Applied AI Engineer

This role is located in Somerville, MA - We are a hybrid work environment and are in the office 3+ days/per week. Tulip, the leader in AI-native frontline operations, is helping companies around the world equip their workforce with composable, connected apps, leading to higher quality work, improved efficiency, and end-to-end traceability across operations. Tulip’s cloud-native, no-code platform, powered by embedded AI, is driving the digital transformation of industrial environments through composable, human-centric solutions that go beyond disrupting the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) category. A spinoff out of MIT, Tulip is headquartered in Somerville, MA, with offices in Germany, Hungary, Singapore, Israel and Japan. Tulip has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Global Innovator, a 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast award winner, one of Energage’s Top Workplaces USA, and one of Built In Boston’s “Best Places to Work” and “Best Midsize Places to Work.” About You You're a builder. You’ve been inside the LLM/agentic AI world, turning capabilities into tools that real teams actually depend on. You understand the full stack of making an agent work in production: prompting, tool design, reliability, the UX of human-AI handoffs, and all the unglamorous parts in between. You thrive when the problem is fuzzy and the timeline is tight. You find the highest-leverage thing, move fast, and bring people with you. You're technically sharp and commercially curious — you want to understand why something matters to the business, not just what to build. You prototype on Monday, ship on Wednesday, and iterate on Friday because real use is key. You want a small team with outsized impact and direct exposure to leadership and all parts of the company. You want your fingerprints on how the whole company operates. You think agentic AI and humans working together is one of the most interesting opportunities of this decade. You're not here to watch it happen — you're here to shape how it happens. Key Responsibilities • Partner seamlessly with business teams to identify the highest-leverage AI opportunities across Tulip and co-design, build, and launch them — translating messy business problems into elegant, ROI-driven agentic solutions • Build and ship AI agents that non-technical teams love using — automating workflows for efficiency and to unlock new team capabilities • Assist in architecting and building the agentic AI platform that powers our company internally — from foundational architecture and standards to secure, scalable integrations across our entire tech stack • Stay plugged into agentic AI trends externally to shape Tulip’s internal AI strategy • Meaningfully contribute to organizational AI enablement, including learning programs, coaching, and change management efforts What skills or experience do I need? • 5+ years of relevant experience. For example, work experience can be in software engineering with hands-on AI/LLM experience, delivering AI solutions inside of a company, or to clients in a consulting environment. • Proven ability to build internal tools that make powerful technology accessible to non-technical users — including the judgment to know when to build vs. buy • A natural relationship builder who earns trust with business leads quickly, gets to the root of operational problems, and co-creates solutions that actually get adopted • Comfort with owning a full stack (e.g., strong proficiency in Typescript or similar, familiarity with API design and integration (RESTful services or similar) • Deep hands-on experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, agent frameworks, and RAG — ideally built and shipped in production • Production experience with AWS or GCP, modern CI/CD practices, and a genuine understanding of AI safety and security • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent work experience Key Collaborators • Engineering, Operations, and/or Go To Market teams • Finance and People teams • IT and Data leadership Working At Tulip We know even great candidates experience imposter syndrome. Even if you don’t match every requirement, applying gives you the opportunity to be considered. We’re building a strong, diverse team that values hard work, families, and personal well-being. Benefits of working with us include: • Direct impact on product and culture • Company equity • Competitive benefits package including Health, Dental, Vision, Short-term Disability, Long-term Disability, Life Insurance, AD&D, FSA, Commuter Benefits, Parental Leave, and 401(K), fitness subsidies • Flexible work schedule and unlimited vacation policy • Company events and happy hours • Dog-friendly office We are an equal opportunity employer. At Tulip, we celebrate all. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Help us build an inclusive community that will transform frontline operations. The compensation information displayed on each job posting reflects the range for new hire pay rates for the position across all US locations. Within the range posted, actual compensation will be determined depending on multiple factors including job-related knowledge & skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, market compensation data, and internal equity. Expected compensation ranges for this role may change over time. The salary range for this position is $100,000-$155,000 per year, based on a level 2 (minimum) to a level 3 (maximum). The final level will be determined during the interview process. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Please note that we may use AI-based tools to support parts of our hiring process. All data processing is carried out in compliance with local data protection laws, ensuring all personal candidate information is handled securely and ethically.