SAN FRANCISCO DATA & AI RECRUITMENT
OVERVIEW
San Francisco is a major hub for Data & AI recruitment. Companies use Harnham's Data & AI Recruitment solutions to find the best talent in data science, analytics and engineering. Â
Harnham has a specialized search process to match the right candidates with the right companies. This helps to ensure that the data candidates have the right Data skills and AI experience for the position and that the employer gets the most value for their investment.
Additionally, Harnham has a wide range of industry-specific resources to help employers make informed decisions about their San Francisco Data & AI Recruitment needs.
Harnham's team of experienced Data & AI Recruitment professionals are well-versed in the San Francisco tech scene, making them the perfect choice for companies looking to find top talent in the city and surrounding Bay Area.
DATA & ANALYTICS RECRUITMENT AND STAFFING
HOW WE DO IT
Just like the Data & Analytics professionals we place, Harnham use tried and tested models in our recruitment processes.
By gaining valuable market knowledge across a range of industries and regions, Harnham is able to provide a service which is second to none within our marketplace.
We have seen unprecedented growth in our specialist sector and always have a wide range of vacancies at both junior and senior level including Data Science jobs, Data Analyst jobs, and Big Data jobs, all available throughout the UK, Germany, France, United States, and the Netherlands


WHAT SETS OUR SAN FRANCISCO DATA & AI RECRUITMENT TEAM APART?
We are passionate about delivering our Data & AI Recruitment solutions the highest quality of service and ensuring that each and every job seeker, from entry-level to executive, is placed in a role that best suits their skills and experience.
Harnham is the best Data & AI recruitment company to work with in San Francisco and California because of its unrivalled expertise in the data science and analytics sector.
We have a deep network of Data & AI professionals who are highly skilled in data engineering, data science, machine learning, and analytics. In addition, their experienced team of recruiters and consultants has worked with some of the leading organizations in the Bay Area, providing insightful counsel and timely advice on hiring best practices.
Furthermore, we offer a range of services tailored to the needs of their clients, including talent mapping, salary benchmarking, and candidate assessment.
We are a trusted and long-term partner for all our customers, so if you need to recruit or are looking for your next opportunity, contact us to find out how you can benefit from partnering with Harnham.
JOBS
LATEST SAN
FRANCISCO
DATA & AI JOBS
Harnham are a specialist Data & AI Recruitment business with teams that only focus on niche areas.

Full Stack AI Engineer/ Computer Vision Engineer
London
£450 - £500
+ Computer Vision
ContractLondon
To Apply for this Job Click Here
Full Stack AI Engineer/ Computer Vision Engineer
Initial 4-5 month contract
£500 a day – Outside IR35
Key Skills:
- 3D meshing
- creating segmentation maps
- LLMs – prompt engineering, some RAG and live engineering for meeting insight from text
- Rotating in the 3D world
Nice to have:
- Working with YOLO models
- Experience working with immersive virtual events
- Segmentation map
To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer
New York
$90 - $100
+ Data Science & AI
ContractNew York
To Apply for this Job Click Here
AI Engineer
12-Month contract
$90-$100/Hr
Fully Remote – EST Hours
In this position, you’ll develop, design, and deploy LLMs and conversational AI models for an IoT-enabled device.
Responsibilities:
- Design and implement function calling within conversational AI models, enabling seamless interactions between users and IoT devices.
- Deploy AI models and agents into production and scale them into robust, user-facing products.
- Train, fine-tune, and deploy LLM’s into production settings
- Optimize and scale machine learning algorithms to handle large volumes of data efficiently.
- Utilize knowledge graph systems and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to create efficient, real-time support agents leveraging technical documentation.
- Integrate data from IoT devices and external sources to deliver intelligent, context-aware responses.
- Contribute to the full DevOps lifecycle, including containerization, CI/CD pipelines, and scaling solutions for deployment.
- Develop and fine-tune LLMs and NLP models that enhance interactions with IoT systems, focusing on domain-specific tasks such as technical support, product monitoring, and customer engagement.
Qualifications:
- Expertise in designing and implementing function calling within conversational AI models for seamless user-IoT device interactions.
- Up to 3 years of AI development experience, bringing a fresh perspective and a passion for innovative product creation.
- Proven experience deploying AI models and agents into production and scaling them into robust, user-facing products.
