Senior AI Builder

Job description

Replit is the agentic software creation platform that enables anyone to build applications using natural language. With millions of users worldwide, Replit is democratizing software development by removing traditional barriers to application creation. The AI Studio is the team responsible for designing, building, and operationalizing internal software platforms across every functional department of the company, including People Operations, Customer Support, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Recruiting, and Executive Operations. We treat each internal department as its own product surface, and in truth as its own startup, with its own customers, its own metrics, and its own reasons for existing. We ship custom software, built on Replit’s own platform, to solve operational problems that off-the-shelf SaaS tools cannot serve well at our scale and pace of growth. POSITION SUMMARY The Member of Technical Staff (AI Builder) is a full-time builder role with substantial autonomy. You will design, architect, and ship AI-powered internal platforms that run the operations of the company across many departments at once. This is not a role for someone who wants a narrow, well-defined lane. It is a role for someone who wants to walk into an ambiguous business problem, understand it well enough to argue about it with the department lead, and then ship the software that fixes it. We are looking for people who genuinely understand the mechanics of a business: how revenue is actually made, why recruiting velocity matters, what makes support scale or break, how finance closes a month, and why each department is critical to whether the company wins or loses. You do not need to have run every function, but you need to respect why each one exists and be able to reason about it like an operator, not just an engineer. Because we treat each department as its own startup, we strongly favor people who have either run their own business or worked on a fast-scaling startup. You know what it feels like to build with incomplete information, to ship before it is comfortable, and to own an outcome rather than a ticket. The work is genuinely a ton of fun, and it is also demanding: it rewards diplomacy, creativity, technical depth, and business acumen in roughly equal measure. You will move fast, work long hours when it matters, and switch fluidly between a deep technical conversation and a conversation with a non-technical stakeholder who just needs their problem solved. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INTERNAL PLATFORM DESIGN AND ENGINEERING - Design, architect, and ship custom AI-powered internal platforms that serve specific operational needs across Replit’s functional departments, including but not limited to People Operations, Customer Support, Sales, Recruiting, Marketing, Finance, and Executive Operations. - Translate ambiguous, often non-technical business requirements into technical specifications, system architectures, and shipped software products. - Own platform development end-to-end, including front-end interfaces, back-end services, data models, third-party integrations, and AI model orchestration. Applied AI and Large Language Model Engineering - Architect multi-stage AI pipelines incorporating large language models, including prompt engineering, tool-call architecture, structured output generation, retrieval-augmented generation, and agentic workflows. - Conduct model selection across multiple frontier and open-source providers, evaluating models against cost per query, latency, output quality, reliability, and task-specific performance. - Design and implement evaluation frameworks for AI features, including test datasets, scoring rubrics, and regression tests, so that AI-driven workflows stay reliable in production. - Optimize AI systems for cost and performance, including the appropriate use of lighter-weight models for qualification passes, batching strategies for high-throughput workloads, and caching architectures. Business Understanding and Stakeholder Partnership - Treat each internal department as its own startup: understand its goals, its constraints, and the metrics that define whether it is succeeding. - Partner directly with department leads to identify operational inefficiencies, scope solutions, and prioritize the work that creates the most leverage. - Conduct stakeholder interviews, lead requirements-gathering sessions, and translate qualitative feedback into iterative product improvements. - Present technical work and operational outcomes to executive leadership, including the President and senior staff, and do it in language each audience can act on. Third-Party System Integration - Design and implement integrations with the third-party platforms used at Replit, including enterprise HR platforms, support ticketing systems, CRM platforms, applicant tracking systems, project management tools, and identity providers. - Evaluate third-party APIs, SDKs, and data schemas, and design integration architectures appropriate to scale, security, and maintainability requirements. Production Operations and Reliability - Maintain and operate shipped platforms in production, including dependency management, security updates, observability, error