SAN FRANCISCO

AI Engineer Recruitment

Harnham Data Recruitment is a specialist Data & AI Recruitment agency that procures the best AI Engineer talent in San Francisco for companies ranging from local data start-ups to more established international corporations.

WHAT WE DO

SAN FRANCISCO AI ENGINEER RECRUITMENT

We work with some of San Franciscos' leading brands to provide recruitment solutions across the Data & AI industries.

Harnham is a leading AI Engineer recruitment agency, specializing in connecting top AI Engineers, Machine Learning experts, and Software Engineers with San Francisco’s most innovative companies.

We partner with AI-driven businesses across industries to provide cutting-edge AI recruitment solutions, ensuring they secure the best talent in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data-centric AI.

Our consultants are experts in AI engineering recruitment, offering in-depth market insights that they learn from staying up to date with trends and events, salary benchmarking, and guidance throughout the hiring process, including technical interviews, leadership assessments, and project management support for hiring managers.

With an extensive database of experienced engineers in San Francisco, we help companies fill key roles in platform engineering, technical leadership, and engineering excellence—critical for businesses leveraging generative AI applications and machine learning frameworks.

Whether you need professionals with systems hands-on expertise or those who understand technical direction for AI-driven projects, Harnham delivers the best talent.

If you need AI professionals with strong communication skills, practical skills, and coding assessment expertise, Harnham’s San Francisco AI recruitment team is ready to help.

HOW WE DO IT

DATA & AI RECRUITMENT AND STAFFING
HOW WE DO IT

At Harnham, our AI Engineering recruitment strategy aligns with the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, allowing companies to scale efficiently.

Our San Francisco AI recruitment team specializes in hiring:
AI Engineers – Experts in machine learning frameworks, data-centric AI, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions
Software Engineers – Skilled in integrating AI-driven solutions into existing technology systems Engineering Leaders & Technical Leaders – Professionals with strong prioritization skills, leadership assessments, and experience in platform engineering

We ensure our candidates demonstrate sound judgment, a crucial trait when making AI-driven business decisions. They also have experience working with external clients, helping organizations implement AI at scale.

We understand the importance of collaboration in AI projects. Our candidates excel in working within cross-functional product teams and the wider team, ensuring seamless AI adoption in your business operations.

Additionally, our focus on communication skills ensures that every hire is capable of articulating complex AI concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Looking for AI Engineers in San Francisco? Contact us to access our network of top-tier AI and Machine Learning professionals.

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What sets us apart

WHAT SETS US APART FROM OTHER SAN FRANCISCO DATA & AI RECRUITMENT AGENCIES?

At Harnham, our recruitment consultants bring deep industry expertise, specializing in AI-driven businesses, Google Cloud AI, and Generative AI solutions. Whether you're building AI infrastructure on Google Cloud or another platform, we ensure that we source candidates who seamlessly align with your tech stack.

We also provide real-time salary benchmarking for AI Engineers in San Francisco, helping companies offer competitive compensation. Our leadership assessments are designed to identify engineering leaders who can drive AI and machine learning innovation within your organization. Additionally, we streamline the technical hiring process, conducting thorough technical interviews, coding assessments, and project management evaluations to ensure only top-quality hires.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are committed to helping businesses build diverse AI teams that foster innovation and success.

We believe AI hiring should be as innovative as the industry itself. Our decade of innovation in AI and data recruitment ensures we stay ahead of market trends, our consultants also stay up to date on locally relevant events, garnering insights to provide companies with top-tier candidates.

Our deep understanding of AI recruitment trends in San Francisco, combined with our engineering excellence, makes us the preferred choice for companies looking to hire AI Engineer Talent in San Francisco.

Click here to connect with our team.

JOBS

LATEST SAN FRANCISCO
Data & AI JOBS

Harnham are a specialist Data & AI Recruitment business with teams that only focus on niche areas.

VP AI Engineer

New York

$200000 - $220000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
USA

To Apply for this Job Click Here

VP AI Engineer
$220K base + bonus + RSU
New York or San Francisco

A global financial technology organisation operating at enterprise scale, combining advanced software engineering, data science, and applied AI to modernise large-scale production systems. The company invests heavily in automation, operational excellence, and AI-driven infrastructure, building mission-critical platforms used across complex, high-reliability environments.

