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About This Role
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Full time
AI Software Engineer \- Search Infrastructure
What you can expect
We’re building the next\-generation AI\-native knowledge platform to help organizations easily access and retrieve internal knowledge using the power of LLMs. You’ll join a fast\-moving engineering team to build scalable, secure, and intelligent Retrieval\-Augmented Generation (RAG) infrastructure — powering enterprise search, AI assistants, and knowledge discovery experiences.
About the Team
You’ll collaborate with world\-class engineers, designers, and product thinkers to define what "AI\-powered search" really means in the enterprise. As a core engineer on this team, you'll work across real\-time document pipelines, vector databases, and permission\-aware retrieval to push the boundaries of applied LLM systems at scale.
Responsibilities
- Designing and implementing a scalable RAG system for real\-time Q\&A across internal content (meetings, messages, documents, whiteboards, videos, etc.).
- Building robust ingestion and indexing pipelines for semi\-structured data sources with fine\-grained, permission\-aware access control.
- Developing APIs and backend systems to enable efficient querying, retrieval, and ranking.
- Collaborating with ML/NLP engineers to iterate on embedding models and improve search quality.
- Ensuring reliability, low latency, and scalability across the entire data retrieval and augmentation stack.
- Monitoring system performance and optimize for high\-throughput, low\-latency workloads under real\-world load.
What we’re looking for
- Have a Bachelor's degree and 4\+ years of experience in backend or distributed systems engineering
- Have a productivity mindset with experience using AI tools effectively
- Have experience designing and operating large\-scale data ingestion pipelines (message queues, vector stores, Temporal, Elasticsearch etc.)
- Demonstrate a track record of building highly available, multi\-tenant backend services
- Have experience with document\-level permission modeling and secure data handling
- Possess with cloud\-native tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS
- Have experience in Go is a bonus
- Have experience integrating with SaaS platforms (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, etc.)
Salary Range or On Target Earnings:
Minimum:
$151,800\.00
Maximum:
$332,200\.00
In addition to the base salary and/or OTE listed Zoom has a Total Direct Compensation philosophy that takes into consideration; base salary, bonus and equity value.
Note: Starting pay will be based on a number of factors and commensurate with qualifications \& experience.
We also have a location based compensation structure; there may be a different range for candidates in this and other locations.
Ways of Working
Our structured hybrid approach is centered around our offices and remote work environments. The work style of each role, Hybrid, Remote, or In\-Person is indicated in the job description/posting.
Benefits
As part of our award\-winning workplace culture and commitment to delivering happiness, our benefits program offers a variety of perks, benefits, and options to help employees maintain their physical, mental, emotional, and financial health; support work\-life balance; and contribute to their community in meaningful ways.
About Us
Zoomies help people stay connected so they can get more done together. We set out to build the best collaboration platform for the enterprise, and today help people communicate better with products like Zoom Contact Center, Zoom Phone, Zoom Events, Zoom Apps, Zoom Rooms, and Zoom Webinars.
We’re problem\-solvers, working at a fast pace to design solutions with our customers and users in mind. Find room to grow with opportunities to stretch your skills and advance your career in a collaborative, growth\-focused environment.
Our Commitment
At Zoom, we believe great work happens when people feel supported and empowered. We’re committed to fair hiring practices that ensure every candidate is evaluated based on skills, experience, and potential. If you require an accommodation during the hiring process, let us know—we’re here to support you at every step.
We welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives including qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records and any qualified applicants requiring reasonable accommodations in accordance with the law.
If you need assistance navigating the interview process due to a medical disability, please submit an Accommodations Request Form and someone from our team will reach out soon. This form is solely for applicants who require an accommodation due to a qualifying medical disability. Non\-accommodation\-related requests, such as application follow\-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed.
Think of this opportunity as a marathon, not a sprint! We're building a strong team at Zoom, and we're looking for talented individuals to join us for the long haul. No need to rush your application – take your time to ensure it's a good fit for your career goals. We continuously review applications, so submit yours whenever you're ready to take the next step.
