work or GitHub, and a brief note about your engineering background and how you approach AI-native product development to careers@rflin.com.
Subject line: AI Engineer - [Your Name]
We review applications on a rolling basis. If there is a strong match, we will reach out to schedule a conversation.
RFLIN is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects the full diversity of the world we design for.