Mission

  • Design and deploy agentic AI systems to automate and optimise large-scale production environments
  • Build LLM-powered solutions that diagnose issues, reason over complex systems, and take secure, auditable actions
  • Develop RAG pipelines and domain knowledge systems with strong data quality, feedback loops, and governance
  • Productionise LLMs: evaluation frameworks, prompt orchestration, response validation, self-correction loops
  • Integrate AI agents with observability, incident management, deployment, and runtime platforms
  • Implement safety, reliability, and compliance guardrails (policy enforcement, rollback strategies, circuit breakers)
  • Optimise performance, cost, and latency through prompt engineering, caching, routing, batching, and streaming

Profile

  • Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative or computational field (Master’s / PhD preferred)
  • 7+ years of experience in applied ML, data science, or software engineering in production environments
  • Strong hands-on development in Python (or C++ / Java / Go), building large-scale applications
  • Practical expertise with LLMs: prompt engineering, fine-tuning/adaptation, RAG, tool-calling agents, vector search
  • Experience building secure, explainable, and reliable AI systems with strong governance and auditability
  • Comfortable collaborating across engineering, infrastructure, and operations teams with measurable business outcomes

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Principal AI Engineer

Amsterdam

€60000 - €100000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
Netherlands

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Job Opportunity: Principal AI Engineer | Remote or Hybrid

Location: Remote or Hybrid (HQ in [City])

Role Type: Full-Time

Seniority: Principal / Expert

Start Date: ASAP

About the Company

The company is expanding its AI capabilities to build innovative, intelligent systems that power next-generation products and experiences. With an ambitious roadmap centered on generative AI, advanced machine learning, and large-scale automation, they are seeking a highly experienced Principal AI Engineer to lead technical strategy, guide system architecture, and drive innovation across the organization.

This is a pivotal role that will shape the long-term AI direction, influence key engineering decisions, and deliver solutions that have significant impact on the company’s technical evolution.

The Role

The Principal AI Engineer will act as a hands-on technical leader, responsible for designing, developing, and scaling advanced AI systems. The role involves high-level architectural thinking, applied research, and deep technical execution, including oversight of model development, evaluation, deployment, and optimization.

The successful candidate will collaborate with engineering, data, and product stakeholders to define the AI vision while also mentoring teams and setting engineering standards that enable excellence and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the design and development of complex AI systems, including generative AI models, LLM-powered applications, and large-scale machine learning infrastructures.
  • Define and drive the company’s AI technical strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals.
  • Oversee model experimentation, fine-tuning, evaluation, and deployment into production environments.
  • Set best practices for ML engineering, model lifecycle management, security, and governance.
  • Provide expert guidance on architecture decisions across data, ML, and application layers.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify high-impact AI opportunities and translate them into technical solutions.
  • Mentor and support engineering teams, elevating technical capabilities across the organization.
  • Stay ahead of industry developments, research breakthroughs, and emerging AI frameworks.

Required Experience

  • 7+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, with a strong track record of delivering production-grade AI systems.
  • Deep expertise in Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX).
  • Extensive hands-on experience working with large language models, generative AI architectures, and related tooling.
  • Strong knowledge of model serving, orchestration, distributed training, and scalable inference systems.
  • Experience architecting and deploying AI solutions on cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure).
  • Proven ability to lead complex AI initiatives, influence technical direction, and guide multidisciplinary teams.
  • Strong understanding of data engineering, MLOps, model governance, and ML lifecycle best practices.
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and navigate ambiguous, greenfield challenges.

What the Company Offers

  • A strategic role with significant influence over the AI roadmap and technical foundations.
  • Competitive salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits.
  • Flexible remote or hybrid working environment.
  • Opportunities to work with state-of-the-art AI technologies and contribute to groundbreaking products.
  • A culture that values innovation, autonomy, and continuous learning.

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer

Manchester

£70000 - £80000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
Manchester, Greater Manchester

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Senior AI Engineer – 2 days Manchester

You will be responsible for designing and delivering production-ready AI and ML solutions that drive business value. This role focuses on building scalable data pipelines, deploying machine learning models, and embedding AI into products and decision-making.

Responsibilities

  • Build and maintain end-to-end AI/ML pipelines
  • Develop, deploy and monitor machine learning models
  • Apply MLOps best practices including CI/CD
  • Collaborate with data, analytics and engineering teams
  • Ensure data governance, security and responsible AI

Experience

  • Strong experience in ML engineering and data pipelines
  • Python, SQL and Git proficiency
  • Hands-on use of ML frameworks (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn)

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Sr. Generative AI Engineer

$85 - $115

+ Data Science & AI

Contract
New York

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Sr. Generative AI Engineer

Harnham, the leading recruitment specialist in Data and AI is supporting a nationally recognized Databricks consulting partner delivering enterprise-grade GenAI and LLM solutions to their clients.

They are in need of a Sr Gen AI Engineer who has at least 5 years of experience with Databricks and who is comfortable communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

The ideal hire does not necessarily need to come form a specific company or industry, however, *hands-on GenAI production experience (RAG, LLMs, or agentic frameworks)* is a MUST.

  • Role – Sr. Gen AI Engineer
  • Location – Remote – OR – Hybrid (2-3 days on-site) in Dallas, Texas
  • Pay – $85-$115 per hour, dependent on experience and certifications
  • Length: Extendable, 12 months initial contract
  • Utilization: 40 hr/week
  • Benefits: W2 employees are eligible to health, dental, vision, 401k benefits.

As a Sr Gen AI engineer, you will be a key player in driving project completion and working extensively with both Databricks and the end-client on your projects.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Deliver end-to-end GenAI projects on the Databricks platform, from scoping through build and deployment.
  • Develop RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and LLM-based applications that utilize enterprise data and knowledge repositories.
  • Implement vector database solutions, integrate LangChain / agentic frameworks, and optimize LLM workflows.
  • Support clients in bringing GenAI systems into production with best practices for MLOps, CI/CD, and data pipeline automation.
  • Collaborate with data teams to design scalable architectures and advise on tooling, deployment, and governance.
  • Provide mentorship to broader ML teams and help clients adopt Databricks-native GenAI solutions effectively.

Requirements:

  • 5+ years of overall experience in AI/ML engineering or data systems.
  • 1-2 years of proven, hands-on GenAI production experience (RAG, LLMs, or agentic frameworks).
  • Strong Databricks expertise – all delivery occurs within the Databricks ecosystem (Spark, MLflow, Unity Catalog, etc.).
  • Proficiency in Python, LangChain, OpenAI API, Hugging Face, and vector DBs such as FAISS, Pinecone, Weaviate, or Chroma.
  • Strong grasp of cloud deployment (AWS, Azure, GCP) and DevOps pipelines (Git, Azure Pipelines, CI/CD).
  • Excellent communication skills for client-facing consulting and delivery engagements.
  • Preferred certifications: Databricks Associate/Professional ML Engineer, Databricks GenAI Engineer, or Databricks Data Engineer.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has designed, developed, and deployed generative AI solutions and wants to leverage that expertise as a hands-on consultant.

**WE WILL NOT BE UTILIZING THIRD PARTY AGENCIES FOR THIS ROLE**

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer

London

£80000 - £130000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
London

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Lead & Principal AI Engineer – Remote

A global B2B technology organisation is expanding its AI engineering function. After several strategic acquisitions, it now offers a broadened suite of digital services and operates with a remote-first model across Europe.

What You’ll Work On
* Building AI platforms that power conversational experiences and intelligent purchase flows
* Designing and implementing backend services and tooling for AI-driven features
* Enabling internal engineering teams to adopt AI effectively
* Developing scalable, secure, and high-quality systems using strong software engineering practices

Required Background
* Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field
* Expertise in Python, Node.js, and AWS
* Strong foundation in backend or platform engineering

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer

London

£80000 - £85000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
London

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer – Remote

We are currently working on an AI Engineer role with a global language and translation company. You will be designing, developing, and deploying cutting-edge machine learning solutions across the company.

If you enjoy end-to-end ownership (from experimentation to deployment), working with AWS, Docker, MLflow, TensorFlow/PyTorch, and contributing to innovative projects with a flexible, results-focused culture, this could be an exciting match.

Skills:

  • Ability to write and produce production-grade code in Python
  • Experience with TensorFlow, PyTorch and Scikit-learn
  • Experience with NLPs and LLMs
  • Speech, Text or Audio data
  • Strong knowledge of machine learning techniques and algorithms, including supervised and unsupervised learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer

Manhattan

$50 - $60

+ Data Science & AI

Contract
Manhattan, New York

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Responsibilities

Level 1. Internal Chatbot Development
* Build an internal chatbot that provides new employees with quick access to SOPs and organizational knowledge.
* Develop AI tooling that searches, summarizes, and retrieves information from 30 to 50 separate Google Docs and standardized operating procedures.
* Implement a secure, self-hosted LLM or RAG system that aligns with FERPA and DOE-level compliance requirements related to PII and student-level data.

Level 2. AI-Based Automation and Agentic Tools
* Create automation tools that handle structured tasks and routines such as proposal generation, invoicing workflows, and standardized reporting.
* Build simple agentic AI components that can execute multi-step business operations with minimal human input.

Level 3. Advanced AI Assistant
* Develop an AI Assistant that works directly with our internal data coaches, taking coach inputs while incorporating insights from external sources, including LLMs.
* Build adaptive learning capabilities so the assistant improves over time based on team feedback and real usage.
* Ensure scalability, reliability, and secure deployment of the Level 3 system.

Required Experience

* Experience building production AI systems, including chatbots, RAG pipelines, or workflow automation.
* Experience with agentic AI tools, orchestration frameworks, or multi-step AI automation.
* Strong understanding of data security, compliance, and safe model deployment.
* Ability to design systems that are reliable, maintainable, and user-centric.

Nice to Have

* Prior experience in education technology or work involving student-level data.
* Experience building tools that support non-technical users and internal teams.

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI ENGINEER – FULL-STACK + GENAI

Dallas, TX

$115000 - $130000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
Dallas, Texas

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI ENGINEER – FULL-STACK + GENAI

$115K – $130K BASE + BONUS

HYBRID – DALLAS-FORT WORTH METROPLEX

Are you looking to build real AI-enabled applications-not just models-and help modernize critical business systems used across a nationwide organization?

THE COMPANY

A leading operator in the single-family rental (SFR) housing market, this company manages tens of thousands of homes across 30+ U.S. metros. They’ve invested heavily in modern engineering, cloud technologies, and AI-driven platforms to streamline operations, support residents, and power large-scale field workflows.

They are launching a new AI Engineering initiative to rebuild and modernize key internal applications with automation, GenAI, and scalable cloud services.

THE ROLE

As an AI Engineer, you’ll be part of a full-stack engineering team responsible for building AI-enabled business applications that directly support leasing, maintenance, operations, and resident services.

You’ll work on modernizing a business-critical Salesforce system into a new platform (Palantir), adding automation and GenAI capabilities along the way.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Building backend services and APIs using Python or Node.js/TypeScript
  • Integrating GenAI and RAG-based features into internal applications
  • Developing full-stack features within the company’s integration/UI platform
  • Learning existing business processes and rebuilding workflows in a modern environment
  • Working with engineering, data, platform, and business teams to define and ship AI features
  • Delivering components and automation that support a large migration project (6-8 month cycles)

This is a highly visible engineering role with direct business impact-not an ML research or model-training position.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

  • Strong full-stack engineering experience (APIs + backend development)
  • Proficiency in Python or Node.js/TypeScript
  • Exposure to GenAI concepts such as LLM integration, RAG, embeddings, or vector search
  • Ability to learn new technologies quickly and work across multiple teams
  • Strong communication skills and a consultative mindset
  • Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving technical environments

Nice-to-haves:

  • AWS experience
  • SQL/NoSQL database experience
  • Palantir or ontology-based platforms (not required-trainable)

THE BENEFITS

  • $115k-$130k base salary + 10% bonus
  • Hybrid schedule (3 days onsite, 2 days remote)
  • Opportunity to work with modern AI tools + platform technologies
  • Direct impact on high-visibility, business-critical systems
  • Strong learning culture and clear runway for growth

If you want to build practical, impactful AI features inside real enterprise applications-not theoretical models-this role offers the perfect blend of engineering and innovation.

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI ENGINEER – FULL-STACK + GENAI

Phoenix, AZ

$115000 - $130000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
Phoenix, Arizona

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI ENGINEER – FULL-STACK + GENAI

$115K – $130K BASE + BONUS

HYBRID – GREATER PHOENIX AREA

Are you looking to build real AI-enabled applications-not just models-and help modernize critical business systems used across a nationwide organization?

THE COMPANY

A leading operator in the single-family rental (SFR) housing market, this company manages tens of thousands of homes across 30+ U.S. metros. They’ve invested heavily in modern engineering, cloud technologies, and AI-driven platforms to streamline operations, support residents, and power large-scale field workflows.

They are launching a new AI Engineering initiative to rebuild and modernize key internal applications with automation, GenAI, and scalable cloud services.

THE ROLE

As an AI Engineer, you’ll be part of a full-stack engineering team responsible for building AI-enabled business applications that directly support leasing, maintenance, operations, and resident services.

