Must Have: Applied AI, LLM Systems & Inference Optimization, AI Agents & Agentic Frameworks, Distributed AI Infrastructure, AI Platform Architecture, Engineering & People Leadership. Overview: Senior hybrid IC and people leadership role bridging AI systems architecture, agentic AI, and cross-functional product execution.
Numbers & Facts
Location
San Jose, CA
Description
Role: Senior Manager, AI Engineering & Product Location: San Jose, CA (Hybrid) Duration: 3+ months
Overview:
Senior hybrid IC and people leadership role bridging AI systems architecture, agentic AI, and cross-functional product execution
Operating level: IC10 / L7 or equivalent (Client, Google, Amazon, or high-growth AI startup calibre)
Expected to own roadmap, stakeholder alignment, and end-to-end delivery independently
Must Have: Applied AI, LLM Systems & Inference Optimization, AI Agents & Agentic Frameworks, Distributed AI Infrastructure, AI Platform Architecture, Engineering & People Leadership
Key Responsibilities:
Build and scale AI deployment platforms focused on inference speed, latency reduction, and model acceleration
Architect Client software libraries and tooling to push LLM inference and training optimization
Design and lead multi-agent engineering systems including orchestration, parallelism, and tool usage
Prototype and incubate R&D innovations with potential patent value
Drive cross-functional alignment and secure R&D budget from senior leadership
Lead engineering teams with full autonomy across roadmap, staffing, and delivery
Required Qualifications:
15+ years in engineering, with 8 to 9 years in applied AI
Group Manager or Director level experience at a large tech company or high-growth AI startup
Deep hands-on expertise in LLM systems: transformers, inference optimization, quantization, KV cache, distributed training (PyTorch FSDP, PEFT/LoRA)
Production-grade experience with AI Agents and agentic frameworks (Claude Code, Agent SDK, or equivalent)
Infrastructure at scale: Kubernetes, Kafka, Spark, multi-tenant SaaS, AWS, GCP
Proven record of building AI platforms from zero to enterprise production (F500 clients preferred)
Experience with vector databases, synthetic data pipelines, RAG, Chain of Thought
Nice to Have:
Published author or recognized thought leader in AI/ML
Startup founding or enterprise incubation experience
GPU hardware ecosystem familiarity: CXL, NVMe, PCIe-level AI optimization