Applied AI Engineer (Python/AI)

About BrightPlan BrightPlan is a leader in Total Financial Wellness. We provide a comprehensive global solution that addresses all aspects of employees’ financial health at every stage of life, empowering HR teams to enhance the employee experience and better attract, retain, and engage talent. We are a remote-first SaaS company building practical AI-powered solutions that improve real financial outcomes for users. Our team values accountability, curiosity, thoughtful execution, and continuous learning. We are expanding our engineering team to build the next generation of AI-powered financial wellness tools. This role focuses on building and shipping practical AI capabilities within a production SaaS platform rather than research-oriented model development. The Role We are looking for an Applied AI Engineer to help build and expand AI-powered product features across our platform, with an initial focus on enhancing our AI Coach experience. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys the practical application of generative AI in production environments and works closely with product managers and engineers to translate ideas into production-ready features for customers. You will combine Python development, prompt design, and structured data work to deliver user-facing AI functionality. This is an opportunity to work on high-impact AI features in a real-world fintech environment. Success in this role requires more than experience with AI tools. We value engineers who use AI thoughtfully to explore ideas, accelerate development, and continuously improve solutions while applying sound engineering judgement to build reliable production systems. What You’ll Do Build and enhance AI-powered product features in collaboration with product and engineering teams Write and refine prompts to improve response quality and feature performance Develop Python-based services and APIs supporting AI workflows Work with structured data in PostgreSQL and vector-based data systems supporting AI applications Contribute to feature implementation in FastAPI-based systems Leverage AI-assisted development tools to improve engineering productivity, accelerate experimentation, and continuously refine implementation approaches Participate in technical discussions around feature design and implementation What Success Looks Like Contribute meaningfully to the delivery of AI-powered product features within your first 60-90 days Improve the performance, consistency, and reliability AI-powered product capabilities through thoughtful implementation and continuous iteration Contribute effectively within sprint-based engineering delivery Demonstrate strong technical judgment in balancing speed, quality, reliability, and maintainability Requirements Qualifications When applying, please include a brief description of one AI-powered feature, service, or system you helped build or support in production. Required 3+ years of software engineering experience Strong Python development experience Proven proficiency with AI-powered coding tools (Anthropic's Claude Code preferred) Experience building backend services or APIs Experience working with LLM APIs, generative AI services, or AI-enabled capabilities in applications Strong problem-solving and debugging skills Ability to collaborate effectively in a cross-functional team Nice to Have Experience with FastAPI or similar frameworks Familiarity with prompt evaluation or LLM testing approaches Experience integrating AI into production SaaS platforms Experience working in fintech or B2B SaaS Benefits Why Join BrightPlan Build meaningful technology that helps people improve their financial lives Work on practical AI applications deployed in a live fintech product Collaborate in a remote-first environment with experienced product and engineering leaders Competitive compensation, benefits, and equity Compensation The estimated annual base salary range for this role is $125,000 to $155,000, depending on qualifications, experience, and location. This role is also eligible for: Annual performance bonus Equity participation Comprehensive benefits package Actual compensation will be determined based on relevant qualifications, skills, experience, and geographic location. BrightPlan is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and to consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, veteran status, medical condition or disability. To work at BrightPlan, you must live and work in the United States and be eligible for employment by any employer in the U.S. You must have a dedicated workspace and reliable internet service. At BrightPlan, base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, related job skills, residence location, as well as market indicators. Pursuant to state and local pay disclosure requirements, the base pay range for this role is listed annually above. This position is eligible for BrightPlan's standard benefits offering, including medical/dental/vision, 401(k) with company contribution, annual performance bonus, life insurance, paid time off, and other benefits in accordance with applicable plan documents. This benefits information is based on BrightPlan's good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. BrightPlan is not accepting agency referrals; only direct applicants will be considered