Lead AI Engineer (Hands-On)

Lead AI Engineer (Hands-On) – NYC (4 Days On-Site)Large, Mission-Driven Non-ProfitWe’re partnering with a well-funded, high-impact non-profit in New York City that is investing heavily in modern engineering and AI capabilities. They’re looking for a Lead AI Engineer who is still very much hands-on, someone who writes real code, ships production systems, and can help shape the next generation of their platform.This is not a “PowerPoint AI” role. They want someone who has actually built things.What You’ll DoDesign and build production-grade AI-powered systems that drive real-world impactArchitect and implement RAG pipelines, LLM integrations, and agent-based workflowsLead backend development across microservices, APIs, and data systemsHelp define the AI and data platform strategy while staying close to the codePartner with product, data, and business stakeholders to turn ideas into working solutionsSet engineering standards around testing, scalability, and maintainabilityWhat They’re Looking For~10+ years of experience as a hands-on software engineer (backend-heavy)Strong coding skills (Python preferred) with solid software engineering fundamentalsExperience building and shipping AI integrations in productionRAG pipelines, LLM-based systems, MCP-style architectures, or similarDeep understanding of microservices, distributed systems, and databasesSomeone who thinks in systems, evaluates tradeoffs, and can propose multiple design pathsCollaborative, low-ego, team-first mindsetWhy This RoleReal impact, not vanity AI projectsStrong engineering culture, they care about clean systems and good codeOpportunity to own and shape AI direction at an organization doing meaningful workLeadership without losing your hands-on edge