Role overview
We’re looking for a Senior Software Engineer with a passion for AI to join us in our mission of bringing the ION Factory OS to next-generation hardware builders around the globe. This role is based in Los Angeles, CA (HQ in El Segundo).
Are you excited by the opportunity to build AI-powered software that accelerates the development of eVTOLs, rockets, robots, and autonomous vehicles?
What you'll work on
- Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of production-ready AI systems within the ION Factory OS.
- Ship customer-facing features that directly impact manufacturing workflows, including AI-driven functionality (e.g., generative procedure creation, anomaly detection, recommendations) and core product features not reliant on AI.
- Architect and maintain scalable software systems, including AI/ML pipelines and broader product infrastructure.
- Design and implement AI features using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines to deliver context-aware insights and recommendations.
- Leverage Model Context Protocol (MCP) and similar frameworks to connect AI models seamlessly with structured/unstructured data sources and external tools.
- Collaborate with product managers and customers to translate real-world challenges into robust software solutions.
- Partner with data engineering to process and transform structured and unstructured manufacturing data into usable formats.
- Ensure reliability, scalability, and maintainability of all systems in production, leveraging CI/CD and cloud-native workflows.
- Stay ahead of advancements in software engineering and AI, bringing the best practices into shipped product features.
- Mentor junior engineers and help raise the technical bar across the team.
What we're looking for
- Experience building AI systems for real-time, low-latency, or edge deployments.
- Familiarity with modern data governance, privacy, and compliance standards (SOC2, GDPR, ITAR).
- Hands-on experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) for building AI systems that combine large language models with external knowledge sources.
- Understanding of and/or experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP) or similar emerging standards for connecting AI systems with data and tools.
- Customer-facing experience gathering requirements, presenting solutions, and demonstrating value.
- Contributions to open-source projects or published research in applied AI/ML.
- Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to engineering best practices.