AI Engineer I

FourKites•Chicago, IL

3d•$50,000 - $70,000

About The Position

At FourKites we have the opportunity to tackle complex challenges with real-world impacts. Whether it’s medical supplies from Cardinal Health or groceries for Walmart, the FourKites platform helps customers operate global supply chains that are efficient, agile and sustainable. Join a team of curious problem solvers that celebrates differences, leads with empathy and values inclusivity . We are seeking an experienced AI Engineer to join our AI team, where you'll play a pivotal role in building and scaling our next-generation AI workforce platform. You'll work on cutting-edge agent-based systems that are transforming supply chain operations for Fortune 500 companies, delivering real business value through intelligent automation.

Requirements

1+ years software engineering, 1+ years in production AI/ML systems
Expertise in Python, PyTorch/JAX, and AI frameworks (LangChain, Transformers, PEFT)
Exposure to LLMs (GPT-4, Claude, Gemini) and SLMs (Phi, Llama, Mistral)
Hands-on experience in any of the below: Fine-tuning techniques (LoRA, QLoRA, DPO, RLHF), Vector databases and RAG architectures, Streaming systems and real-time processing
Good communication for technical and non-technical audiences (Bonus)
Data-driven decision making for model selection and cost optimization

Nice To Haves

Security measures (prompt injection prevention, jailbreak detection) (Bonus)
Model optimization (quantization, distillation, pruning) (optional)
Background in distributed systems, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms
Experience with document intelligence and multi-modal AI systems
Understanding of supply chain operations, EDI/API integrations
Knowledge of token economics and consumption-based pricing models
Familiarity with enterprise compliance requirements (GDPR, CCPA, SOC2)
Knowledge of GraphRAG and knowledge graph integration
Contributions to open-source AI projects (Hugging Face, Ollama)
Experience reducing inference costs by 50%+ through optimization
Familiarity with MoE architectures and constitutional AI approaches
Exposure to OCR pipelines and document extraction at scale
Exposure to specialized tools (vLLM, TGI, Triton, ONNX, TensorRT) is a bonus.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership Implement production-scale AI agent systems and orchestration frameworks (LangGraph, LangChain, similar architectures)
Optimize deployment strategies using both LLMs and SLMs based on use case requirements
Build natural language-configurable business process automation frameworks
Implement multi-modal AI systems for document understanding (tables, charts, layouts)
AI/ML Implementation & Optimization Deploy and optimize LLMs/SLMs in production with fine-tuning techniques (LoRA, QLoRA, DPO)
Implement quantization strategies (INT8, INT4) and model distillation for edge deployment
Build evaluation frameworks including LLM-as-judge systems and regression testing
Create semantic caching and embedding-based retrieval systems
Develop GraphRAG and long-context handling strategies (100k+ tokens)
System Architecture & Engineering Develop scalable microservices with comprehensive observability (LangSmith, Arize, custom telemetry)
Build secure multi-tenant systems with prompt injection prevention and output validation
Implement cost optimization through intelligent model routing and fallback strategies
Develop document processing pipelines with OCR and layout understanding
Create event-driven architectures for real-time shipment tracking and exception handling
Building specialized AI agents solving supply chain problems
Fine-tuning domain-specific models for supply chain terminology
Implementing hybrid architectures combining cloud LLMs with edge SLMs
Creating secure document intelligence systems for Fortune 500 clients
Developing real-time exception handling for shipment tracking
Building observability and evaluation frameworks for agent performance
Designing fallback strategies and multi-provider redundancy
Working with Customer facing teams to understand customer requirements and tuning AI solutions and providing support for customer queries.

Benefits

FourKites provides competitive compensation with stock options, outstanding benefits and a collaborative culture for all employees around the globe.
To help you be your best, we have 5 global recharge days, in addition to generous PTO and standard holidays.
Parental leave for all parents, an annual wellness stipend and volunteer days also provide you with time and resources for self care and to care for others.
Throughout the year, FourKites sets aside time during the workday to learn and celebrate diversity.
We're always listening for new ways to support everyone in and out of the office.
Benefits include: Medical, Dental & Vision benefits starting on first day of employment
401k Retirement savings with employer match
Bonus and incentive compensation as well as employee stock option program
Employer paid life insurance and short term disability insurance
Generous PTO, global recharge days, and volunteer days
Paid parental leave for all parents
Family planning and inclusive wellbeing resources
Technology reimbursement
Commuter benefits for in-office employees (Chicago)
Annual Wellness Stipend
Ongoing learning & development opportunities