handling, and performance monitoring. - Respond to production incidents and continuously iterate on shipped platforms based on user feedback and operational telemetry. Documentation and Knowledge Transfer - Document architectural decisions, system designs, and operational procedures for shipped platforms. - Onboard future team members and contribute to the evolution of the AI Studio as the function scales. WHO YOU ARE - You understand how a business actually works and can explain why each department matters to the company winning. - You have either run your own business or worked on a fast-scaling startup, and you carry the ownership instinct that comes with it. - You are comfortable with long hours and a very high pace, and you treat that as part of the fun rather than a cost. - You can engage credibly with both deeply technical people and non-technical stakeholders, often in the same afternoon. - You bring diplomacy, creativity, technical knowledge, and business acumen, and you know when each one is the tool the moment calls for. - You would rather ship something real and iterate than wait for perfect information. EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Technology Management, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a closely related technical or technology-business hybrid field. Equivalent foreign degrees acceptable subject to credential evaluation. Exceptional non-traditional backgrounds with a strong shipped portfolio will be considered. - A demonstrated portfolio of shipped software products, including AI-powered applications, and the ability to discuss technical architecture, design trade-offs, and engineering decisions in detail. - Experience either running your own business or working at a fast-scaling startup, with real exposure to how the business operated end-to-end. - Working proficiency in modern software engineering practices, including version control, code review, deployment pipelines, and production debugging. - Hands-on experience with one or more large language model providers and their APIs, tool-calling interfaces, and structured output mechanisms. - Demonstrated experience designing prompt and tool-call architectures, conducting model selection across providers, and optimizing AI systems for cost and latency. - Programming proficiency in Python and TypeScript or JavaScript, including familiarity with relevant frameworks for AI application development. - Experience with relational databases, SQL, and modern data tooling. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical work to non-technical stakeholders. - Demonstrated ability to operate with autonomy in ambiguous, fast-moving environments. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Prior experience as a founder, co-founder, or early team member at a venture-backed startup, particularly one with an AI-native product. - Prior experience in technology investment analysis or operational consulting, with a demonstrated ability to evaluate business operations and identify high-leverage interventions. - Hands-on experience building on the Replit platform, including familiarity with Replit Agent and Replit Deployments. - Experience designing and shipping internal tools at a high-growth technology company. - Multilingual proficiency, particularly in languages relevant to Replit’s international customer base, including Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, or other major commercial languages. - Experience with mobile application development frameworks, including React Native and Expo. TRAVEL AND LOCATION REQUIREMENTS This position is based in Foster City, California. The company operates on a hybrid in-person schedule, with employees expected to be in-office Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Foster City. Occasional domestic travel may be required for company offsites and customer engagements. Full-Time Employee Benefits Include: 💰 Competitive Salary & Equity 💹 401(k) Program with a 4% match (US Only) ⚕️ Health, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance 🩼 Short Term and Long Term Disability 🚼 Paid Parental, Medical, Caregiver Leave 🏝 Flexible Time Off (FTO) + Holidays 🚗 Commuter Benefits (In-Office & US Only) 📱 Monthly Wellness Stipend 🧑‍💻 Autonomous Work Environment 🖥 In Office Set-Up Reimbursement (In-Office Only) 🚀 Quarterly Team Gatherings ☕ In Office Amenities (In-Office Only) Want to learn more about what we are up to? - Meet the Replit Agent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYiVPrxY8-Y - Replit: Make an app for that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zd9hzngFwY - Replit Blog https://blog.replit.com/ - Amjad TED Talk https://youtu.be/kCudFI4tcpg?si=l4ViCejV_f2RZkDi Interviewing + Culture at Replit - Operating Principles https://blog.replit.com/operating-principles - Reasons not to work at Replit https://blog.replit.com/reasons-not-to-join-replit To achieve our mission of making programming more accessible around the world, we need our team to be representative of the world. We welcome your unique perspective and experiences in shaping this product. We encourage people from all kinds of backgrounds to apply, including and especially candidates from underrepresented and non-traditional backgrounds.