- Practical knowledge of DevOps, including containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD workflows for efficient deployment.
- Experience with LLMs (e.g., GPT-4, Whisper), including training, fine-tuning, and application in production settings.
- Experience with contemporary AI and NLP libraries and frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LangGraph, Azure Speech-to-Text).
- Comfortable working with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure)
To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer
New York
$160000 - $200000
+ Data Science & AI
PermanentNew York
To Apply for this Job Click Here
AI Engineer – LLMs | Generative AI | RAG Systems
Location: Hybrid NYC
Type: Full-time | Permanent
Industry: TravelTech / AI Innovation
Compensation: $160k -$200k + Strong Comission and Unlimited PTO
We’re partnered with a well-funded, mission-driven company that’s redefining how travelers interact with expert advisors through cutting-edge AI. Backed by top-tier investors and led by experienced tech executives, the team is now hiring a forward-thinking AI Engineer to help build the future of intelligent, conversational travel solutions.
What You’ll Do
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Product, Design, and Engineering, to ideate and ship new AI-powered features
- Rapidly prototype generative AI concepts to validate hypotheses and user experience improvements
- Improve and scale existing LLM-based systems using advanced prompting, fine-tuning, and model orchestration techniques
- Research and evaluate third-party models and tools to inform build vs. buy decisions
- Translate product requirements into clear, technical AI engineering specifications
- Contribute to a strong engineering culture through technical documentation, peer collaboration, and open communication
- Make informed decisions in ambiguous or fast-moving contexts
What You’ll Bring
- Strong experience applying LLMs, RAG, and NLP in production environments
- Hands-on expertise with both open-source and commercial foundation models (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta)
- Solid Python skills and understanding of classical ML, embeddings, vector databases, and search systems
- Experience building and maintaining APIs for internal or external consumers
- Comfort working across the stack of data engineering, model experimentation, and deployment
- Proven ability to optimize generative AI systems for latency and cost
- Exceptional communication skills – you’re able to explain complex concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences
Bonus Points For
- Experience with agentic AI systems or fine-tuning smaller models
- Familiarity with conversational AI tools and frameworks
- Background or curiosity in travel or personalized recommendation domains
Why Join?
- Join a high-caliber team that blends AI expertise with deep product insight
- Shape truly novel products with real-world impact
- Competitive compensation, strong equity offering, and a flexible working culture
To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer
City of London
£400 - £500
+ Data Science & AI
ContractCity of London, London
To Apply for this Job Click Here
AI Engineer – Help Build the Future of Intelligent Systems
Location: Remote-friendly / Hybrid (London)
Type: Contract
Startup: Innovative AI-focused startup
We’re a fast-growing startup on a mission to bring cutting-edge artificial intelligence into everyday applications. From intelligent automation to next-gen products powered by AI, we’re creating solutions that help businesses stay ahead. We’re looking for a skilled AI Engineer who is passionate about designing and implementing AI systems that make a difference.
What You’ll Work On
-
Design and implement AI solutions across a range of applications (e.g., NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning).
-
Develop and optimize algorithms that power our products.
-
Build and maintain the infrastructure needed to train, evaluate, and deploy AI models at scale.
-
Collaborate closely with data scientists, software engineers, and product teams to bring AI-powered features to life.
-
Research and experiment with state-of-the-art AI techniques to keep us at the cutting edge.
What We’re Looking For
-
Strong programming skills in Python (bonus: C++, Java).
-
Experience with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar.
-
Solid understanding of AI algorithms, architectures, and deployment strategies.
-
Familiarity with model optimization, quantization, or on-device inference is a plus.
-
Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
-
Startup spirit: proactive, adaptable, and comfortable solving ambiguous problems.
Why Join Our Team?
-
Competitive salary + equity – share in our success.
-
Remote flexibility with a collaborative and supportive team culture.
-
Work on challenging, meaningful AI projects with real-world impact.
-
Opportunities for growth and learning – conferences, courses, mentorship.
-
A chance to help shape both our technology and company culture from the ground up.
