AI Engineer (LLM, VLM & Fine-Tuning)

About the role

EQL Tech represents a well-funded startup that has raised $16M and is building the financial rails for families to access State education funds (School Choice Funds). The company is an in-person team, and the AI Engineer works directly under the Head of AI to build and ship the intelligence layer behind the product, from first prototype to production. The role is open to candidates based in San Francisco, CA or Phoenix, AZ.

Key responsibilities

• Build MVPs from scratch, taking new AI products to real users with a high bar for quality
• Tune LLM and VLM pipelines and classical ML models to meet the accuracy and latency standards of a regulated fintech product
• Create evaluation frameworks that make AI behaviour measurable, reproducible and improvable
• Diagnose real-world AI failures by reading data and fixing mistakes quickly
• Build documented endpoints and tooling so teammates can use AI capabilities reliably
• Work across the full AI stack, primarily LLM and VLM-based early on, with scope to fine-tune or train models from scratch

Required profile

• Comfortable working in person in San Francisco or Phoenix, with visa support available
• Values simplicity, old and new AI methods, and user-centric design
• Able to scope and ship work independently

Required skills

• Experience with LLM APIs, vector databases, fine-tuning pipelines or evaluation frameworks is a strong plus

What we offer

• Salary of $125,000 - $175,000 per year, commensurate with experience
• Founding equity
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship