Applied AI Engineer (New York)

Location: New York City (In-person)

About This Opportunity

We’re assembling an exceptional team of AI engineers in NYC. The kind of people who’ve shipped breakthrough AI products that millions actually use. This isn’t about office amenities or typical startup perks (although we have those too!). It’s about working alongside some of the most talented engineers and product minds in AI solving fascinating problems at scale.

You’ll collaborate in-person with a carefully selected group designed for breakthrough thinking backed by the resources and reach of Automattic’s ecosystem spanning WordPress.com WooCommerce Tumblr and more. Think of it as an elite AI lab with the distribution and impact of Automattic’s broad and deep ecosystem.

What You’ll Do

• Ship user-facing AI features across Automattic’s product ecosystem; from content creation tools to e-commerce recommendations to messaging experiences.
• Build and iterate rapidly on AI-powered products that directly impact millions of users.
• Collaborate intensively with PMs designers and engineers in a fast-paced environment optimized for innovation.
• Experiment and scale successful AI innovations from prototype to production across multiple products.
• Push the boundaries of what’s possible when exceptional AI talent works together.
• Stay current with AI developments that unlock new user experiences.

You’ll Thrive Here If You

• Have shipped AI features that users actually use: production experience is valued over theoretical knowledge.
• Are exceptionally talented: you’re the person other great engineers want to work with.
• Are full-stack capable: comfortable from model APIs to user interfaces.
• Move fast without breaking things: prototype quickly while building for scale.
• Work best collaboratively: your best ideas come from working directly with teammates.
• Think product-first: you know great AI is invisible to users; it just makes their experience better.
• Are drawn to working with other exceptional people rather than just seeking comfortable work environments.

Technical Experience We Value

• Production experience with LLMs (APIs or custom implementations) at meaningful scale.
• Full-stack development (we use PHP Python and JavaScript primarily).
• Building AI-powered user interfaces that perform well at scale.
• Machine learning fundamentals and staying current with rapid field developments.
• Track record of technical leadership or influence on high-performing teams.

Bonus Points

• Developed consumer AI products that scaled to a significant number of users.
• Experience with WordPress ecommerce or messaging platforms.
• Open source contributions showing your thinking.

Why This Role Matters

Shape how AI transforms products used by hundreds of millions people across the planet. From helping creators tell better stories to enabling merchants to compete effectively. You’ll tackle fascinating challenges across our entire ecosystem with the backing of a profitable mission-driven company.

At Automattic we use global salary ranges that do not vary by location. However because this role is required to be based in our New York City office 5 days a week we have applied an adjustment to the global band to support additional costs associated with the office-based role requirements. The salary for this role is $170000–$230000 USD.

If you later move to a different team or role at Automattic that is not NYC office‑based your salary would be adjusted to the applicable global pay band for that role which could result in a reduction in salary. Note that the global range would apply even if your chosen location of residence is NYC.

We are searching for high-caliber candidates with the skills and qualities to have a net positive for Automattic. Pay will reflect the potential contribution and the impact you can bring. #LI-DNI

What We Do

We are the people behind WordPress.com WooCommerce Jetpack Simplenote Longreads VaultPress Akismet Gravatar Crowdsignal Cloudup Tumblr Day One Pocket Casts and more. We believe in making the web a better place. We’re a distributed company with 1933 Automatticians in 96 countries speaking 120 different languages. We’re committed to diversity equity and inclusion and our common goal is to democratize publishing and commerce so that anyone with a story can tell it and anyone with a product can sell it regardless of income gender politics language or where they live in the world. We believe in Open Source and the vast majority of our work is available under the GPL. We strive to live by the Automattic Creed. Come work with us.