To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer
New York
$160000 - $220000
+ Data Science & AI
PermanentNew York
To Apply for this Job Click Here
AI Engineer
Location: New York
Compensation: $180,000 – $220,000 base salary + Equity
About the Company:
We are working with a pioneering fintech, as systems face mounting strain from increased complexity and a shrinking talent pool, there’s a growing need for tools that can adapt, learn, and act independently. Their platform introduces AI agents designed to support experts by handling routine tasks, adapting to diverse workflows, and freeing up time for more strategic work. Already proving effective in demanding environments, it’s now scaling quickly, reshaping how foundational work gets done in a rapidly evolving economy.
THE ROLE
As an Applied AI/NLP Scientist, you will be central to developing and deploying advanced natural language processing solutions that tackle complex challenges in the legal-financial domain. Reporting to senior technical leadership, your work will span early-stage research through production-grade implementation.
Key Responsibilities:
- AI Model Innovation: Design and implement novel NLP and LLM architectures tailored for domain-specific applications across legal and financial datasets.
- Research to Production: Own projects from prototyping through production, leading 0-to-1 development of scalable NLP systems.
- Model Optimization: Enhance model performance through fine-tuning, prompt engineering, retrieval augmentation, and inference optimization.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product, engineering, and executive teams to align AI capabilities with strategic goals.
- Thought Leadership: Help shape internal best practices in applied NLP/LLM development, and contribute to research papers and IP generation.
- Mentorship & Guidance: Provide technical insight and mentorship to junior researchers and engineers.
YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
We’re seeking an experienced, hands-on NLP practitioner with a deep understanding of AI system development:
- 2-8 years of professional experience in applied NLP or LLM-based system development.
- Strong foundation in building and deploying NLP models in production settings.
- Proficiency with Python and modern ML/NLP frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, HuggingFace, spaCy, etc.).
- Demonstrated experience scaling models across large, unstructured datasets.
- Applied research background with a proven track record of translating research into real-world tools and platforms.
- Deep understanding of LLM architectures, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
- Excellent communication skills and comfort working in agile, high-ownership environments.
- PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, AI, Computational Linguistics, or related field (PhD preferred).
- Publication record in respected AI/NLP venues (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, NeurIPS, ICLR) is highly desirable.
THE BENEFITS
- Competitive Compensation: Base salary of $180,000 – $220,000 + performance bonus
- Innovation Ownership: Drive the development of novel NLP applications and contribute to IP
- Remote Flexibility: Work from anywhere in the U.S.
- Full Benefits: Health, dental, vision, 401(k), generous PTO, and more
HOW TO APPLY
To explore this opportunity, please submit your resume to Luc Simpson-Kent using the Apply link on this page.
To Apply for this Job Click Here

Head of AI Engineering
New York
$250000 - $300000
+ Data Science & AI
PermanentUSA
To Apply for this Job Click Here
Head of AI Engineering
$250,000 – $300,000 base + Bonus
Remote (US Only – East Coast Preferred)
The Company
We’re partnering with a global AI strategy and technology firm that’s spent the last decade delivering high-impact AI solutions to Fortune 500 clients. Their focus? Solving real business problems through cutting-edge, scalable AI-and now they’re ready to take things to the next level.
They’re looking for a Head of AI Engineering to build and lead the engineering function from the ground up. If you’ve been craving a seat at the table, the chance to shape a technical vision, and the freedom to stay hands-on while building a world-class team, this one’s for you.
The Role
This is a pivotal leadership role at a company known for delivering enterprise-ready AI. You’ll set the technical direction, build a cross-functional team, and ship high-performance systems for clients tackling complex challenges.
What You’ll Do
- Own and architect the full tech stack: back-end, front-end, infra, and AI
- Write and review clean, scalable code across core AI platforms
- Deploy LLM-based systems using prompt engineering, embeddings, and vector search
- Build and optimize DevOps pipelines and deployment environments (local, staging, production)
- Set engineering standards around CI/CD, testing, and documentation
- Hire and lead a top-tier team across AI, full-stack, and infrastructure
- Collaborate closely with product, design, and AI researchers to bring ideas to life
- Help shape the company’s technical roadmap and long-term product vision
- Create a high-trust, high-impact engineering culture rooted in innovation and agility
About You
- 2+ years in a senior technical or leadership role, ideally in a fast-paced or client-facing environment
- Strong backend or full-stack development skills, with deep experience in modern API architecture
- Expert-level Python skills and hands-on experience building with LLMs (OpenAI, Hugging Face, etc.)
