Software Engineer, AI

Factory is hiring a Software Engineer, AI in San Francisco, United States. Level rates it ; you can apply on Factory.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
The posting mentions Databricks and AI research among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a mid-level role.
Factory has 65 other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Databricks

ai-research

About Factory

Our mission is to create a world where software builds and improves itself.

We build the platform for self-improving software development, helping the world's largest enterprise engineering teams turn their organizations into autonomous software factories. Customers including Nvidia, Blackstone, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Palo Alto Networks, Adobe, and T-Mobile run Factory to ship code, review PRs, run tests, and deploy continuously - getting smarter with every cycle.

In 2026, we raised $200M at a $5B valuation, bringing our total funding to over $400M. We are backed by world-class investors and operators including Khosla Ventures, Sequoia, Blackstone, Ali Ghodsi (CEO of Databricks), and Frank Slootman (Former CEO of Snowflake).

About the Role

Factory is looking for innovative AI Engineers to build and evolve cutting-edge AI systems that transform how software organizations accelerate their productivity and innovation.

What you will do and achieve

Innovate at the forefront of AI by designing, developing, and deploying AI-driven agentic systems that enhance Factory's core AI capabilities
Work with product and engineering teams to integrate emerging AI research findings into practical, customer-centric solutions
Engage in iterative development processes, rapidly prototyping and refining AI functionalities based on real-world feedback to meet the evolving needs of developers and enterprises
Take the initiative in identifying and addressing product stability and scalability challenges, ensuring the Factory Platform reliably supports large-scale operational demands
Lead the exploration and integration of large-scale data processing techniques to improve the reliability and effectiveness of our AI systems

Qualifications

2+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML engineering roles post-acquisition of a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, AI, or a related technical field.
Demonstrated proficiency with LLMs and a track record of applying AI/ML techniques to solve complex, unstructured problems, ideally within the domain of software engineering or related areas.
Self-motivated and autonomous, with a proven ability to navigate ambiguous research projects from conception to impactful deployment.
Strong communication skills that enable you to articulate technical concepts and strategies clearly at all levels, coupled with a strategic mindset oriented towards innovation.
Experience with data-intensive applications and familiarity with the software development lifecycle are highly desirable, though not mandatory.

This is an in-office position (5 days/week) in San Francisco (walking distance to Caltrain)

How we rate this

Software Engineer, AI at Factory rates 66 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Software Engineer, AI is an open job at Factory.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The role is based in San Francisco, CA.
The job was posted on March 24, 2025.
Seniority: mid.
Applications are handled by Factory. Apply on Factory

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

AI ResearchDatabricks

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python AWS Java AI agents Kubernetes TypeScript

Pay

Typical software engineer job: $168k

This posting doesn't list pay. Use the typical software engineer figure when pay comes up. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a research question you investigated. What did you find?
Walk me through how you've used Databricks in your day-to-day work.
Describe a typical day in a role like this one: which parts run through AI directly?
If you removed AI from this role, what would be left, and how do you decide what still needs a human?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: AI Research and Databricks. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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