You’ll work on modernizing a business-critical Salesforce system into a new platform (Palantir), adding automation and GenAI capabilities along the way.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Building backend services and APIs using Python or Node.js/TypeScript
  • Integrating GenAI and RAG-based features into internal applications
  • Developing full-stack features within the company’s integration/UI platform
  • Learning existing business processes and rebuilding workflows in a modern environment
  • Working with engineering, data, platform, and business teams to define and ship AI features
  • Delivering components and automation that support a large migration project (6-8 month cycles)

This is a highly visible engineering role with direct business impact-not an ML research or model-training position.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

  • Strong full-stack engineering experience (APIs + backend development)
  • Proficiency in Python or Node.js/TypeScript
  • Exposure to GenAI concepts such as LLM integration, RAG, embeddings, or vector search
  • Ability to learn new technologies quickly and work across multiple teams
  • Strong communication skills and a consultative mindset
  • Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving technical environments

Nice-to-haves:

  • AWS experience
  • SQL/NoSQL database experience
  • Palantir or ontology-based platforms (not required-trainable)

THE BENEFITS

  • $115k-$130k base salary + 10% bonus
  • Hybrid schedule (3 days onsite, 2 days remote)
  • Opportunity to work with modern AI tools + platform technologies
  • Direct impact on high-visibility, business-critical systems
  • Strong learning culture and clear runway for growth

If you want to build practical, impactful AI features inside real enterprise applications-not theoretical models-this role offers the perfect blend of engineering and innovation.

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer

London

£80000 - £110000

+ Data Science & AI

Permanent
London

To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer / ML Engineer – CRYPTO – REMOTE

We are collaborating with a cryptocurrency analytics firm that assists clients in identifying market opportunities, conducting due diligence, and protecting portfolios. The company is expanding its strategic capabilities in AI & ML.

They are seeking a skilled and driven Senior AI/ML Engineer to join their team. In this position, you will design and manage AI models to process extensive blockchain data, identifying patterns and insights that guide decision-making for cryptocurrency investors. As a Senior AI/ML Engineer, your work will be essential in enhancing the platform’s functionality, ensuring the delivery of a cutting-edge product to users. Your expertise will be instrumental in influencing the technology’s evolution and solidifying the company’s status as a leader in blockchain analytics.

You will need:

  • Spearhead the design, implementation, and deployment of AI/ML models to analyze blockchain data, ensuring optimal performance and scalability.
  • Work alongside product managers and engineers to integrate AI/ML models into the platform, boosting its analytical capabilities and enhancing the user experience.
  • Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in AI/ML and blockchain technologies, applying creative solutions to tackle complex challenges.
  • Mentor junior engineers and foster best practices in AI/ML development within the team.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure AI/ML projects align with business goals and customer requirements.

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Sr. Generative AI Engineer

$85 - $125

+ Data Science & AI

Contract
Texas

To Apply for this Job Click Here

Senior Gen AI Engineer

Harnham, a leading recruitment specialist in Data and AI, is partnering with a Databricks consulting firm that delivers enterprise-grade GenAI and LLM solutions for end clients. They are seeking a Senior Gen AI Engineer with at least five years of Databricks experience and the ability to communicate confidently with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. The ideal candidate does not need to come from a specific industry, but must have hands-on production experience with GenAI applications, including RAG systems, LLM development, or agentic frameworks.

This role can be performed remotely or in a hybrid capacity from Dallas, Texas (2-3 days onsite). It is a 12-month contract with strong potential for extension, offering $85-$125 per hour for 40 hours per week. W2 employees are eligible for health, dental, vision, and 401(k) benefits.

As a Senior Gen AI Engineer, you will drive end-to-end delivery of GenAI projects within the Databricks ecosystem, working closely with both Databricks teams and end clients. Responsibilities include scoping, building, and deploying GenAI solutions; developing RAG and LLM-based applications that leverage enterprise data; integrating vector databases and agentic frameworks such as LangChain; and optimizing LLM workflows for production. You will help clients productionize GenAI systems using best practices in MLOps, CI/CD, and data pipeline automation, while collaborating with broader data teams on architecture, tooling, and governance. This role also includes providing mentorship and helping clients adopt Databricks-native GenAI capabilities effectively.

Qualified candidates will have 5+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering or data systems, including at least 1-2 years of hands-on GenAI production work. Strong Databricks proficiency is essential, including Spark, MLflow, and Unity Catalog. Candidates should also be skilled in Python, LangChain, OpenAI APIs, Hugging Face, and vector databases such as FAISS, Pinecone, Weaviate, or Chroma. A solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and DevOps tooling is required, along with excellent communication skills for client-facing delivery. Preferred certifications include Databricks ML Engineer, Databricks GenAI Engineer, or Databricks Data Engineer.

This opportunity is ideal for someone who has successfully designed, built, and deployed generative AI solutions and wants to apply that expertise in a hands-on consulting environment.

To Apply for this Job Click Here

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