- Bonus if you’ve worked with RAG, LangChain, or vector databases
- Solid grounding in DevOps: Docker, CI/CD, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)
- Proven ability to lead and scale remote engineering teams
- A collaborative, entrepreneurial mindset-you know how to ship and scale
The Perks
- Highly competitive base salary ($250k-$300k) + bonus
- Remote-first with flexible hours (East Coast preferred for time zone alignment)
- Ownership and influence at a critical stage of growth
- Work on cutting-edge AI systems that solve real-world problems
Keywords: Head of Engineering, AI Strategy, LLM, LangChain, RAG, Backend, Python, DevOps, Cloud, ML Infrastructure, AI Consulting, Leadership, Remote, Start-up
To Apply for this Job Click Here

Lead AI Engineer
New York
$200000 - $220000
+ Data Science & AI
PermanentNew York
To Apply for this Job Click Here
Lead AI Engineer – Financial Services | $200,000-220,000 + Bonus + Benefits
Location: New York, NY (REMOTE)
Industry: Financial Services
Harnham is proud to partner with a dynamic and fast-growing financial services firm which works directly with people to help along their financial journey. They are looking to hire their first Lead AI Engineer, someone passionate about building innovative machine learning solutions and driving thoughtful AI & LLM initiatives at an enterprise level.
This is a unique opportunity to take a hands-on leadership role, building machine learning and LLM capabilities, while shaping a team and strategy that supports long-term innovation and responsible AI use.
THE ROLE
As Lead AI Engineer, you will:
-
Partner closely with engineering and business teams to design and deliver machine learning solutions that address complex challenges.
-
Build and deploy ML and LLM models that support key initiatives in chatbot, voicebot and customer support center agents.
-
Lead development of NLP applications such as text classification, summarization, and information extraction to support customer engagement and insights.
-
Help define meaningful performance metrics (KPIs) for AI solutions and foster an environment of transparency and learning.
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Contribute to a culture of innovation by mentoring others, sharing knowledge, and laying the groundwork for a growing AI team.
YOUR SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
We’re looking for someone with:
-
5+ years of experience in applied data science, machine learning, or related AI fields. 2+ most recent years using LLM / RAG technologies.
-
A degree in a STEM or quantitative field such as Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Statistics.
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A strong track record of translating technical work into business value, particularly with cross-functional or non-technical stakeholders.
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Experience leading projects end-to-end, with mentorship or team-building experience.
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Proficiency in Python and familiarity with LLM tools like LangChain, Hugging Face, Llama.
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Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS preferred, but not required) and data visualization tools.
-
Comfort and familiarity working in fast-paced environments like hyper-growth startups is a plus.
THE BENEFITS
-
Competitive salary range of $200,000-220,000
-
Performance-based bonus
-
Comprehensive health and wellness benefits
- Better than market average retirement match
-
Opportunity to build a strategic AI function from the ground up in a highly respected firm
-
Supportive, forward-thinking leadership team invested in responsible innovation
HOW TO APPLY
If you’re excited about building impactful AI solutions and leading with curiosity, care, and purpose, we’d love to hear from you.
Please submit your résumé to Tim Jonas using the “Apply” link on this page.
Keywords:
AI Engineering | Machine Learning | NLP | LLM | Large Language Models | Financial Services | Responsible AI | Python | Cloud | Data Science | Llama | Leadership | Agents | Cross-functional Collaboration | Team Management | LangChain | Hugging Face | Chatbots | Voicebots
To Apply for this Job Click Here

AI Engineer
Amsterdam
€70000 - €80000
+ Computer Vision
PermanentAmsterdam, North Holland
To Apply for this Job Click Here
Job Title: AI Engineer – Computer Vision & AI Specialist
Location: Amsterdam
Job Type: Full-time
About Them
This company are on a mission to redefine what’s possible with AI. They are building cutting-edge solutions that harness the power of artificial intelligence to solve real-world problems at scale.
They are a smalll but growing company who have won multiple awards and they are looking for an AI/Computer Vision specialist to support them on a new role in the team.
The Role
They are looking for a passionate AI Engineer with deep expertise in Computer Vision to join our growing R&D team.
You’ll be designing and developing intelligent vision-based systems that can perceive, understand, and make decisions-across diverse environments and datasets.