Our interviews are supported by BrightHire, a tool that helps us create a consistent and thoughtful interview experience and may include recordings. Please refer to our candidate privacy statement for more information of how we use your data.
Salary Context
This $151K-$332K range is above the 75th percentile for AI Software Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $183K across 194 roles with salary data).
Role Details
About This Role
AI Software Engineers build the applications and systems that AI models run inside. They own the API layers, data pipelines, frontend integrations, and infrastructure that turn a model into a product users interact with. Every AI company needs engineers who can build the software around the AI.
The challenge is building reliable systems around inherently unreliable components. Models are probabilistic. They'll give different answers to the same question. They hallucinate. They're slow. They're expensive. Your job is to build an application layer that handles all of this gracefully while delivering a product that users trust and enjoy.
Across the 3,708 AI roles we're tracking, AI Software Engineer positions make up 7% of the market. At Zoom Communications, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week includes: building API endpoints that serve model inference with caching and fallback logic, designing the data pipeline that feeds context to a RAG system, implementing streaming responses in the frontend, debugging a race condition in the async inference pipeline, and optimizing database queries for the vector search layer. It's full-stack engineering with AI at the center.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
Skills Required
Full-stack engineering skills with AI integration experience. Python and TypeScript are the most common requirements. You'll need to understand API design, database architecture, and how to build reliable systems around probabilistic outputs. Experience with streaming, async processing, and caching patterns is increasingly important as real-time AI applications proliferate.
Knowledge of vector databases, embedding APIs, and LLM integration patterns (function calling, structured outputs, retry logic) differentiates AI software engineers from general software engineers. Understanding cost optimization (caching strategies, model routing, batched inference) is valuable since inference costs can dominate application economics.
Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI Software Engineer roles pay a median of $219,250 based on 424 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $200,000. This role's midpoint ($242K) sits 10% above the category median. Disclosed range: $151K to $332K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($300,000) and Research Engineer ($280,000). By seniority level: Entry: $120,000; Mid: $200,000; Senior: $230,000; Director: $272,150; VP: $250,000.
Zoom Communications AI Hiring
Zoom Communications has 8 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI Agent Developer, AI/ML Engineer, AI Software Engineer. Positions span Seattle, WA, US, Remote, US, San Jose, CA, US. Compensation range: $271K - $387K.
Location Context
AI roles in Seattle pay a median of $236,900 across 267 tracked positions. That's 9% above the national median.
Career Path
Common paths into AI Software Engineer roles include Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Backend Engineer.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Staff Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager.
If you're a software engineer, you're already 80% there. Learn the AI integration patterns: RAG, streaming inference, function calling, structured outputs. Build a project that demonstrates you can wrap an AI model in a production-quality application with proper error handling, caching, and user experience. That's the portfolio piece that gets you hired.
What to Expect in Interviews
Technical screens look like standard software engineering interviews with an AI twist. Expect system design questions about building reliable applications around probabilistic models: handling streaming responses, implementing retry logic for API failures, and designing caching strategies for LLM outputs. Coding rounds test standard algorithms plus practical integration patterns like async processing and rate limiting.
When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 3,708 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 102 entry-level, 1,705 mid-level, 1,469 senior, and 432 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 14% of the market (508 positions). The remaining 3,180 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($300,000 median, 21 roles); Research Engineer ($280,000 median, 147 roles); AI Architect ($254,798 median, 67 roles).
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 3,708 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,605), Data Scientist (310), AI Software Engineer (259). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (102) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,705) and senior (1,469) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 432 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 14% of all AI roles (508 positions), with 3,180 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $217,500. Top-quartile roles start at $272,100, and the 90th percentile reaches $325,000. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $300,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $140,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,890 postings), Aws (1,103 postings), Azure (877 postings), Rag (855 postings), Gcp (631 postings), Prompt Engineering (560 postings), Pytorch (545 postings), Claude (498 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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