[Remote] Staff AI Engineer

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Drata is a company focused on building trust through compliance solutions, and they are seeking a Staff AI Engineer to shape the architecture of AI systems that power enterprise workflows. This role involves making foundational decisions about AI systems, leading cross-team collaborations, and ensuring the quality and reliability of AI outputs.ResponsibilitiesDesign and own production AI systems end-to-end (LLM pipelines, RAG, reranking, vector stores, orchestration)Make thoughtful build/don’t-build decisions based on real dataEvolve our AI stack over time, from model infrastructure to workflow orchestration to evaluation toolingDesign evaluation systems that measure retrieval quality, reasoning accuracy, end-to-end performanceBuild tooling that helps the team iterate confidently and catch regressions earlyDefine how we measure success across the platformAnalyze production outputs to identify failure patterns and root causesTurn complex findings into clear technical recommendationsKnow when to push forward and when to pause based on dataBe the go-to technical voice for AI architecture decisionsInfluence standards for how LLM systems are built, tested, deployed, and monitoredMentor senior engineers through design reviews and hands-on collaborationPartner with product and compliance teams to translate domain complexity into clean technical solutionsShip systems optimized for latency, cost, reliability, and auditabilityEmbed safety guardrails, confidence thresholds, and human-in-the-loop workflowsEnsure outputs are traceable and explainableSkills10+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years working directly on ML/AI systemsReal ownership of production LLM systemsDeep experience with RAG, embeddings, reranking, vector databases (Pinecone, FAISS, Chroma, etc.), and agentic workflowsExperience designing evaluation frameworks and using quantitative analysis to improve system performanceStrong Python skills (TypeScript is a plus)A track record of making architectural decisions that shape team directionExperience operating AI systems in production - observability, reliability, cost tradeoffsThe ability to break down ambiguous, high-stakes problems into structured investigationsClear communication skills and comfort working cross-functionallyExperience in compliance, security, or other regulated domainsFamiliarity with enterprise data platforms or Snowflake-based analyticsExperience with orchestration systems like Temporal or AirflowExperience building or using LLM evaluation platforms (e.g., Braintrust)Contributions to technical communities or published workBenefitsShared Success: We provide stock equity to ensure that as the company grows, you share directly in that success.Health & Wellness: Up to 100% employer-paid premiums for medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their dependents.Financial Well-being: A comprehensive suite of financial benefits, including a 401(k) plan, company-paid life and disability insurance.Family Support: We want to support you in life's most important moments, so we offer a paid Parental Leave policy, after six months of employment.Growth & Development: Generous annual stipends for both professional and personal development.Time Off & Flexibility: We believe that to do your best work, you should get the time you need for rest, rejuvenation and recovery.Company OverviewDrata is a Trust Management Platform that automates compliance workflows, streamlines risk management, and continuous security assurance It was founded in 2020, and is headquartered in San Diego, California, USA, with a workforce of 501-1000 employees. Its website is https://drata.com.Company H1B SponsorshipDrata has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 1 in 2026, 1 in 2025, 2 in 2024, 1 in 2023. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.