This is a hands-on engineering role, perfect for someone who loves solving hard problems with elegant algorithms and robust code.
What You’ll Do
- Design, build, and deploy computer vision models (object detection, classification, segmentation, tracking, etc.)
- Work with image, video, and sensor data across real-time and batch pipelines
- Develop and optimize deep learning architectures (CNNs, Transformers, GANs, etc.)
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including data engineers, product managers, and ML ops
- Research and implement state-of-the-art techniques from academia and industry
- Continuously monitor and improve model performance in production
- Contribute to our AI platform infrastructure and help scale our solutions
What They Are Looking For
- Proven experience in computer vision and deep learning (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, OpenCV)
- Strong software engineering skills in Python and/or C++
- Solid understanding of neural networks, image processing, and machine learning fundamentals
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and GPU acceleration
- Experience with production-grade AI/ML systems is a big plus
- Degree in Computer Science, AI, Mathematics, or a related field (Master’s or PhD preferred)
- Curiosity, creativity, and a love for solving complex challenges
Bonus Points For
- Experience with 3D vision, LiDAR, SLAM, or AR/VR
- Contributions to open-source CV or AI projects
- Experience with MLOps and model lifecycle management
- Publications or Kaggle competition wins
What They Offer
- Competitive salary + stock options
- Flexible remote-first work culture
- Learning budget for conferences, books, and courses
- Work with a team of passionate, world-class AI engineers and researchers
- Real impact on cutting-edge products used by thousands (or millions!) of people
To Apply for this Job Click Here

Director of AI Engineering
New York
$275000 - $300000
+ Data Science & AI
PermanentNew York
To Apply for this Job Click Here
Director of AI Engineering
New York, NY (option for fully REMOTE)
$275,000-$300,000 base + bonus + full benefits
The Company
Harnham is working with a boutique consulting firm, which helps Fortune 500 companies unlock growth through strategy, transformation, and innovation. Its team partners closely with executive stakeholders to solve complex challenges using cutting-edge technology. It’s now hiring its first Director of AI Engineering – someone passionate about applying machine learning and NLP to drive real business impact.
The Opportunity
As the Director of AI Engineering, you’ll play a hands-on role in building and delivering high-impact AI solutions while laying the foundation for a growing AI practice. You’ll work directly with internal teams and client executives to bring data-driven strategies to life-while also shaping the long-term vision of our AI offerings.
What You’ll Do
-
Lead and build AI/ML solutions that support internal innovation and client transformation across financial services, healthcare, CPG, and Food & Beverage.
-
Develop & Deploy NLP/LLM models for tasks like text summarization, classification, and insight extraction-turning data into actionable intelligence.
-
Collaborate cross-functionally with engineers, consultants, and client stakeholders to design and deploy end-to-end solutions.
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Advise clients on responsible, strategic use of AI to help them stay competitive and future-ready.
-
Mentor and grow a small team over the next 12-18 months as the AI function expands.
What You Bring
-
10+ years of professional experience in AI, machine learning, or data science
-
Expertise in NLP and LLMs (e.g., BERT, spaCy, NLTK, HuggingFace) preferred
-
Experience leading projects from start to finish in fast-paced or client-facing environments
-
Strong communication skills and the ability to engage technical and non-technical audiences alike
-
Proficiency in Python and working knowledge of common ML and visualization libraries
-
Background in a STEM or quantitative field (graduate degree a plus)
-
Consulting exposure is a plus
-
Experience with cloud platforms
Why Join Us
-
Competitive base salary: $275,000-$300,000 + performance bonus
-
Opportunity to build and lead the firm’s AI capabilities from day one
-
Work with smart, driven professionals on impactful, high-visibility projects
-
Entrepreneurial, flexible environment with room to shape your role and grow
-
Full benefits package and a collaborative workplace culture
Apply Now
Interested? Submit your résumé via the Apply link or reach out to Tim Jonas at Harnham for a confidential conversation.
KEYWORDS:
AI Strategy | NLP | LLM | Financial Services | Healthcare | Retail | CPG | Consumer Goods | Consulting | Machine Learning | Data Science | Python | Digital Transformation | Client Advisory | Boutique Consulting | Enterprise AI
To Apply for this Job Click Here

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