Applied AI Engineer

About the role

BLP Digital is actively seeking an Applied AI Engineer to spearhead the creation of intelligent systems that redefine how we operate on a daily basis. In this capacity, you will take full ownership of our internal tooling, architecting and delivering high-impact AI agents that solve specific operational challenges. The hire will be responsible for transforming abstract business needs into concrete, automated digital workflows that replace manual effort with intelligent software. You will build systems that drastically accelerate our finance, hiring, and operational workflows, ensuring that technology serves as a true force multiplier for the entire company. This role requires a builder who is comfortable operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence and software engineering to deliver reliable solutions under tight timelines. You will collaborate closely with non-technical stakeholders to translate ambiguous problems into well-defined technical tasks that can be implemented and scaled. The successful candidate will act as a technical partner across departments, using their judgment to prioritize features and navigate constraints in a fast-moving environment. Ultimately, you will be instrumental in establishing the internal technical foundation of a fast-growing deep-tech startup, setting standards for quality and execution.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Identify and automate repetitive operational tasks by developing AI-driven internal tools on aggressive timelines of days or weeks.
• Integrate and chain advanced AI models, agent frameworks, and embedding pipelines into robust production systems that handle real-world data.
• Design and implement solutions that provide significant time savings across finance, hiring, and cross-functional operational workflows.
• Write stable, maintainable, and well-documented code that connects securely with our databases, internal APIs, and third-party services.
• Manage the full lifecycle of your tools, including requirements gathering, testing, deployment, monitoring, and iterative improvement based on user feedback.
• Partner with non-technical departments to map current processes, identify operational bottlenecks, and define the scope of automated solutions.
• Evaluate and select appropriate AI models and infrastructure to balance performance, cost, and reliability for internal use cases.
• Ensure that the systems you build adhere to best practices for security, scalability, and maintainability within a growing engineering organization.
• Contribute to the technical roadmap for internal tooling, proposing new capabilities based on observed inefficiencies and emerging AI capabilities.
• Act as a subject matter expert on AI tooling, mentoring other team members and sharing knowledge through code reviews and documentation.
• Implement monitoring and logging for deployed agents to ensure transparency and facilitate rapid debugging of issues in production.
• Optimize prompts, model selection, and pipeline architecture to improve accuracy, reduce latency, and control operational expenses.
• Coordinate with data and infrastructure teams to ensure that the underlying platforms supporting AI workloads are reliable and efficient.
• Drive the adoption of AI tools across the company by demonstrating clear value and creating intuitive interfaces for end users.

Requirements

• Proven ability to build and ship functional software from concept to production, regardless of your educational background or formal credentials.
• Hands-on experience working with modern AI stacks, including large language models, agent frameworks, and embedding pipelines in real projects.
• Entrepreneurial mindset demonstrated by previous startup experience, substantial internal tool development, or building critical infrastructure that was used by others.
• Ability to collaborate with non-technical departments to identify operational bottlenecks and design automation solutions that address real needs.
• Professional fluency in English, with strong written and verbal communication skills for coordinating with distributed stakeholders.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly and ownership is expected from day one.
• Experience translating ambiguous requirements into technical specifications and making sound implementation decisions with limited guidance.
• Commitment to writing clean, testable code and maintaining technical debt at a manageable level even under aggressive delivery timelines.

Nice to have

• Proficiency with tools such as n8n, Make, Retool, or Supabase to accelerate the development of internal workflows and user interfaces.
• German language skills that enable more effective communication with local stakeholders and partners.

Practical notes

This role offers the chance to shape the internal technical foundation of a fast-growing deep-tech startup. You will work alongside a team with strong academic and professional backgrounds in an environment that prioritizes rapid execution and individual ownership. The position is based in Zurich and requires full-time engagement. There is no specified end date for this role, allowing for long-term impact and career growth within the team. Travel is not expected as part of the standard work arrangement for this position.