Applied AI Engineer (Portugal, remote)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 19, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 11, 2026.
About the Company
Our client is an AI-native product company built to replace how billions of people manage their digital lives - starting with email, notes, and task tools that were never designed to be AI-native. It's backed by multi-million-dollar investment and built remote-first from day one, with a clear target: cut the time it takes users to get everyday things done by roughly 90%. That means solving the problems most AI products avoid - long-running workflows, persistent context, and reliable behavior under real-world, non-deterministic conditions. The team is small and high-talent-density by design, not by necessity, and moves at a pace that matches the scale of what it's building.
About the Role
As an Applied AI Engineer, you'll turn model capability into real product behavior. You'll own problems end-to-end - from shaping model behavior, to building the systems around it, to making sure it holds up in production. This role sits at the intersection of machine learning, systems, and product: making AI actually work for users, not just in demos.
What You'll Work On
- Build and ship AI features end-to-end (model → system → user experience)
- Design and iterate on prompts, tools, memory, and agent workflows
- Turn raw model outputs into structured, reliable, predictable behavior
- Debug issues across the full stack - model, orchestration, infra, UX
- Optimize for latency, cost, and production reliability
- Develop lightweight evaluation frameworks to measure real-world performance
- Work closely with product and engineering to turn ambiguous problems into working systems
Requirements
- Strong foundation in machine learning and modern neural network architectures
- Hands-on experience training, fine-tuning, or deploying ML models
- Ability to write clean, production-quality code
- Comfort working across abstraction layers - model, infra, product
- Strong problem-solving skills in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
- A bias toward shipping, iteration, and continuous improvement
Tech Stack
Python · PyTorch / JAX · LLMs (OpenAI-style APIs, LLaMA, Qwen, etc.) · inference/serving (e.g. vLLM) · vector DB
What Success Looks Like
- ML models in production meet accuracy, latency, and reliability targets
- Production issues are found quickly, debugged effectively, and root-caused
- Data pipelines, training loops, and inference systems stay robust, reproducible, maintainable
- Effective collaboration with engineers, product, and research to ship reliable ML-powered features
- Iteration is driven by real-world signals and measurable improvement
What to Expect
The best products in the world are built by small, world-class teams. Decisions are made collectively, at rapid speed - balancing high-quality shipping with fast learning. You'll be expected to bring structure, exercise judgment, and execute independently.
Compensation and benefits are competitive and vary by location; the package includes base salary and equity, discussed openly with you as part of the process.
If there's a fit, expect 3-4 interviews total, followed by a prompt, transparent decision. To be considered, please make sure to answer the screening questions in the application form - we're not able to review submissions that skip them.